Peter, it mostly about saving ink/money for the printer. Quite common in newspaper settings where it makes a lot of sense, as in folk supplying coated flatsheet separations for web newsprint. It is now becoming more common in other settings, for both economic and environmental concerns.
Basically it is about using a heavier GCR ratio, swapping more K for less CMY, obviously this has both pros and cons.
A free ink density inspection utility for Mac/Win here:
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http://www.tglc.com/english/PerfX/image_ink_saving.html>
Ink reduction is often applied as a DLP back end solution at the RIP, where the GCR of incoming CMYK data (raster and vector) is adjusted to something that the printer prefers – as opposed to what the separator supplied (often without any notice to their customers, whether they wish it or not).
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http://www.tglc.com/english/PerfX/ICC_DeviceLink.html>
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http://www.fineeyecolor.com/icesaver.html>
Regards,
Stephen Marsh
