Heidelberg PrintOpen color management software application examples (on)

Prepress experts often refer to color management software as "a godsend." This article describes the application examples of Heidelberger's PrintOpen color management software and the importance of color management in print production.

Prepress

The Matthews Packaging Graphics and Design Company and Heidelberger speak the same language - the color language - because the company uses a lot of Heidelberger PrintOpen color management software. According to company manager Kevin Chop, Matthews has been using PrintOpen for three years. Its parent company, Matthews Intl, is a major supplier of prepress and imaging systems. Corrugated packaging and flexible packaging manufacturers use this system to copy text, graphics, logos, bar codes and other images on packaging materials. Chop said that Matthews has been able to collaborate with different levels of manufacturers due to mergers and diversified production.

General ideas

The Characterization Profile of the International Color Consortium (ICC) is a color language that lays the foundation for standardized communication tools. Color characterization calibration is very important because it can control the production process and quality, thus improving the overall efficiency of different production processes. Once the characteristics of the various input and output processes have been determined, color management should be able to ensure the links between the various processes. Heidelberg's PrintOpen will do this.

intermediary

Matthews Intl has a worldwide network of 11 and 8 offices in North America and Europe, respectively, which enables it to meet the needs of well-known customers. Chop explained that Matthews PG&D occasionally offers some special customers some fixed color management services. However, as the manager of a pre-press manufacturer, Matthews' main task is to control brand equity. The company works with advertising agencies, manufacturers, printers, and publishers to meet the requirements of well-known manufacturers with appropriate output methods.

Welcome to my space

The color space of the press is different, and there are many reasons for this difference, such as: different inks, paper grades, or ink order. To ensure reliable color reproduction, all input units in the production process must deliver the correct color information to the output device.

The characterization of colors ensures the accuracy of critical data. The PrintOpen function is very versatile and can be used for flexo, offset, silk screen, gravure and other printing methods. PrintOpen is one of the two components of the Prinect characterization calibration kit in Heidelberg. The other is a quality monitor that can perform process program monitoring tasks and check sample and print color quality.

According to Chop, PrintOpen for the first time produced a printed form (fingerprints, features or test patterns) that were produced on a designated flexographic, offset or gravure printing device. By printing this form on the press, you can understand the status of the press. The printed result is then entered into PrintOpen, measured with a spectrophotometer and the measurement results are used to make the ICC characterization profile for the selected press.

When it's time to print, Matthews calibrates the press and arranges a project team to check the customer's job. We want to regard printers as our customers and to increase our profits through precise color management and high-quality proofing.

Eyes can't see

Raymond Cassino, head of the prepress product management department at Heidelberg in the United States, said that, like beautiful looks, colors can be preserved in the viewer's eyes. If a supplier wants to win and retain customers in the fierce market competition, it must use a reliable method to reproduce color.

Cassino explained: “The color we see on a computer monitor is not the actual image that appears on paper. The monitor calibration condition (or lack of calibration) and surrounding conditions (brightness, temperature) can be in the design and prepress stage. The effect of color on the screen is severely affected. Further, the color space of the press varies with ink type, ink sequence, and paper grade."

Cassino recommends that people obtain reliable color reproduction by ensuring that all input units can deliver the correct color to the output device. How can we achieve this goal? A standard and open color management system can be used. With the increasing popularity of desktop graphics programs, the demand for it is clear. But when these desktop tools enter the printing industry, they cannot guarantee the quality of print reproduction.
(to be continued)