True Colors

Choose the right tools to make sure your colors match—everywhere!

November 2008 by Jean-Marie Hershey

multipage

• Spectrophotometers are used to measure color and are useful in creating ICC profiles or printed materials. Because they measure spectral rather than colorimetric data, they provide the most accurate color information.

• Colorimeters, which break down color appearance into numerical CIE values, are used for monitor profiling only.

• Densitometers measure the volume of ink being laid down on a substrate. As useful as they are for prepress process control, densitometers cannot guarantee accuracy in terms of shades of color.

Farther downstream, useful quality-control measures include monitoring press runs with inline camera-based systems and employing multi-channel densitometric systems to read the widest range of colors to and provide the press operator with continuous, real-time feedback, reports X-Rite’s Garvis. It is also a good idea to monitor incoming raw materials (e.g. inks) for consistency and accuracy prior to using them on press, she says. Adds Heidelberg’s Koehler, “It is important to place quality control elements on the press form somewhere that will allow process monitoring. In packaging, many times these are placed on the individual products on flaps or folds so that they can be monitored.”

As part of its comprehensive Prinect production workflow, Heidelberg offers integrated tools that can streamline the process of multicolor calibration and profiling in conjunction with the company’s Image Control spectrophotometric color measuring system. Chief among these are Heidelberg’s Prinect Color Toolbox with Profile Tool, Quality Monitor and Calibration Tool, as well as the recently introduced Near Neutral Optimizer, which can be used to create plate curves that comply with GRACoL7, ISO, or to match different processes and materials on different output devices or presses. According to Koehler, Near Neutral Optimizer uses ICC profiles or user-defined reference values to calibrate directly to the neutral tone characteristics of the reference profile itself, meaning that users no longer have to rely on tone value.

Kodak Colorflow Software is said to align color across devices, enabling integrated color control with Kodak’s Prinergy Workflow System. It unifies all the color elements—such as the creation, editing, and managing of ICC profiles, curves, and spot color recipes—managing the relationship between them and the device print conditions. Using 4- 5-, 6-, and 7-color Kodak Spotless technology allows spot colors both inside and outside the CMYK gamut to be reproduced with process colors rather than special inks. The payoff for printers comes in the form of reduced press downtime and increased efficiency, while designers and print buyers can specify a greater variety of spot colors.

X-Rite offers an array of instruments and software solutions to enhance color management and process control in package printing. Software includes the XML-based CxF Color Exchange Format for accurate communication of color across devices and processes; ProfileMaker Packaging software for the creation of profiles; and InkFormulation and ColorQuality software for ink consistency and control. The company’s line of i1 solutions combine hardware and software for calibration of monitors, scanners, and printers. It includes the i1iSis automatic chart reader with Optical Brightener Compensation and the i1iO automated chart reader that measures substrates up to 10 mm thick, including corrugated cardboard, ceramics, and polybag. Other packaging-specific instrumentation includes X-Rite’s 500 Series, SpectroEye, and 939 spectro/photo/densitometers for print quality verification; vipFLEX2 plate reader for flexographic plates; and vipPAQ multi-channel inline densitometer for flexo and gravure presses.

Sea to shining sea—and beyond

Today’s package printers find themselves increasingly operating in a global environment. The red on a can of soda must look the same in Turkey as it does in Omaha. Likewise, the blue on a label of beer has to look the same no matter where it is printed. Prepress plays a critical factor. Not investing in the tools that help you meet customer demands is a misstep. In today’s economy, making sure a product stands out wherever it ends up is paramount. A lighter red very well might be the difference between the sale and non-sale. pP

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