The Proof Is in the Package

Think the proof is in the pudding? Au contraire. The proof is in the package, and thereby hangs a tale. Almost by definition, package proofing is fraught with specific challenges; among them, the need for can’t-miss color accuracy and the use of both traditional (board, corrugated) and non-traditional substrates, including hard-to-handle materials like clear plastic and metallic foil. Despite all the buzz about monitor-based proofing, most package printers continue to provide what most high-value brand owners still demand: a hard copy contract proof output on the actual substrate to be used for the package, or an accurate inkjet simulation, each rendered as closely to the way the item will look when it finally hits the retail shelf in living Pantone, custom, brand, or corporate color.

As digital proofing systems installations in packaging environments increase, thermal halftone and inkjet devices are finding their place (often side by side) in packaging workflows. Whether inkjet proofs are acceptable beyond the conceptual and interim stages of package production will continue to be debated, but there is no doubt that increasingly capable inkjet technologies are giving traditional digital halftone proofers a hard run for their money.

Inkjet or thermal? That depends.

Achieving the closest possible match between the proof and the printing press is the objective here, of course, with the larger goal of ensuring a predictable, repeatable printed result throughout the print run. Effective package proofing solutions are engineered to remove variability from the process and integrate easily with digital workflows. In addition, they will be able to accurately reproduce trap and overprint characteristics, together with the fine lines and text that are critical in package design. Inks or dyes, media, RIPs, and color management tools (whether built in or not), all play important supporting roles.

Digital (thermal) halftone proofers use screening and high resolution to match screening and resolution on press, typically offering CMYK and special Pantone colors, in addition to extended color sets like Hexachrome and Opaltone. Most important, thermal halftone devices claim to limit dot gain and achieve a high degree of repeatability by proofing directly on the packaging substrate. Prepress features include halftone patterns, calibrated inks, and built-in press profiles. Although the price of halftone proofing devices continues to come down, they are still more expensive than inkjet devices and use proprietary, rather than off-the-shelf, consumables. And while digital halftone proofing is a fairly mature technology by now, improvements in automation and an expanded range of format sizes suggest that an old dog still can learn a few new tricks.

Drop-on-demand inkjet proofers spray CMYK-based dyes or pigment-based inks as droplets onto the proofing media. On the whole, they are fast, affordable, user-friendly, and produce images of near-photographic quality. Lower-cost inkjet supplies, including specialized inkjet transfer media, purchased from the manufacturer or off the shelf, broaden the appeal of inkjet devices, especially for concept or imposition proofing, color checks, and quality control. While inkjet devices tend to be less expensive than halftone proofers, some argue that inkjet’s difficulty in displaying fine lines and text, its moiré patterns, light pastels and metallics, and special media, coupled with the need for color management tools to prevent dot gain compromise its price advantage and preclude its use as a contract proof, especially in the packaging realm. However, these objections are steadily being overcome as smaller droplet sizes, finer resolutions, better inks, and improved color management lead to improved image quality, advancing inkjet’s acceptability as a legal contract proof.

With those definitions in mind, here are some of the newest options to arrive on the package proofing scene.

Digital halftone

Fujifilm’s FinalProof GxT is said to achieve unprecedented spot color matches by using the green and orange spot color donors in conjunction with the process donors. It includes a PANTONE-licensed library and uses 300-LPI Co-Res screening technology to build spot colors with no visible rosette pattern. Process colors are built with standard screen rulings. Metallics are created by using dot percentages of any combination of donors along with the silver donor. The system also offers opaque white for proofing on metallic foils or clear-base substrates.

The latest addition to Kodak’s Approval family of digital halftone proofers combines color accuracy and speed to create an attractive tool for both commercial and package printers. The Approval NX is a high-resolution device that can use a variety of actual press stocks via off-line lamination. Featuring Kodak Rapid Recipe Color technology, the Approval NX reportedly can image metallic colors and opaque white, in addition to Pantone’s Hexachrome system and most spot colors, in significantly less time than previous Kodak Approval systems.

Latran Technologies’ Prediction 4600 is the newest member of its Prediction family of automatic digital halftone proofing systems. Prediction outputs screened 1-bit TIFFs using a thermal laser and pigmented ink donor sheets. Offering automated processing for up to 22˝ x 30˝ proofs, the Prediction 4600 can laminate to common flexographic substrates such as clear plastic, adhesive labels, foils, polybags, and board stocks, and can be programmed to pull the desired combination of ink sheets and substrates from 10 media trays. To extend Prediction’s functionality even further, Latran recently introduced its Dalmation spot color software, as well as a purple ink sheet to go with its green, red, blue and orange ink sheets.

Inkjet

Available in 50-, 64-, and 80-inch ­sizes, Agfa’s :Grand Sherpa digital inkjet proofers are said to feature 1400 x 1400 dpi resolution, variable dot size, 8-color capability, and 2-minute print speeds. The :ColorTune Pro color management software ensures optimum color consistency and can be configured for dyes or pigment-based inks.

Driven by new DuPont Cromanet color management software, DuPont’s Cromalin® blue series of inkjet proofing systems reportedly produces contract-quality proofs using DuPont 8-color ink and speciality proofing media. The system features a new high-resolution print head and a double-speed print mode. It also includes an embedded spectrophotometer for automatic spectral calibration and color proof verification.

Tempest in a teapot

Whether inkjet will eventually replace digital halftone proofing will largely ­depend on evolving customer requirements and preferences. While some brand-sensitive CPCs undoubtedly will resist any move away from the true halftone dot, others will be seduced by the extended inkjet color gamut that is so well-suited to specialty packaging work, despite the need for ICC-based color management to manage flexography’s dot gain curve.

Meanwhile, thermal halftone manufacturers are working to lower the costs, boost the speeds, and expand the capabilities of those devices to make them more competitive—as well as more compatible—with inkjet.

Notes Richard Deroo, director of marketing and strategic alliances for Latran, “Dalmation alone has opened up so many more possibilities for our customers, a high percentage of whom are already inkjet users (for non-contract proofing). We see these customers investing in thermal halftone devices because they understand the practical limitations of inkjet technology and want to the capability to produce mock-ups and production-quality samples—as well as legal contract proofs—on the exact substrate to be used. Substrate flexibility is a huge advantage for digital halftone proofing systems like Prediction.”

Some think the transition is inevitable. “Inkjet will continue to replace halftone digital in packaging as well as in commercial printing environments,” says Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa’s senior marketing manager, digital solutions. “Inkjet has improved in quality and such quality improvements are being made all the time. Inkjet is also much more economical than traditional halftone, helping to shepherd it along as halftone’s replacement.”

The fact is, inkjet and digital halftone devices are already working productively, side by side in packaging environments, each technology playing to its strengths and serving as a complement to the other. If the result of that cooperation is the creation of a better, more visually arresting package and speedier time to market, why, there’s every reason to rejoice. pP