Minter notes that the age-old adage applies here - cheap can become expensive. ‘Proofing solutions can be less or more expensive depending on what you want to achieve. There are a number of objectives in proofing – layout proof, content proof, imposition proof, contract proof, to name but a few. Obviously the system requirements for a content proof are very different to those for a contract (colour) proof.
Let’s just analyse these two. With a content proof the objective is to check words, spelling, grammar etc. This can be done on a small black and white laser printer with a very low cost per page (toner and bond paper); there is no need for a RIP as files can be output directly from the application used to compile the document. This is a cheap proof!
The objective of a contract proof according to Minter is to proof or simulate the end result from the press and primarily has to do with colour rendition. ‘Here the system requirements are hugely different. At minimum you need a colour managed RIP where a profile can be applied to match the output of the press, the output device (printer) needs to be able to accurately render the colour required and the paper (media) used needs to be able to have good stability and colour gamut to hold the colour. This is never cheap! Consider too that to have effective colour proofing, colour management has to be looked at as a whole. Everything from file creation to plate making to press profiling has a bearing on how effective the colour proofing will be. For example, if the proofing system is set up well and is profiled to simulate ISO standards but the press has not been setup correctly, matching the press and proof may at best be very difficult to achieve.’
With this in mind the reasons why proofing systems should be considered very carefully and implemented by people who understand the complete process, is not hard to understand. Bad proofing results in lowering of profitability, not just in re-prints, but is a major source of loss of productivity in the print process. This aspect is often overlooked because of ‘this is the way it is’ mentality. Machine minders’ spending time, paper and ink tweaking the press to match the proof may be the way it has always been in the shop. But with proper colour management,this does not need to be the case.’
This makes it vital for anyone in the industry, irrespective of whether they are running an offset machine or the latest digital press to invest in a proper proofing solution and colour management system. ‘There are both products available for use in-house for the bigger print shops and for the smaller print-shop there are companies that specialise in offering press (conventional or digital) optimisation as a service. So the choice is to buy a profiling solution or outsource colour profiling to a company specialised in offering this service.’ The benefits speak for themselves and print has moved into the world of standards with ISO standards for print production. ‘Profiling is the way to set print production to conform to those standards. Like anything, it is always good to have a starting point. Setting up to ISO standards is the starting point. It is measurable so there is no guess work involved and no subjectivity that exists when two people look at colour and see it differently.
There are tools available for verifying that all elements of the production cycle conform - making it easy to have checks and balances throughout the production process. The benefits are overwhelming. How can there be an argument over colour when the printed piece can be verified to confirm that it is printed to ISO standard and matches the proof signed off by the client that is also verified against the ISO standard? Some printers say that they prefer to set their presses to their own standard. There is no problem with this; however printing to standards does not mean that all printers will be equal. There are many ways to differentiate one printer from another – look at these rather than compromising on productivity.’
A further benefit of profiling according to Minter is to match the output of different output devices to each other. For example, a printer who has digital and conventional presses needs to produce a small quantity of a jobs on the digital press and the bulk of the print run on his conventional press. Correct profiling will enable him to produce virtually identical results using different printing technologies. Another example is when an advert is printed on a web press and on a sheet fed press for different publications. Profiling will ensure colour quality is the same. ‘A product like CGS ORIS Press Matcher makes easily achievable.’
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