TVI is the Tone Value Increase. Print dots increase when they are printed on paper. A 50 % magenta on a printing plate can show a tone value (TV) of 70 % when printed, so the TVI is 20 %. In the past, these measurements were referred to as ‘dot area’ and ‘dot gain’, which correspond to the tonal value (TV) and the dot gain (TVI). The paper was always 0, the solid tone always 100.
This dot gain was used to adjust a printing press to a specific printing condition.
ISO 12647 recommends TVI target values to which printing presses should be calibrated. This was usually done densitometrically, i.e. ‘density-based’. The ink film thickness was set to specific target densities. TVI and densitometric measurement for solid colours and tonal values have proven their worth in CMYK printing, as density filters in measuring devices are designed to correspond to standard CMY printing inks. However, densitometric measurements are less reliable for spot colours that lie between the standard CMY printing colours. For this reason, the colour in LAB or spectral is often used as a definition.
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