Good means of control are gaining in importance

Color management I The Flawil print shop has
recently completed the installation of an end-to-end
The standardized and color-accurate color management workflows are completed.
Production of high-quality print products using the offset printing process
is no simple undertaking. The complexity of the reproduction is
different print colors and monitor properties, different
Papers, uneven printing press characteristics, lighting conditions
and the like. The high-quality output becomes even more complex
of image and graphic data, if even different printing processes
must be taken into account. By then at the latest, there will be no way around it.
to deal with color management.

The importance of color management has long been recognized by the printing industry
Flawil AG (DFAG). There, the installation of a new
Switzerland's unique, end-to-end color workflow solution.
Werbewoche was on site and looked beyond the theory to
ICC profiles and Delta-E color distances via the backgrounds and the
informed about the current status. 

Overarching discipline
Color management as a solution for production and control
The use of highly visible printed matter is nothing new at DFAG. Already since
nine years, spectral measurement technology in printing and the corresponding
software is used to produce largely color-accurate products.
can. Even in the past, measurements were taken and
but these were only snapshots of the situation at the time, which
no longer meet today's requirements. "For two years now
Color management has also been "lived" at Druckerei Flawil for years,
as the former head of production and today's head of marketing and
Sales Manager Pascal Schwarz aptly put it.

Color safe throughout
As a quality assurance measure that builds on previous measures
The company from Eastern Switzerland has been
again invested in state-of-the-art measurement technology and software. Thus, from
the necessary products and services from its supplier Heidelberg Switzerland.
modules are ordered in order to check the color accuracy of the delivered or
proof created in-house through to the print run not only to
but also to be able to prove it.

The advantages of this system, marketed by Heidelberg under the name Prinect Color
Solutions are manifold: For example, in order to
to start printing, the printer with the Image Control measuring device
spectrophotometric measurements. This means that during
production on a drawn sheet in a single measuring process alongside
Lab values also include color application densities, dot gain (enlargement of the
screen dot in the print compared to the defined value) and trapping
(color acceptance behavior) in a matter of seconds and compare it with the specifications.
compare.

A device integrated into the company network and connected to the software
Quality Monitor equipped workstation can access this data.
and use them for quality assurance measures or for subsequent
evaluations. Another important element of the Color
Solutions is the Color Assistant, with the help of which the printer can be
optimized color presetting data from the prepress stage faster to the
first good sheet, which saves paper waste, time and costs.

In addition, the Flawil print shop also uses Image Control for measuring and
evaluation of the proofs. This improves quality assurance
again, because the same measurement technology is used. Declared
DFAG's aim is therefore to use only one measuring device, as
different measuring devices from experience gained there
different measurement results. But not only the pressroom,
but also the pre-press stage benefits from the modern
machine control center. The Heidelberg Profile Toolbox software and
the Calibration Manager allow precise profiling and calibration
of the proofing device and the computer-to-plate imagesetter.

ISO component
"For more than two years, we have been relying on process control under
compliance with the ISO 12647-2 standard - and, if required and
customer requirements even more closely. Color management is
the important tool for color reliability - and for satisfied customers.
customers," says Pascal Schwarz, explaining the focus on the end-to-end
Color management.

The importance of a control wedge integrated into a proof, such as the
Ugra/Fogra media wedge, Stephan Traber, a trained printer who has been
a repro specialist for over ten years, cannot emphasize often enough: "A
Media wedge is absolutely necessary to check a delivered proof for its
reproducibility." Unfortunately, however, in practice
printers are often only selected when the already separated
data already existed, Traber adds soberly
added. Whether these image data or proofs exactly match the
printing processes remains questionable. Felix Signer,
Head of the Prepress Department at DFAG, would therefore like to see agencies
the print shops into the production process as early as possible
integrate.

Trust is good ...
The Flawil print shop uses the following quality assurance control elements
the Ugra/Fogra media wedge and the new media wedge developed by Heidelberg.
developed minispots (measuring fields). The latter have the
The advantage of this is that, if they are connected to the
Prinect Signa Station sheet assembly software, they can be placed by
Image Control can be recognized automatically. Evaluation of the minispots
finally provides all relevant measured values. In this way
Druckerei Flawil used both control elements: On the printing plate
the minispots are favored, while the media wedge is favored on the proof.
is used to compare it with the ISO standard 12647-2.
compare. 

The use and acceptance of the media wedge on the part of the
When asked about this, Pascal Schwarz explains: "The importance of the
means of control is increasingly recognized. Just over a third
of our customers are already using the media wedge." Pascal Schwarz
therefore also recommends that the clients and agencies it supports use the
provide prepress data, an Ugra/Fogra media wedge on each proof
place.

A costly affair
Color management is used in many similarly sized and comparable
companies are usually operated by very few people.
carried. The aim in Flawil, however, is that the
sales representative to the printer, all employees are familiar with the
are familiar with the topic. "A difficult undertaking," Schwarz knows,
"because color management is by no means an easy topic." Nevertheless, he is
sure that without the broad support of all employees
color management in print shops will fail in the long term.

Overall, according to the interviewees, the company is
Color management is a complex and costly affair. The
annual costs for test prints, etc., are covered within the company.
recorded separately and are in the five-digit range - in addition
regular training courses. Nevertheless, in Flawil
convinced that the effort is worth it. Because the clear focus of the
company's focus on color management has, in addition to standardization, the
color safety and quality assurance for another reason. One
wants to further increase customer satisfaction in Flawil and
win new, discerning customers by setting a high bar.

Now frees color management from visual controls when everything is
is standardized and color-coded? Schwarz answers in the negative.
"Despite the measurement technology, wedges and evaluations, you can't just
to numbers. But color management helps us to
of production reliability, which ultimately benefits our customers.
benefits. We offer these for specific problems such as
color separation, we also offer additional advice," explains Pascal
Schwarz the range of services offered by Druckerei Flawil AG in this regard.
"That's why," says Pascal Schwarz, "color management as a project
never completed." Further investments are already planned.

Tips for users
Separation, the conversion of RGB to CMYK data with a
Image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop changes the image data.
Incorrect separation settings can irrevocably damage images.
deteriorate. Ideally, the separation is performed shortly before the
Printing or carried out by the print shop.

A proof must be based on the printing process and the material used in the print run.
paper. It must also be equipped with suitable control elements.
otherwise the color accuracy of the proof cannot be guaranteed.
can be checked.

PDF documents, if they are created in-house, should be based on
the printer's recommendations. The settings for
Acrobat Distiller, these can be used as so-called job options for the
make available.

Jürgen Franck