The software, which comes bundled with an Eye-One spectrophotometer, uses the expanded colour gamut of Kodak's Flexcel NX plates to enable greater replication of spot colours with four-colour process printing.

Northumberland-based packaging pre-press firm Reproflex3, which invested in the Flexcel NX system in April 2010, was the UK beta test site for the Spotless technology.

Joint managing director Trevor Lowes said: "With the NX what we're achieving is about 20% greater colour density and we're holding up a much finer highlight dot, which opens the boundaries up in terms of producing pastel colours as well."

The Spotless technology, which is available immediately priced from £6,000, includes specific features for recipe generation that accommodate the unique minimum dot characteristics of flexo printing.

Lowes said: "What we're building up with a few clients at the minute is their own Pantone libraries – so we're going to print a book of Pantone equivalent colours that is unique to that customer.

"They can then go to their clients – brand owners, design agencies and so on – and say if you want Pantone 365, yes, we can achieve that – or as close as – using this recipe and this mix ."