Poor trapping (ink on ink)

Medium severity

Symptoms

Second color won't take over the first; dirty overprint colors

Probable causes

  • Wrong tack sequence
  • first ink too dry or too heavy

The Print Guy · 2026-10-05

Other problems in this category

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-037

Ink misting

Ink fog soiling press and sheets; ink smell in the air

Medium severity

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-038

Hickeys

Ink dots surrounded by a white halo in solids

Medium severity

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-039

Mechanical ghosting

Ghost image repeating at roller circumference distance

Medium severity

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-043

Chalking

Dry ink rubs off as powder

Medium severity

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-030

Ink over-emulsification

Washed-out colors, short ink that won't transfer, watery haze

High severity

Offset – Ink/Water · TPG-031

Tinting (ink in non-image areas)

Slight uniform tint across the whole sheet

High severity
All Offset – Ink/Water problems (14) →

Other categories

Offset – Mechanical/Paper (12)Paper/Board (10)Plates (CTP) (7)