Will Wonders Ever Cease?

Whether they are political or technological, most revolutions give way to a period of fine-tuning and incremental improvement. Having shown that they can meet the needs of packaging houses for fast, affordable concept and interim proofing, digital inkjet devices up to 44˝ in width now are proving that they also can satisfy the rigorous demands of legal contract proofing for high-end packaging applications.

Traditionally, inkjet has had difficulties in reproducing trap and overprint characteristics, fine lines and text, moiré patterns, light pastels, and metallics, and has needed special media and color management tools. Because of these issues, brand-sensitive clients still may specify a digital halftone contract proof output on the actual substrate to be used for the finished product. However, these objections are being steadily overcome as inkjet technology edges toward maturity.

Drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet proofers spray CMYK-based dyes or pigment-based inks as droplets onto the proofing media to produce high-quality color proofs that accurately predict what the final jobs will look like on press. Expanded color gamuts, smaller droplet sizes, finer resolutions, better inks, and improved color management are steadily advancing inkjet’s ­acceptability as a legal contract package proof. With these developments, traditional objections are becoming all but moot for most packaging applications. New multi-channel printheads deliver a higher level of fine detail. Finally, UV-curable wide-format printers offer the flexibility to output on a variety of packaging-friendly substrates that can be folded, scored, wrapped, or otherwise manipulated for the production of accurate comps and prototypes.

Fast, user-friendly inkjets are also considerably less expensive than halftone proofers, and are especially well-suited for remote proofing environments. And while the hardware frequently gets the glory, it would be a mistake to overlook the perfect symphony of variables—RIP, drivers, color calibration software, inks, and media—that create a pitch-perfect match from proof to press, minus the need for guesswork or compromise.

Below is a representative sampling of some of the best proofing solutions the market has to offer.

Agfa

Agfa’s :Grand SherpaMatic dual-sided proofing system offers premium color contract proofs, high-speed imposition proofs, and specialty proofing for packaging applications. It has adjustable features to fit the needs of many projects including adjustable thickness, adjustable paper width to handle up to 50˝, modes for single- or double-sided printing, variable resolutions, and controllable speeds. An advanced tumbling system turns the paper for precision accuracy and prevents paper curling.

Agfa :QMS quality management software lets users pinpoint and correct quality deviations. Agfa :ColorTune color management software provides optimum color matches for reliable contract proofing. The :Grand SherpaMatic’s :QMS software system ensures that each :Sherpa engine in a remote location is performing equally to the systems in the main facility. :QMS calibrates each :Sherpa in the workflow to produce the same tonal behavior. This allows a user to maintain proofing standards and provide color repeatability from any :Sherpa at any location.

The :Grand SherpaMatic uses the :Apogee Proofing RIP, so in an Apogee workflow you are using identical digital interpreters. That means you can be confident that what is outputted on your proof is what will image on the plate. Agfa also offers a variety of FOGRA-certified (Fogra Graphic Technology Research Association) proofing media in satin or glossy finishes and a range of weights that are suitable for dye or pigment inks.

DuPont

The company’s new Cromalin® Largo proofers make use of the latest DOD technology with roll-fed proofing substrates to create contract-quality proofs. DuPont expanded-gamut pigment inks, ­DuPont media, and output sizes have been tuned specifically to meet the needs of the graphic arts industry.

Two Cromalin Largo versions are now available, the Largo 2406 with a 24˝ width for 4-up proofing, and the Largo 4406 with a 44˝ width for 8-up signatures or wide-format graphics. All systems include the DuPont Largo ink and Cromanet RIP and color management software, offering a “closed-loop” color calibration process that the company says can be used to match virtually any proofing or press conditions consistently and accurately, ­including difficult spot colors.

EFI

EFI Vutek recently launched EFI Colorproof XF for Flexo, a large-format production solution designed for customers in the packaging industry. Available in M (up to 17˝), XL (18˝-24˝), and XXL (25˝-44˝) output options, Colorproof XF for Flexo is said to create halftone screened inkjet proofs based upon the actual imaging engine used to create proofs. Unique to Colorproof XF, this feature allows customers to achieve challenging dot proofs using inkjet to simulate virtually any packaging scenario.

Epson

Variable DOD printers from Epson’s Stylus Pro line (3800, 4800, 7800, 9800, and 11880), use UltraChrome K3 pigmented inks. Users have a choice of third-party RIPs from CGS, ColorBurst EFI, and GMG. Epson’s Stylus Pro line of wide-format variable DOD printers use the 8-color UltraChrome K3 ink technology with proofing media designed for improved image processing.

Newly enhanced with Vivid Magenta, UltraChrome K3 inks can simulate a wide range of colors and provide an ­accurate proof of what the final package or label will look like when printed on a flexographic printing press. Epson’s variable DOD piezo Stylus Pro 4880, 7880, 9880, and the 64˝ 11880 use the manufacturer’s UltraChrome K3 pigment inks with Vivid Magenta for ­improved image processing.

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard’s 8-ink DesignJet Z2100 printer with GMG Americas’ ColorProof software is designed to deliver a high level of color accuracy and consistency with the use of an ­embedded spectrophotometer. With this capability, ICC profiling is automatic and precise printer calibrations provide predictable results whenever a proof is printed.

The eight HP Vivera pigment ink cartridges contain three black inks: matte black, photo black, and light grey. A user can choose from a wide variety of HP photographic, fine-art, and proofing media or specialty papers from other vendors.

Kodak

Kodak offers several inkjet proofing options, including the 4- and 8-up KODAK Matchprint and 4-up VERIS inkjet devices. The VERIS proofer delivers repeatable, high-resolution 4-up contone (continuous tone) proofs. Based on Kodak-developed multi-drop array inkjet imaging, the VERIS proofer produces a controlled stream of drops at 1500 x 1500 dpi, for high-quality proofs that are accurate predictors of the final printed job. Key improvements include: an expanded gamut ink set, a new high-performance proofing media, the new Certified Process for Color Confirmation, and many Kodak proofing software features that are designed to further enhance color consistency, production accuracy, and remote-proofing functionality. pP