PRINTED SUBSTRATE FOR FORMULATING INK AND METHOD FOR FORMULATING INK

1 . A method for formulating an ink for a gravure printing press, the method comprising:

digitally printing of a decor and a patch onto a substrate, the patch including at least one color reference area, the color reference area including at least one digital ink, wherein the patch is located on a part of the substrate that is substantially free of the decor;

measuring a color of the at least one color reference area of the patch;

adjusting a tone of an ink for gravure printing to match the color of the at least one color reference area of the patch.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of measuring comprises measuring of a color using a visual inspection or a spectrophotometer.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising mixing the tone of the ink for gravure printing with a blend comprising additional constituents chosen from a group comprising solvents, dispersants, enhancers, antioxidants and stabilizers, to obtain an ink for a gravure printing press.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ink for gravure printing is a UV curable ink, a water-based ink, or a solvent-based ink.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the digitally printing of the decor and the patch is a multi-pass digital printing.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the digitally printing of the decor and the patch is a single-pass digital printing.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , comprising printing at least two printed decors situated apart from each other;

wherein the patch is printed between the at least two printed decors.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising printing multiple patches.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the digital ink is selected from the group consisting of Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black, Red, light cyan, light magenta, and Brown.

10 . A method for manufacturing a decor paper for laminate panels, the method comprising:

providing an ink formulated in a method according to claim 1 ;

providing a second substrate;

printing the second substrate with an analog printing technique using the ink.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the second substrate comprises a paper sheet or a thermoplastic foil.

12 . A method for manufacturing a panel having a decorative surface, the method comprising:

providing a printed substrate that is a substrate printed using an ink formulated by the method according to claim 1 ; and

laminating the printed substrate onto a support to obtain a laminated panel.

13 . The method according to claim 12 , further comprising impregnating the printed substrate before the step of laminating.

14 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the step of laminating is a direct pressure lamination (DPL) or a high pressure lamination (HPL) or a thermal lamination.

15 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the support is fabricated from a wood-based material or of a thermoplastic material.

16 . The method according to claim 12 , further comprising providing a wear layer and/or lacquer layer above the printed substrate.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein the step of providing the wear layer is performed at the moment of laminating the printed substrate on the support.

18 . The method according to claim 12 , further comprising providing a tongue and a groove for coupling the panel with an adjacent panel.

19 . A method for manufacturing a panel having a decorative surface, the method comprising:

providing a printed substrate obtained with the method according to claim 10 ; and

laminating the printed substrate onto a support to obtain a laminated panel.