Offset Printing
HEIDELBERG TO OFFER SPECIAL PREVIEW OF NEAR-NEUTRAL CALIBRATION TOOL AT IPA TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
Wednesday 16. April 2008 - Heidelberg USA will unveil its near-neutral calibration tool, scheduled for release later this year as part of the Prinect Color Toolbox, at the 2008 IPA Technical Conference in Chicago April 22-24. The new functionality, based on open ICC standards, will enable different output devices to calibrate to a common visual appearance - giving customers consistent color from any press.
“The traditional way of calibrating is to pick a dot gain target and calibrate to a dot,” said Mark Tonkovich, Heidelbergs product manager for CtP and proofing. “Our near-neutral utility uses profiles or user-defined reference values to calibrate directly to the neutral tone characteristics of the reference profile itself, meaning the greatest possible color accuracy. It gives our customers a clear and simple way to calibrate their CtP device so each press will give the same print result.”
Near-neutral calibration works by comparing a profile made from an uncalibrated press sheet to a known reference (or standard) profile, then calculating appropriate plate calibration curves to create the neutral ramp. “One of the great strengths of near neutral is the ability to use an industry-standard reference file, or for users to create custom reference files based on their own unique printing conditions,” said Chuck Koehler, senior demonstrator for print quality standards.
A perennial challenge in the industry is delivering a common visual appearance from different output devices. Near-neutral calibration means that print consumers, from ad agencies to design firms, can be assured of consistent color from any press a bonus for print shops trying to secure their business.
“Its much easier to calibrate using one common profile for different presses or output devices,” Koehler said. “Dot gain calibration does not always equate to a common visual appearance on different presses. The near-neutral tool will allow our customers to easily calibrate to the industry standard profile or other reference file of their choosing.”
A working model of the new tool will be on display in Chicago. Heidelbergs near-neutral calibration tool is in the final stages of development and scheduled for release by the end of this year.
In addition to the “sneak preview” of near-neutral calibration functionality, Heidelberg also will demonstrate new profile and quality features of its just-released Prinect Color Toolbox 3.0. “The Prinect Profile Tool employs new and improved algorithms to generate ICC profiles, which provides more accurate profiles,” Tonkovich said.
Prinect Quality Monitor is a quality control tool used for both short-term and long-term quality assessment. Heidelberg has improved its long-term assessment functionality by allowing the capture of up to 10,000 data sets, which provides an excellent and accurate long-term analysis tool for printing, proofing and plating.
These latest offerings are part of Heidelbergs Prinect family of integrated workflow solutions.