When customers order custom aluminum-film balloons, it’s perfectly normal for there to be slight color differences between the printed balloon colors and the original design files. The design files provided by customers are based on a white background, whereas the aluminum-film balloon material itself exhibits different colors under varying lighting conditions. Under bright light, the balloon appears silvery-white; in dimmer light, it takes on a silvery-gray hue. Therefore, customers who understand gravure printing typically accept some degree of color variation—this is something that’s permissible within the industry. However, the color difference shouldn’t be too significant, nor should it be obvious at first glance.

Due to the large number of colors involved, we’ve chosen just one color for comparison here. The color in the design file provided by the client appears to be a slightly darker shade of pale green. Based on our experience, when we’re mixing the ink for printing, we’ve adjusted the color to make it a bit brighter.

After the color tone was brightened, it clearly appeared much more vibrant and striking than the colors shown in the original design draft. Of course, this requires the client’s approval—but generally speaking, even if we don’t seek the client’s confirmation, they’ll still accept it. For colors like these—whether slightly brighter or a bit darker—the client is usually fine with them. The reason we’re using this particular image for comparison today is that the original design draft featured many different colors; through this example, you can also get a glimpse of some of those other hues.

There are many reasons for color variations. Taking ink as an example, we can certainly match the color exactly to the color code provided by the customer. However, because the base colors of the substrate differ, the printed colors will also vary. Color is influenced by temperature and humidity as well; even with the same ink, different humidity and temperature levels will result in different color appearances. Additionally, during printing, solvents and diluents are often added, and these factors all contribute to color variations.

Color variations and plate-making are closely related. Taking the pale green mentioned earlier as an example, we achieved this printing effect by adding 50% blue, 40% white, 2% red, 2% yellow, and 1% black. During plate-making, we’ve already confirmed these color percentages, and then we determine the mesh size of the plate based on these specific percentages. Thus, the fineness or coarseness of the plate’s mesh directly influences the final appearance of the balloon print.