By Melissa Donovan
Flatbed printers are now equipped with various combinations of specialty inks, whether it be white, clear or varnish, light cyan, light magenta, light black, orange, green, violet, red, gray, or neon. Each color is used for specific reasons.
Growing Adoption
Print providers are increasingly turning to flatbeds with ink sets extending beyond CMYK.
Application demand is one factor. “Wherever it’s desirable to reproduce brand colors accurately, gamut-extending inks can have a huge positive impact—think trade shows, store interiors, branded events, point of purchase (POP) displays, and packaging. Nearly the entire domain of wide format printing,” suggests Ted Pierpont, national sales manager – large format print, Durst North America.
The DigiTech team agrees. Retail market spaces utilizing in-store/POP signage, with high corporate brand identity standards push usage forward.
Most of the graphics used in retail applications need to be vibrant and attention getting, says Thomas Giglio, HP Latex Segment Manager, North America, HP Inc. “POP graphics need to deliver strong brand reference and compelling imagery. Many PSPs need to deliver jobs where brand colors demand an almost-exact color match. It is the difference between winning certain jobs where brand colors are used.”
“In applications like signage for restaurant chains, accurately reproducing brand spot colors is critical, and large format, printed advertisements leverage a lot of gradients; both are easier to obtain with expanded ink sets as applications require greater color accuracy, higher print quality, and added value,” states Mike Pruitt, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc.
Cosmetics and luxury goods markets are other examples. “These clients increasingly seek print partners capable of reproducing subtle tonal shifts and impeccable finishes. Backlit retail graphics also gain from the extra visual dimension achievable through light color integration, while premium promotional materials benefit from varnish integration,” says Dieter Jancart, segment manager high-end systems DPS, Agfa.
Rob Firestone, applications specialist, Fluid Color, references the rise in “utilitarian applications” like ADA compliant signage. “Layered printing using white and clear inks enables braille, raised text, and tactile graphics. These functional requirements are pushing print providers toward more capable ink configurations that go beyond traditional CMYK.”
“The biggest benefits are seen in promotional products, direct to object printing, textured artwork, and ADA signage. White ink is critical in these applications for two reasons. Its opacity allows printing on non-white and pre-colored objects, which is common in promotional and direct to object work. Its density makes it effective for building layered or textured effects,” notes Hugo Gonzalez, senior segment specialist, Mimaki USA, Inc.
Extended ink configurations are more attractive to printers in promotional products and personalization markets, according to Emilio Rangel, product manager, Mutoh America, Inc., because they often require more flexibility to reproduce specialty colors or create unique visual effects.
Print providers look for ways to increase margins through premium effects and specialty applications to help drive adoption of flatbed printers with ink sets beyond CMYK, admits Erik Norman, president, swissQprint America. “Extended ink sets allow print businesses to move beyond commodity printing and compete on creativity, quality, and application diversity.”
“Ultimately, the ability to handle a vast array of media, including challenging substrates like wood, glass, and corrugated board, allows for the flatbed printer to be used in diverse ways, capable of opening new commercial opportunities in retail, interior décor, packaging, and industrial segments,” adds Patrick Donigain, senior manager, product marketing, DGS solutions strategy, Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Accessibility also propels usage further. “Wide format digital can eliminate the additional process steps of many legacy technologies and enable more cost-effective short run and even one-off work. Adding expanded color capacity or tonal range improves the output and makes this technology even more capable,” states Lon Riley, founder/CEO, Catalyst Printers by the DPI Laboratory.
Advancements in technology, particularly UV LED inkjet, make it both practical and reliable to run extended ink sets. “Beyond color, there is a growing emphasis on inline production capabilities—where printing, texturing, layering, and even finishing effects can be achieved in a single pass. This reduces labor, handling, and overall production time,” notes Firestone.
Future Standardization
Ink sets beyond CMYK are becoming more standard.
“Our customer base of print producers has made extended ink sets somewhat standard practice. That said, a great deal can be produced using CMYK alone. Printed to cost-effective media, CMYK often delivers best value/lowest total cost and there’s always a healthy market for that,” admits Pierpont.
Riley agrees that CMYK is still capable for a very high percentage of print applications. Ink sets beyond CMYK aren’t becoming standard because CMYK alone lacks, but more because the technology is becoming less expensive and more flexible. “While the additional ink sets may not be standard on many machines, they are typically a simple extension of the core technology for the companies that require them.”
“Extended ink sets are moving toward becoming a standard option rather than a niche feature, but they are not universally adopted across all segments. For high-value applications—where color accuracy, material flexibility, or special effects matter—they are quickly becoming expected. However, for high-volume, cost-sensitive production environments, CMYK still dominates due to its simplicity and speed,” shares Firestone.
Extended ink sets are increasingly mainstream in the mid- to high-end segment of large format printing, says Norman. He admits that not every business requires a full extended set. “The most successful approach is offering configurable systems that allow customers to tailor the printer to their market rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all solution.”
“Any operation looking to grow its business now views features like white ink and varnish as mandatory for versatility. The shift is supported by the fact that modern eight-channel configurations are now highly reliable and easy to operate, allowing even smaller shops to produce complex, multi-layered jobs with ‘first-time-right’ accuracy,” explains Donigain.
Gonzalez believes white ink and varnish are quickly becoming standard, if not already. On the other hand, red, green, and orange ink is more application driven. “They are important for achieving higher color accuracy outside the CMYK gamut, but they are not required for most general purpose printing.”
“White and varnish inks have long been essential in UV printing, and the adoption of additional color channels is growing as customer expectations for color accuracy and specialty effects continue to increase. While not every application requires extended colors, the capability is becoming more widely available across modern flatbed systems,” agrees Rangel.
Specialty inks enhance color. As print providers embrace ink sets beyond CMYK for various usage, their adoption will continue to grow.
Jul2026, Digital Output
