Agfa Corp.

Today's improved ink jet technology offers an impressive mix of color accuracy, media versatility, and affordability. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor ALL PROOFS ARE not created equal. Nor should they be. The range of proof requisites varies from printer to printer, and from production stage to production stage. While newly developed digital halftone systems get closer to ultimate color matching (see next month's PrePress article for more details), ink jet-based digital proofing comprises the all-round best solution for many prepress programs. Suppliers' keen interest in developing both drop-on-demand and continuous ink jet devices testifies to contone's strong foothold within the packaging market. On the

Advanced Prepress Graphics Flexo prepress tradeshop producing Cyrel high-definition flexo plates and film. Announcing two new formats: 42 in. x 80 in. plates and 36 in. x 44 in. film output. E-mail flexoplates@aol.com. Visit www.flexoprepress.com Agfa Lithostar Ultra plates are high-resolution aluminum plates that can be handled in yellow safelight conditions. The Thermostar P970 is the ideal choice for VLF applications, while the Thermostar P971 thermal imaging plate is optimized for internal drum infrared systems. For high-quality, fine screen work, Agfa offers the Howson Primera. Robust coating and substrate structure make the Howson Super Marathon perfect for long runs. Visit www.agfa.com

McCoy Packaging's "Kuleto Villa" wine label poured on enough printing charm to ace two categories and capture Best of Show honors in packagePRINTING's 15th annual Excellence Awards. by Susan Friedman, Editor If McCoy Packaging's Best of Show-winning strategy was to forge an indelible impression in the judge's minds, it succeeded, hands down. McCoy's "Kuleto Villa" wine label repeatedly stood up to its competitors in packagePRINTING's 2001 Excellence Awards, initially nabbing first place in the Labels—Flexo (Process) category, where judges singled it out as a difficult printing, diecutting, and embossing job well executed. "[This label] holds beautiful register at 175 line screen," commented judge Roy

The color management process hinges on consistency and the interoperability of print job components. By Jessica Millward, Associate Editor Call it the ultimate communicator. Your typical color management system (CMS) is charged with translating the appearance of color from origination source to monitor to proof. And this is no rough translation. Nuance means everything in the realm of color—the difference between sun-ripened yellow and burnt orange. The ongoing evolution of printing from art to science has initiated the systemization of color management. The challenge for CMS originators now is to keep the lines of communication open between themselves, their customers, and even their competitors.

Digital technology, working with conventional processes or on its own, is making package personalization a more tangible marketing tactic. by Terri McConnell The label and packaging industries were among the first to harness the power of digital technology for variable data printing. Employing ion deposition and inkjet print heads driven by computerized controllers, we've been marking products with bar codes, expiration dates, security codes, and sequential numbers for a long time. But we may have only scratched the surface of the potential offered by the latest crop of digital printing solutions. In its most highly evolved form, variable data printing is the science of

What tricks can help printers handle trapping's complexities? By Terri McConnell An in-house prepress and plating operation can provide more precise control over image reproduction and can significantly reduce turnaround times, while offering tremendous flexibility for coping with last-minute remakes and inevitable scheduling changes. Some printers are electing to bring only the final "output" phase of the process in-house. They still rely on trade shops or color separators to perform all the magic required to transform a desktop packaging design into a plate-ready electronic job file that can be fed into a computer-controlled imaging device. And it is magic; design files supplied by the

Implementing CTP may be viewed as a technological journey whose length and destination depend on your operation's starting point. by Terri McConnell Since its phenomenal debut at DRUPA in 1995, computer-to-plate (CTP) technology has been integrated into the daily routines of printers across nearly every commercial and packaging application. Why? Because the benefits of imaging directly to the printing plate surface from digital data are irrefutable. Digitally imaged plates carry sharper dots and are capable of delivering a wider color gamut. They register better on press. They are free of pinholes and the effects of light diffusion associated with analog film-based plate production. CTP

Package printers have platefuls of digital printing options to plow through. by Susan Friedman Heads up! Digital printing developments are hurtling past from all angles...aiming for the heart of package printing needs. The quickest way to the heart may be through the stomach, but what mix of ingredients will tempt converters to pick up their forks and truly dig into digital printing with gusto? Here's a look at what's bubbling on the stove in suppliers' test kitchens...as well as what's already served and steaming on packaging's table. Nilpeter's DL 3300, which runs on Xeikon's electrophotographic simplex print engine, has doubled its speed to run

Package printers are just now beginning to see the light at the end of a long tunnel of confusing, and often ill-fitting file formats. by Terri McConnell Even dynamite could not have changed the face manufacturing infrastructure of the printing industry more than the advent of desktop publishing and the subsequent adoption of PostScript. Up to that point, prepress automation was directed by a handful of highly-specialized equipment suppliers who built color electronic prepress systems (CEPS) around laser-powered film output devices. CEPS were, for the most part, closed, proprietary environments—not a big problem as long as the origin and form of printing content were

Packaging-specific prepress technologies are opening new lines of communication, unprecedented quality-enhancement opportunities for printers, and strategic alliances between suppliers. by Terri McConnell "It doesn't get any better than this" was one of the first principles I was taught 15 years ago as a fledgling mechanical artist. Thankfully the statement wasn't a commentary on my career potential—it was a strong warning that as layouts moved through the analog printing process, image quality had generally nowhere to go but down. I also remember another warning: "When a press operator walks through those swinging doors carrying plates, pray he's not looking for you." In those days, little