Color/Quality Control - Software

Color management commonly describes measures undertaken to ensure color integrity from design through printed output. “Brand” color management ups the ante, so to speak, by attempting to identify, communicate, and reproduce vivid, accurate corporate spot and brand colors on packaging materials from design concept to shipment.

GHENT, Belgium—The Ghent Workgroup (GWG) has released the first free “Proof of Preflight” specification, designed to allow users to easily verify PDF file integrity. When implemented in a software solution, this best practice specification offers users the ability to review a PDF file’s preflight audit trail, including a digital signature, at any time during the design-to-print workflow. This capability provides users the assurance that they can safely accept a PDF file with a Proof of Preflight. The process verifies which GWG preflight specification was used to preflight the file and also the outcome of the preflight check. Another feature of the GWG Proof of

There can be little argument about the role of proofing in package-printing workflows. An acceptable proof has three essential qualities: it’s fast, affordable, and color-accurate. Achieving the closest possible match between the proof and the printing press is the objective here, with the larger goal of ensuring a predictable, repeatable printed result throughout the print run. A proof that matches the press run saves printers time and money, and generates less waste on the print job, thereby keeping customers satisfied. Trade shops that deliver fast, color-accurate proofs that do not break the bank not only fulfill a commitment to their printer customers, but also

Digital technology is rapidly changing the way consumer packages are conceptualized and proofed. Digital drop-on-demand (DOD) proofing using color-calibrated large-format inkjet devices (typically 24˝ to 44˝ in width and roll-fed) has made significant headway in packaging environments. This is because manufacturers continue to develop aqueous, solvent, and UV-based solutions capable of precise color accuracy and increased substrate flexibility at higher speeds and lower costs than ever before. Are there limitations? Of course, and for higher-end, color-critical applications, a digital halftone proof may be preferable, but the quality gap is closing. Digital wide-format flatbed inkjet devices up to 100˝ in width are also finding a

Consider this: It might not have taken our ancestors thousands of years to perfect the working wheel if they’d had access to 3D visualization technologies. Because new designs often incur unexpected problems, a physical prototype is often built to test the appearance and/or function of a new design before starting production. All prototypes have their genesis in two fundamental questions: What will it look like? and, How will it perform? Correctly executed, all prototypes also have in common an ability to speed the design process by enabling marketers, key decision makers, and retail buyers to evaluate new packaging as it will really look and/or

Most people never think of packaging as a life-or-death proposition, but for companies that handle the intricate and complex business of pharmaceutical packaging, that’s exactly what’s at stake. With counterfeiting becoming a growing international problem, the integrity of a pharmaceutical brand and the confidence of consumers in that brand depend to a large extent on the security and traceability of data prior to print. The introduction of new drugs requiring more information drives new layouts to support the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) labeling requirements for pharmaceutical inserts, brochures, directional circulars, and patient information labeling. This makes compliance a critical element of pharmaceutical

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

ROCHESTER, N.Y.,—At the upcoming Package Design 07 Conference, Kodak will show package designers and brand owners how a combination of workflow, thermal computer to plate, and digital proofing solutions can help ensure consistent, accurate brand colors and packaging. Co-produced by Packaging Strategies and Package Design Magazine, the Package Design 07 Conference takes place Jan. 30–Feb. 1 at the International Plaza Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla. In addition to exhibiting, Kodak serves as a sponsor of the three-day conference. “We’re going to the Package Design Conference to talk with brand owners and package designers about how KODAK solutions can help them deliver high impact

These days, the proof isn’t just in the pudding. It’s on screen and on the move, instantaneously bound for far-flung destinations along the information superhighway, a pixilated facsimile of the real thing. The advantages are obvious: reduced cycle time, fewer interim proofs, and a richer collaborative environment, for starters. But how applicable are the principles of remote proofing to the realm of package printing? This month we spoke with Tyler Harrell, solutions and innovations manager, Esko-Graphics; Gee Ranasinha, director of marketing, DALiM Software; Jim Summers, president of GMG Americas; and John Sweeney, vice president, sales and marketing, Integrated Color Solutions to learn just how

NORWELL, Mass.—GMG Americas announced that it has installed GMG ColorServer and GMG ColorProof at Rochester institute of Technology (RIT) for research of color-managed solutions. The system will be used to measure and determine how color management systems react to different graphic elements. The Color Management Systems Lab of the School of Print Media at RIT primarily supports teaching and research activities in color measurement, color quality assurance, and color management systems for digital imaging, print production, and process control. For example, recent reports published by the CMS lab include “The effect of dot gain linearization as a printer calibration criteria on color matching accuracy” and