How to split mottling on a pharmaceutical label from a lookalike
On a pharmaceutical label, split mottling this way: ink starvation lightens the whole plate together, not in patches. Until you can tell them apart, do not adjust the press for the wrong cause. The solid is dark in one patch and light in another, like cloud.
On a pharmaceutical label, split mottling this way: ink starvation lightens the whole plate together, not in patches. Until you can tell them apart, do not adjust the press for the wrong cause. The solid is dark in one patch and light in another, like cloud.
Name it wrong and you adjust the wrong place
The solid is dark in one patch and light in another, like cloud. Call it something else and you skip this step: pull another sheet and see whether the position moves. If it moves, it is the paper. If it stays, it is the ink or the water. The legal text and the barcode decide whether the label can go. They do not decide what you call it.
How to split them
| What you see | Closer to | How you split them |
|---|---|---|
| The solid is dark in one patch and light in another, like cloud. | mottling | Naming it off a single white spot |
| Ink starvation lightens the whole plate together, not in patches. | Treat it as that other defect | Using the same adjustment |
| It sits on the legal text and the barcode | Hold this area first | Ignoring the position just to give it a name |
Confirm it on the spot
- Look, by eye or with a loupe: The solid is dark in one patch and light in another, like cloud.
- Rule out: Ink starvation lightens the whole plate together, not in patches.
- Pull another sheet and see whether the position moves. If it moves, it is the paper. If it stays, it is the ink or the water.
