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.
More articles related to this topic:
Proof GmbH 2025 once again Fogra and Fogra “Spot Cert” certified
This year we once again created proofs for Fogra certification and sent them to Munich-Aschheim for testing. With these proof prints, which we print according to three different proof standards and on three different papers, we point out that we not only deliver excellent proof quality through internal quality controls and checks, but that the quality of our proofs is also measured and confirmed by external experts. We have now had test prints certified by Fogra for the 12th time. We have also been “Spot-cert” certified for the display of … read more
“Digital First” often means “Colour Problems Second!”
Whether it’s a large global corporation or a small company, the following often applies to designs or redesigns today: we develop everything for digital first.
Annual Conference of the German Society for Colour Science in Darmstadt
Having missed last year’s annual conference in Dresden at the last minute due to illness, I am all the more delighted to be attending this year’s event in Darmstadt. The programme is once again very exciting and varied! I’m particularly looking forward to Dr Andreas Kraushaar’s workshop ‘Measuring in Images’, the HDR lecture by Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Florian Süßl, and the insights into ‘Perzabsolut’ from Dr Moritz Feil. As we discovered at the last Colour Management Symposium in Munich, Moritz Feil – whilst working at the Technical University of Munich – … read more
Proof.de is featured twice in the “Fogra Aktuell” magazine
In the current issue of Fogra News “Fogra Aktuell” Proof GmbH is involved in two places. Firstly, a summary of the Fogra report on our first FOGRA55 certification for seven-colour printing with extended colour space in CMYKOGV appeared. You can also find more information on our FOGRA55 certification on the Fogra website: https://fogra.org/en/press-releases/fogracert-erste-cpc-zertifizierung-fuer-fogra55-cmykogv-330 and on proofing.de: And secondly, there was a report on the completion of the research project for textile digital printing, FOGRA58, in which we were allowed to investigate and test the proof capability of the new textile … read more
PANTONE surveys users online about product and service direction
Today I received an email in which PANTONE asked how it should orientate its products and services in the future. The users were asked which countries, industries and company sizes they come from, but also what PANTONE products should look like in the future and what customers would be prepared to pay for PANTONE services in the future. Question: How much can PANTONE services cost? PANTONE appears to be orientating itself on the PANTONE Connect prices: All price queries have the lowest price category < $ 7,- / month, i.e. … read more
We passed the first proof certification for the 7C proof under FOGRA55
A few days ago Proof GmbH was the first company to be certified for proofing for the new 7C exchange colour space FOGRA55. Fogra has developed characterisation data for extended multicolour printing with the printing colours CMYKOGV – i.e. cyan, magenta, yellow, black (contrast), orange, green and violet – FOGRA55 as part of a research project over the past few years. The characterisation data and the ICC profile Ref-ECG-CMYKOGV_FOGRA55_TAC300.icc have been published on the Fogra website in recent weeks. We have now carried out the certification via GMG ColorProof, as … read more
Fogra Colour Management Symposium 2026 in Munich from 24 to 26 February
The most important colour management event takes place every two years in Munich: the Fogra Colour Management Symposium. Once again this year, all professionals are invited to make the pilgrimage to Munich: two days of lectures, discussions and a Bavarian evening await participants. Matthias Betz, owner of proof.de, will also be there again: for many years, he has been taking advantage of the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues and friends, learn about new technologies, hardware and software, and talk to colleagues from Fogra, freieFarbe, GMG and many more. In … read more
New certified proof papers at proof.de
In recent years, various problems have arisen with our previous proof paper supplier. On the one hand, we sometimes had to wait more than three months for paper deliveries; on the other hand, we sometimes had significant problems with batch-to-batch discrepancies, surface defects and much more. After lengthy deliberations, we decided in December to replace all the paper. We therefore received pallets of new paper at the turn of the year, which we are now gradually incorporating into our production. There will be no hard cut, but the new papers … read more
Proofs with Digimarc EAN codes and verification
Digimarc is a digital watermark that can be used to embed information in images, videos or other media. Digimarc watermarks are invisible to the human eye, but remain recognisable to special software or devices. Digimarc is becoming increasingly popular in the packaging sector in particular, as this technology allows the digits of the EAN barcode and more to be applied invisibly to all areas of the packaging. Digimarc and EAN barcode at the supermarket checkout When scanning at the checkout, the checkout staff do not have to search for the … read more
New in the Proof Shop: Separate invoice email
At long last, we are able to fulfil a request made by many of our customers: from now on, you can register two email addresses in the Proof Shop – one for logging in and receiving status or tracking emails, and a separate one solely for receiving digital PDF invoices. Over the past few years, we have already switched many Proof customers to digital invoicing at their request, i.e. we generated a PDF invoice and then sent it manually to a second email address on file with us in the … read more