By Cassandra Balentine
Eco-friendly media comes in many forms, either based on its composition and/or level of recyclability. As the demand for sustainability increases, print service providers (PSPs) must be well versed in controlling color on these specific types of substrates to meet the needs of customers as interest continues to grow.
“The term eco-friendly covers a range of materials from PVC-free options and media made from recycled content to substrates designed to produce fewer harmful emissions, and more,” offers Kerry Moloney, senior product marketing manager, Fiery. “Each category comes with its own characteristics and performance nuances. As a result, eco-friendly materials can introduce specific challenges that effective color management helps control and overcome to achieve optimal print quality.”
Whenever you introduce new materials to your print operation, it is important to consider color management. RIPs and color management tools help support accurate color across a range of media—including eco-friendly and non-PVC banner materials.
Above: A graphic printed using an HP Latex printer. HP Latex printers—including the 730 and 830 Printer Series—have an onboard HP spectrophotometer and color profiling engine.
Challenges
When working with eco-friendly media, certain color challenges may arise.
The idea behind eco-friendly substrates is limiting the amount of environmental impact created when printing. “This can pose a challenge when trying to get an accurate color that you may find with traditional methods,” admits Chris Alegre, Flexi product manager, SAi.
Eco-friendly substrates—particularly non-PVC banners and recycled textiles—tend to be far less forgiving than traditional vinyl. Sofiia Kaminska, marketing and sales, Viesus AG, says the primary challenge is substrate variability. “Sustainable materials often exhibit different ink absorption rates, lower ink limits, and surface textures that can lead to muted colors or muddy shadows if the source file is not properly balanced.”
Matt Crawford, president/CEO, Onyx Graphics, Inc., agrees, stressing that many eco-friendly substrates—textiles, recycled papers, fiber boards—have rough or uneven surfaces that are difficult to measure reliably.
Accurate color on eco-friendly substrates requires a shift in perspective. “Color management must begin with data optimization before the file reaches the RIP. By balancing exposure and contrast upstream, the image fits naturally within the tighter technical envelope of sustainable media,” says Kaminska.
A material’s white point can cause issues when trying to provide accurate color on eco-friendly substrates. Michael Voight, application specialist, swissQprint, says in some cases profiling these medias with a white underlay ensures a consistent white point.
Paul Wagner, solutions architect, HP Inc., points out that latex/resin and UV-cured technology can print to PVC-based banner material, but can often also print to many eco-friendly, non-PVC banner medias constructed of PET, polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE)-based medias. “The white point and dot gain on these medias can vary considerably, and this places a premium on properly implemented color management workflows.”
Patrick Donigain, senior manager, Canon U.S.A., Inc., doesn’t see any limitations when it comes to eco-friendly, non-PVC media with Canon’s UV and UVgel inks. “While some media may be heat sensitive, the Colorado M-series and Arizona series utilize a low-heat, energy-efficient LED curing system that ensures dimensional stability even on thin or sensitive sustainable substrates,” he attests.
Traditional workflows rely on RIP and ICC profiles to correct these issues. “However, if the image data entering the RIP is already pushing saturation or shadow density beyond what a non-PVC material can handle, the results become unpredictable,” cautions Kaminska.
Textiles like table drops, booth graphics on cloth, and t-shirts are challenging because customers want vibrant, bright colors for these applications. “Many users will try to print with lots of ink coverage to achieve this result. However, taking the time to create a good ICC profile, although tenuous, can make it so you are using far less ink while still achieving the result many look for,” shares Alegre.
Uncoated non-PVC banner materials, including PP/PE, also present challenges. One of the primary limitations is reduced color gamut, which Moloney says can make achieving brand colors and vibrant, high-impact results more difficult. “Effective color management helps maximize the available gamut, optimize ink combinations for stronger visual impact, and improve color matching—even on substrates with a non-neutral white point and more absorbent surfaces.”
These materials are also highly sensitive to ink limits. Proper ink limiting is critical to prevent visible defects such as loss of shadow detail, gray hue shifts, muddy colors, extended drying times, and set-off issues. “Careful calibration ensures stable, predictable output and consistent quality,” offers Moloney.
Non-PVC surfaces often have more texture or more matte finishes than smooth PVC, causing light to scatter differently. Moloney says this can make colors appear to shift based on viewing angle and lighting, and standard color profiles can’t account for these variations, so again, a custom profile makes a difference here.
Uncoated or specialty eco-substrates absorb ink differently, often resulting in higher or more variable dot gain. Traditional profiles built for coated PVC surfaces don’t accurately compensate for this, which can cause muddy mid-tones and reduced vibrancy, cautions Moloney.
“Many eco materials have different base whiteness levels or fluorescence behavior, which can affect color gamut and overall perception—particularly in bright colors and whites. Professional color management can compensate for non-white white points, improving overall color results,” adds Moloney. “These challenges apply to uncoated and coated non-PVC banner materials as coatings are typically light and provide only partial mitigation. However, these issues are usually more pronounced with uncoated substrates.”
Translucent or transparent media products used for backlit or window applications tend to be more challenging to profile than front lit white medias. “For example, translucent banner material may be front lit in the day and backlit at night. These different illuminants can result in colors that are too dark when front lit and washed out at night,” comments Wagner.
The most recent X-Rite i1Basic Pro 3 Plus spectrophotometer operates in reflective and transmissive modes. “This allows it to capture accurate measurements from front lit and backlit banner, film, and textile medias,” shares Wagner.
Materials with low surface tension, high ink absorption, and optical brighteners can be challenging, “but with the right tools and processes when evaluating materials, you can make challenging tasks become easy,” adds Voight.
Color Considerations
Print providers must have the necessary tools in place to manage color.
For example, swissQprint suggests a spectrophotometer from Barbieri Electronics. “This device creates consistent profiles whether it’s front lit or backlit applications. We partner this device with Caldera or PrintFactory RIPs to handle color profile generation using easy step-by-step processes to create accurate color profiles,” shares Voight.
PSPs need to balance the quality of the product as well as the colors with sustainability advancements. “Tweaking color management settings or using various software options might enable the print provider to achieve more than acceptable color accuracy while limiting the amount of ink usage. The provider will need some additional education on the design software, as well as understanding the print options for their specific RIP, to achieve this balance, but it’s manageable,” believes Alegre.
SAi helps train its users in color management with courses and Alegre says its customers have found great success.
Setting up color management correctly yields optimal results. It is key for trickier media options to have color performance checked and evaluated over time—meaning it’s important to get to know your media.
“Does it still look visually correct after a roll change? How often does it drift out of tolerance? Eco-friendly substrates are less predictable from roll to roll and batch to batch due to the production processes involved, so the workflow is more ‘set then check’ rather than ‘set and forget,’ which is sometimes the approach used for more stable media. On top of this, there are all the usual variables you have in large format production, deviations on the printer itself, its ink, and environmental factors—all benefit from color performance being checked over time,” offers Moloney.
While print buyers and end customers value eco-friendly substrates in terms of sustainability, if prints do not meet expectations, clients may revert to non-eco-friendly substrates. Moloney feels that it’s vital for PSPs to set the right expectation for the use of these and inform the buyer that they take every measure with color management to attain the best possible color results, but there will be a difference.
Proper Profiling
Profiles help translate color across devices, media, and inks.
A good ICC profile can control the color accuracy of a design, but also the amount of ink used to achieve those colors. “Limiting the amount of ink reduces the impact on the environment, especially for projects that will be disposed of soon after use,” shares Alegre.
Off-the-shelf calibrations and profiles don’t always cut it for eco-friendly media. “A custom calibration—rather than a generic one—is essential to capture the maximum printable gamut during profile creation and to set ink limits correctly. This prevents issues such as drying or curing problems, color shifts, and reduced print quality. Skipping these steps can unnecessarily restrict an already limited gamut, resulting in poor color reproduction and potential production challenges,” notes Moloney.
Creating a custom calibration for each eco-friendly substrate provides control over pre-ink, ink, and total ink limits, as well as dot gain compensation to ensure the best visual results and minimal production issues. Moloney says that generating custom ICC profiles with adjusted black generation and appropriate gamut mapping stabilizes color reproduction. Features such as Fiery Intensify—part of the Fiery Edge profile creation process—manage vibrancy while preserving neutral tones and skin colors.
A custom profile is also needed to ensure the full potential color space of the media is captured, and understanding how neutrals and near-neutrals are produced as part of that profile is key. “Also important is that custom color management is done per media, print mode, and ink set combined as each has a distinct effect on the color behavior,” shares Moloney.
Creating custom output profiles on front lit opaque white medias are generally a more straightforward procedure than translucent or transparent medias. Wagner suggests translucent and clear medias benefit from the use of a transmissive spectrophotometer, where opaque medias require a reflective instrument.
For both UV and UVgel technologies, Donigain says standard color management practices and high-quality RIP profiles work effectively on eco-friendly substrates. “Because UVgel technology consumes up to 40 percent less ink than traditional technologies to build up the same image quality and color intensity, providers may find they achieve superior results with lower ink loads on sustainable media.”
Tools Advance
Eco-friendly substrates are inherently variable. Crawford says recycled content, alternative coatings, and textured surfaces introduce fluctuations in absorbency, base color, and ink behavior. Solutions like ONYX RIP software are designed to manage that variability.
“As print providers expand into recycled, PVC-free, paper-based, and textile media, success depends less on chasing maximum color gamut and more on process control, ink efficiency, and repeatable production. This is where ONYX color management and workflow technology delivers a decisive advantage,” notes Crawford.
ONYX provides integrated calibration and process control workflows that allow print providers to regularly verify tone response and color stability, quickly recalibrate for new media lots or environmental changes, and maintain consistent output without rebuilding profiles from scratch.
One recent innovation in the Fiery Color Profiler Suite is Fiery Intensify, which allows users to customize gamut mapping that pushes colors to the more vibrant part of the available color space while intelligently protecting key areas such as grays and skin tones—ensuring the absolute best possible results and the best of both worlds in terms of punchy results and realistic skin tones, as well as keeping grays neutral.
“The great news with Fiery Intensify is that it’s a setting that can be applied on top of the custom color profile already created for maximum color accuracy. Users don’t need to create multiple custom profiles—one for accuracy, one for vibrancy—they just need to decide ‘what does great color mean for this particular job’ and check the right buttons,” says Moloney.
As of January 2026, Fiery ColorGuard is available for large format print production. It guards color by activating regular color verifications, and reporting results over time. The outcome being providers can act quickly when conditions change to avoid expensive reprints due to bad color, get to know a media better to predict potential issues in advance, and prove color consistency over time for the more discerning print buyers.
Kaminska points out that one of the most significant advancements is artificial intelligence-driven adaptive image analysis. Unlike static global corrections, modern systems analyze the content of an image—identifying skin tones, skies, vegetation, and shadow areas—and adjust tonal balance accordingly.
“This is particularly relevant for sustainability. By optimizing exposure and contrast before the image reaches the RIP, partners report ink savings of up to 15 percent while maintaining—and in some cases improving—visual vibrancy. This ink-conscious processing contributes to faster drying times and reduced waste, aligning with the core goals behind adopting eco-friendly media in the first place,” notes Kaminska.
Donigain says Canon’s core technology addresses common pitfalls of these materials. “For instance, the Automatic Advance Correction feature uses optical sensors to monitor media step accuracy. This is helpful for non-PVC or paper-based media that might otherwise be prone to stepping issues or banding.”
Winning Color
Color is critical for many print buyers. However, sustainability is increasingly important. To offer the best of both worlds, print providers must properly handle and profile eco-friendly media.
Specific to eco-friendly, non-PVC banner materials—both coated and uncoated—common challenges include reduced color gamut, non-white white points, ink limit sensitivities, and color shift during drying. Moloney feels that addressing these variables through proper calibration, profiling, and verification is essential to maintaining color accuracy and consistency.
May2026, Digital Output
