Frequently asked questions

ECG (Expanded Color Gamut) is a printing standard that adds ink channels beyond standard CMYK — typically Orange, Green, and Violet — to reproduce a wider range of colors. It's been an ISO standard (ISO 20654) since 2014 but remains uncommon: the equipment investment is higher, the workflow requires specialized expertise, and most print buyers have never been offered it. If your current printer hasn't mentioned it, they likely don't run it.

No — they operate at different layers. RGB is a color model used by screens and design software, describing color as combinations of red, green, and blue light. ECG is a printing capability standard describing how wide a gamut a press can reproduce in physical ink. The connection: a 7-color ECG press can faithfully translate an RGB design file into print because its gamut is large enough to cover most of what a screen displays. Standard CMYK cannot make that claim.

Both can hit specific Pantone targets, but the economics differ. Spot color printing adds a dedicated ink station per color — each additional color increases plate costs and press setup. It works for one or two brand colors on simple layouts but breaks down on photography or complex gradients. 7-color ECG uses a fixed ink set covering 80% of Pantone within ΔE 2.5 as a baseline, with no per-color surcharges and no press reconfiguration. For the most extreme saturated colors outside that range, a spot ink plate can be added.

Three questions to ask: Does your brand have a signature color — especially an orange, green, teal, or purple — that consistently looks wrong in print? Is your packaging displayed next to other SKUs where color matching is visible side-by-side? Are you currently paying for spot ink runs to hit one or two critical colors? If yes to any of these, ECG likely pays for itself. If your packaging is primarily text and neutral tones, standard CMYK is probably sufficient.

A Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 in 8-color configuration, with inline coater.

We prefer native design files over pre-exported PDFs. Send a packaged Adobe InDesign file (INDD with all linked images and fonts collected), or an Adobe Illustrator file (.ai with embedded or collected links). If a PDF is the only option, use PDF/X-4 with fonts embedded and all images at 300 dpi minimum at final print size. Standard bleed is 3 mm on all sides with a 3 mm safe zone inside trim; include a dieline from your structural supplier for any custom die shape. For color, RGB source images give our ECG profiling more to work with than pre-converted CMYK files; Pantone colors should be specified by swatch number rather than built from process values.

Yes. Sinso is a G7 Master Printer, certified through Idealliance. G7 governs how our proofs are calibrated to match the press.

Yes. GMI qualifies our factory for the approved vendor lists at major US retailers including Target and Walmart.

Folding cartons, rigid set-up boxes, magnetic-closure gift boxes, blister and display backers. We focus on three verticals: artist and collector editions, games and puzzles, and retail packaging (which includes toy lines, gift sets, and beauty and personal care).

Flexible packaging like pouches, films, and flow wrap. Corrugated shipper boxes (we partner for outer master cartons). US-based fulfillment and warehousing.

SBS, FBB, kraft, recycled board, and specialty coated stocks. If you have a specific spec in mind, send it with the brief.

Because ECG output is tied to a specific vendor's process — their RIP software, ink chemistry, press profiles, and substrate calibration. Two vendors running the same 7-color process will produce different output from the same file, sometimes visibly so on saturated colors or large flat areas. Splitting a SKU across vendors reintroduces the inconsistency ECG was designed to eliminate.

7 to 10 days from receipt of files and brief. Samples are airshipped to the US.

Brief and file submission → physical sample airshipped in 7–10 days → G7-calibrated digital proof reviewed and approved → production press run with inline color measurement → delivery FOB Ningbo, or DDP on request.

No. Quotes depend on substrate, finishing, run length, and finishing operations. Send a brief to hello@sinso.us and we respond within 24 hours.

hello@sinso.us. Our US operations lead manages briefs, quotes, proofs, and project status from the US side, in direct coordination with the Ningbo factory.

No. 118 Huiming Road, Fenghua High-tech Development Zone, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. The site covers more than 12,000 sqm with 15,000+ sqm of production floor.

Ningbo Sinso Printing Co., Ltd. was founded in 1998. We have 25+ years of continuous operation.