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The problem with CMYK

Standard CMYK uses four inks and reproduces roughly 60% of Pantone spot colors. Saturated oranges, vivid greens, and deep violets fall outside its gamut. For brand packaging with a signature color, CMYK forces a choice: accept color drift, or pay for individual spot ink runs per color — each adding plate costs and press setup time.

The process

Sinso runs Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 multi-unit presses with [TBD — RIP software] for 7-channel ECG separation. Each job is profiled against a press-specific ICC profile built for the target substrate. Clients supply design files (packaged InDesign or Illustrator); the RIP handles the 7-ink separation.

Certification: [TBD]

Benchmarks

The consistency requirement

ECG color output is process-specific. The translation from an RGB file to physical ink depends on RIP algorithm, ink formulation, press ICC profiles, and substrate calibration — all vendor-specific. Two printers both running 7-color ECG will produce different output from the same file.

This means splitting a SKU across vendors reintroduces color inconsistency. For cross-run consistency — reorders, seasonal variants, multiple SKU sizes in the same line — one vendor, one process. Sinso manages this end-to-end.

Ideal applications

7-color ECG is the right process when: brand color is a saturated Pantone that CMYK consistently misses; packaging is displayed alongside other SKUs where color matching is visible side-by-side; the brief involves luxury goods, beauty or food cartons, art editions, or large-area spot color fields; or the brand is supplying to retailers with strict color approval processes.

Common questions about ECG printing →

Ready to run a benchmark on your artwork? hello@sinso.us