FIRST Methodology Takes a ‘By the Numbers’ 
Approach

By the numbers

According to Madigan, the need for FIRST proceeds from the lack of integrated reading and measurement devices (as in offset) that enable operators to push a button and automatically take a reading.

"In flexo, we have to hand-read everything throughout our process in order to control it," says Madigan. "There are some tools that enable you to double-check your work, but they're hand-held by people who actually go in and look at the job. In the plateroom, for example, you have to purposely put a test pattern where you want it to be, take your readings by hand, and document them by hand. It's the same in the graphics area. The software helps, but you actually have to manually highlight your cyan, magenta, yellow, and black and write it down."