Page 58 - Print21 Jan-Feb 2020

Software
or Illustrator artwork with the correct Adobe PDF export settings. By doing so, when you export the artwork to PDF X-4 standard, you get a predictable build PDF with a colour output.
“After that is how you normalise the PDF – this is the key. This means people know what the colour space of the file is, as well as output intent, which is the colour space you would like to achieve on the paper from the printing device.
“We need to normalise the PDF to the PDF X-4 standard using the ISO Coated-v2 as colour output intent, using programs like Callas PDFToolbox Server, or Enfocus
“It’s one thing to colour manage your print process, but you need procedures in place to monitor and evaluate colour as well.” – David Crowther, Colour Graphic Services
what I recommend to any customers whether they’ve been with us for fifteen years or are just signing on,” he says.
Roussange says that prepress steps should be automated to achieve consistency in print.
“This is what I’m offering to printers. First, I need to understand how they work – I scope their workflow and find out how things are processed internally. From there, we work back to the source to explain how PDFs should be supplied; it’s an easy change in the settings to how you export your PDF from Indesign or Illustrator.
“You also need to manage and
set up the colour output on the rip technology in place. Between those, normalising the PDF is the key,”
he says.
Brighter news
According to Roussange, colour management has changed over
the last decade, with equipment manufacturers doing a much better job of monitoring colour than they once did.
“Today, if you buy a new machine, the colour management has improved dramatically across digital platforms. The calibration on these is being taken over by the manufacturer, where ten years ago it was people like David Crowther and me.
“Auto-calibration is being embedded in the technology to keep colour consistent; however, you still need a good quality control process of the print output for a predictable colour reproduction using third party quality control measuring instruments and software to monitor those printing devices, and normalisation is still important as
a normalised PDF will always give a predictable print,” he says.
Crowther adds that printers looking to invest in colour management technology should ask themselves what it will do for them.
“Ask yourself if you can use this technology with all equipment
and print processes within your organisation, if you have someone capable of using it effectively, what the supplier’s training and support is like, and what the warranty is on the technology,” he says.
Follow that advice, and you should be able to paint a better picture of your colour needs than ever before. 21
Pitstop Server in conjunction with Enfocus Switch automation. This means we have a consistent PDF output,” he says.
Roussange says Soltect helps put in place workflow to normalise PDFs by fixing all discrepancies.
“The printer can then have a printable colour output. We help customers understand what they want to achieve.
“At the end of all this, by following those three steps, the customer can expect the correct, predictable colour reproduction. At Soltect, we work
on the process of colour, and this is
G7 Expert advice: David Crowther, the Colour Doctor
Closing the loop with Starleaton on older offset presses
Graphic arts supplier Starleaton offers a number of closed-loop colour management solutions that it says allow printers to automate older offset presses to perform like newer models, recouping investments in as little as six to 12 months.
According to Starleaton, the
manual colour management process of measuring colour bars and adjusting ink keys takes time, can result in operator error, and wastes ink and paper as the press continues to run.
To counteract this, Starleaton offers products such as Rutherford’s IntelliLoop colour management software, which it describes as a full- featured closed-loop colour control solution that works in conjunction with X-Rite’s IntelliTrax2 automated scanning system.
IntelliLoop helps streamline print operations, says Starleaton, by reducing make-ready times; minimising waste
of both ink and substrates; and automatically checking for colour drift in outputs. When used in conjunction with IntelliTrax2, Starleaton says IntelliLoop can provide both press-side colour control and on-press colour correction
to meet new G7 and PSO/Fogra process control requirements. Most makes, models, and vintages of colour offset presses can be retrofitted with colour scanning software and hardware like this, the supplier adds.
Starleaton supplies IntelliLoop,
as well as X-Rite solutions like the IntelliTrax 2 and the eXact Auto-Scan versatile scanning solution. It bills IntelliTrax 2 as able to provide an
instant on-screen report after scanning the colour bar of a typical press sheet in less than 10 seconds – its advanced imaging technology automatically adjusts the scanning head to locate
the colour bar and ensure faster sheet positioning and accurate measurements every time, while its non-contact scanning method eliminates smudges or scratches.
The eXact Auto-Scan can measure
a 40-inch colour bar in less than 15 seconds, says Starleaton, which reduces the risk of human error and cuts make- ready time by more than 30 per cent.
Its Bluetooth technology allows it to report what Starleaton describes as immediate and comprehensive colour data, allowing press operators to quickly make adjustments to the run.
58 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020