Remote Proofing is Outtasight
January 2006
|
Industry experts lend their advice on the best ways to approach remote proofing for packaging.
IT HAS BEEN observed that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except that she did it backwards and in high heels. It's the same with proofing (Fred) and remote proofing (Ginger).
Throw in the complex proofing requirements of packaging printers and a straightforward series of dance steps becomes an intricate high-wire act, in which the accurate long-distance reproduction of graphics, text, placement, and structure—as well as the matching of special brand or logo colors—can make or break an important job. Like commercial printers, packaging printers can save time and money through remote proofing, provided the image that is sent is consistent with the proof made on the other end and the proofer that will be used to print it.
To gain a better understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of remote proofing for packaging, packagePRINTING spoke with Jim Summers, president, GMG Americas; Deborah Hutcheson, senior marketing manager, Digital Solutions, North America, Agfa; John Sweeney, vice president sales and marketing ICS, Inc.; Brian Ashe, eastern regional applications manager, GretagMacBeth; and Pat Lord, product manager, remote proofing, Kodak Graphic Communications Group. Each of these companies has a stake in the development and adoption of remote proofing technology. We began with a definition of some frequently slippery terms:
pP: What is remote proofing, and how does it differ from soft proofing, online collaborative proofing, and monitor contract proofing?
Ashe—Remote proofing, monitor contract proofing, and soft proofing are essentially the same thing. Remote proofing, however, is aimed at getting rid of the contract proof, replacing the FedEx packages back and forth with approval in a few minutes over the phone. People who sell remote proofing systems use our instruments to create the monitor profiles for the press they're trying to simulate.
Hutcheson—A remote proofing solution that links brand owner, designer, trade shop, and printing/converting players together is the ideal solution to cut cost and save time in any packaging project. In remote proofing, digital files are sent from a printer to a customer or a designer who views them locally. A remote proof can either be a hard copy proof or a soft copy proof. Soft proofs are also referred to as display or monitor proofs. Hard copy remote proofs are traditionally inkjet proofs. Soft proofing limits the viewing of the file to the monitor—no hard copy is required. Some customers combine the two processes. They use soft proofs for their content proofs or to reduce the number of hard copy proofs produced during the proofing cycle and only output a hard copy proof as the final proof. This can be done at the host site (the print shop) or at the remote site. The remote customer can view the soft proof, sign off on it, and then output a hard copy proof of that file. Online collaborative proofing is usually done in a Web-based environment in which participants can view the same image at the same time and make comments live.
IT HAS BEEN observed that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except that she did it backwards and in high heels. It's the same with proofing (Fred) and remote proofing (Ginger).
Throw in the complex proofing requirements of packaging printers and a straightforward series of dance steps becomes an intricate high-wire act, in which the accurate long-distance reproduction of graphics, text, placement, and structure—as well as the matching of special brand or logo colors—can make or break an important job. Like commercial printers, packaging printers can save time and money through remote proofing, provided the image that is sent is consistent with the proof made on the other end and the proofer that will be used to print it.
To gain a better understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of remote proofing for packaging, packagePRINTING spoke with Jim Summers, president, GMG Americas; Deborah Hutcheson, senior marketing manager, Digital Solutions, North America, Agfa; John Sweeney, vice president sales and marketing ICS, Inc.; Brian Ashe, eastern regional applications manager, GretagMacBeth; and Pat Lord, product manager, remote proofing, Kodak Graphic Communications Group. Each of these companies has a stake in the development and adoption of remote proofing technology. We began with a definition of some frequently slippery terms:
pP: What is remote proofing, and how does it differ from soft proofing, online collaborative proofing, and monitor contract proofing?
Ashe—Remote proofing, monitor contract proofing, and soft proofing are essentially the same thing. Remote proofing, however, is aimed at getting rid of the contract proof, replacing the FedEx packages back and forth with approval in a few minutes over the phone. People who sell remote proofing systems use our instruments to create the monitor profiles for the press they're trying to simulate.
Hutcheson—A remote proofing solution that links brand owner, designer, trade shop, and printing/converting players together is the ideal solution to cut cost and save time in any packaging project. In remote proofing, digital files are sent from a printer to a customer or a designer who views them locally. A remote proof can either be a hard copy proof or a soft copy proof. Soft proofs are also referred to as display or monitor proofs. Hard copy remote proofs are traditionally inkjet proofs. Soft proofing limits the viewing of the file to the monitor—no hard copy is required. Some customers combine the two processes. They use soft proofs for their content proofs or to reduce the number of hard copy proofs produced during the proofing cycle and only output a hard copy proof as the final proof. This can be done at the host site (the print shop) or at the remote site. The remote customer can view the soft proof, sign off on it, and then output a hard copy proof of that file. Online collaborative proofing is usually done in a Web-based environment in which participants can view the same image at the same time and make comments live.
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
