Software

GMG, the world’s leading color management solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it will present solutions with HP for the commercial and wide-format printing segments at the HP stand AB150 in hall 12 at Ipex 2010.

“We feel confident that GMG and HP customers will be pleased with the high color accuracy and repeatability of consistent color results which can be achieved in digital printing with GMG’s highly innovative color management solutions,” says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

The solutions include ColorServer for color conversions and SmartProfiler for calibrating and profiling different output devices, such as HP Indigo digital presses or HP Scitex industrial large-format printers. GMG and HP are therefore expanding their long-standing relationship in the field of high-end contract proofing, where the GMG ColorProof proofing software has been supporting the HP Designjet Z-Series wide-format printers from the outset.

The combination of GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorSever helps users of HP digital presses and wide-format printers easily meet their customers’ increasing expectations for high color accuracy, repeatability and colors that match those of print media produced by conventional offset printing processes. The solutions also benefit companies that have several similar or identical output devices installed. In these cases, distributed color management on each front-end results in different color rendering on the individual printing systems. With centrally controlled color management using GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorServer, companies can greatly increase productivity, improve production reliability and achieve identical quality of printed output.

“GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorServer enable us to easily create color profiles and calibrations for different output devices and substrates,” says Gunther Fells, Head of the Digital Printing department at KL Druck, Germany. “The high-quality color conversions offered by GMG ColorServer optimally convert colors, including spot colors, into the color space of the required output devices. Since we have been using GMG color management technology with several of our HP Scitex printers, we have been able to achieve repeatable and identical print quality on every printing system and substrate in our portfolio, which otherwise is a very difficult and time consuming production process.”

Recently, GMG successfully passed the FograCert Validation Printing System certification for the HP Indigo press 5500 and the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press using the GMG ColorServer color management solution for the coated substrates Digi Gold Matt and Digi Gold Gloss from Papyrus/Schneidersoehne. The certification was achieved at HP in Boeblingen, Germany. In addition, IDEAlliance SWOP® (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) and GRACoL® (General Requirements and Applications for Commercial Offset Lithography) certifications have been granted to GMG ColorServer for the HP Indigo press 5500/5000 and the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press.

“We are delighted to further strengthen our collaboration with HP as the de-facto market leader in the digital printing market. But we are even more satisfied that HP customers can confidently take advantage of the well-known GMG color management technology, which will impact both companies’ technology leadership in this fast growing segment. Our common customers will certainly be very impressed by the high accuracy and repeatability of colors as well as by gaining more flexibility, with consistent print quality on different output devices, enabling users to select the printing process at the last minute”, says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

“Based on use cases between HP Scitex customers and GMG, we are pleased to report that testing was successful and customers can maximize the performance of their printing systems with the combination of these two solutions. GMG provides innovative technology for high-quality color management in mixed production environments covering a wide range of HP commercial and wide-format output devices,” adds Eli Israeli, Strategic Marketing, HP Scitex Division.

 

GMG, the world’s leading color management solutions provider, and Mimaki, a leading manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, textile/apparel and industrial markets are pleased to announce a worldwide strategic partnership providing highly innovative solutions for high value packaging applications.

The common solutions, comprising the inkjet printer range from Mimaki, GMG ColorServer 4.6.2 color management software for fully automatic color conversions and GMG SmartProfiler for printer calibration and profiling, allows to digitally produce consistent and accurate color results on virtually any material.

GMG ColorServer in combination with the Mimaki printers is a valuable solution for all kinds of businesses engaged in flexible packaging, compound board packages or tin printing, e.g. print houses, prepress companies, agencies and brand owners. The core applications of this solution are:

• color-accurate digital proofing on original substrates used for production – with white ink and varnish support,
• digital production of color-accurate packaging mock-ups/prototypes – often requested in the packaging design phase or for customer acceptance tests,
• short runs/personalization – replacing time consuming and expensive prints on the production press.

“We are very pleased that we could expand our existing partnership with Mimaki to a worldwide collaboration. Only a few months ago we started our mutual partnership with the solution GMG ColorServer/SmartProfiler and Mimaki inkjet printer UJF-605 UV. Meanwhile we can offer the GMG color management for all Mimaki inkjet printers, worldwide to the benefit of our customers.  That’s a tremendous success within a very short time frame”, says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

“We are excited that now GMG & Mimaki can jointly offer the best possible and most effective technological proofing solution for the packaging and label markets”, says Akira Ikeda, President of Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.

Enormous time and cost savings can be achieved by replacing press time and costs for printing plates and gravure cylinders by digital production. The Mimaki inkjet printers have been optimized for digital proofing in the offset, gravure and flexo packaging industry. In combination with GMG color management technology, perfect color match, optimum spot color reproduction, highest repeatability and optimum print quality up to a resolution of 1200dpi can be achieved on any substrate such as shrink or metallic foils, tin and compound boards. Nearly any printing stock can be used with the GMG-Mimaki solution.

The German-based packaging company Wipak, specialized in food and medical packaging use the GMG/Mimaki solution for digital proofing on original material for flexible packaging and the production of color-accurate mock-ups. “Producing contract proofs and color-accurate mock-ups on original stock is very important for us as it means a lot of time saving in the sign off process with the print buyer. Customers appreciate our service to see at a very early stage a simulation of the final print result on transparent film”, says Thomas Kinzer, production manager at Wipak.

The GMG/Mimaki solution can be seen at IPEX on the Mimaki stand hall 12, C120

GMG, the world's leading color management solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it will present solutions with HP for the commercial and wide-format printing segments at the HP stand AB150 in hall 12 at Ipex 2010.

"We feel confident that GMG and HP customers will be pleased with the high color accuracy and repeatability of consistent color results which can be achieved in digital printing with GMG's highly innovative color management solutions," says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

The solutions include ColorServer for color conversions and SmartProfiler for calibrating and profiling different output devices, such as HP Indigo digital presses or HP Scitex industrial large-format printers. GMG and HP are therefore expanding their long-standing relationship in the field of high-end contract proofing, where the GMG ColorProof proofing software has been supporting the HP Designjet Z-Series wide-format printers from the outset.

The combination of GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorSever helps users of HP digital presses and wide-format printers easily meet their customers' increasing expectations for high color accuracy, repeatability and colors that match those of print media produced by conventional offset printing processes. The solutions also benefit companies that have several similar or identical output devices installed. In these cases, distributed color management on each front-end results in different color rendering on the individual printing systems. With centrally controlled color management using GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorServer, companies can greatly increase productivity, improve production reliability and achieve identical quality of printed output.

"GMG SmartProfiler and GMG ColorServer enable us to easily create color profiles and calibrations for different output devices and substrates," says Gunther Fells, Head of the Digital Printing department at KL Druck, Germany. "The high-quality color conversions offered by GMG ColorServer optimally convert colors, including spot colors, into the color space of the required output devices. Since we have been using GMG color management technology with several of our HP Scitex printers, we have been able to achieve repeatable and identical print quality on every printing system and substrate in our portfolio, which otherwise is a very difficult and time consuming production process."

Recently, GMG successfully passed the FograCert Validation Printing System certification for the HP Indigo press 5500 and the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press using the GMG ColorServer color management solution for the coated substrates Digi Gold Matt and Digi Gold Gloss from Papyrus/Schneidersoehne. The certification was achieved at HP in Boeblingen, Germany. In addition, IDEAlliance SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) and GRACoL (General Requirements and Applications for Commercial Offset Lithography) certifications have been granted to GMG ColorServer for the HP Indigo press 5500/5000 and the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press.

"We are delighted to further strengthen our collaboration with HP as the de-facto market leader in the digital printing market. But we are even more satisfied that HP customers can confidently take advantage of the well-known GMG color management technology, which will impact both companies' technology leadership in this fast growing segment. Our common customers will certainly be very impressed by the high accuracy and repeatability of colors as well as by gaining more flexibility, with consistent print quality on different output devices, enabling users to select the printing process at the last minute", says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

"Based on use cases between HP Scitex customers and GMG, we are pleased to report that testing was successful and customers can maximize the performance of their printing systems with the combination of these two solutions. GMG provides innovative technology for high-quality color management in mixed production environments covering a wide range of HP commercial and wide-format output devices," adds Eli Israeli, Strategic Marketing, HP Scitex Division.

Global Graphics, a leading developer of printing and electronic document software, has extended its long-standing relationship with HP for a minimum of a further five years.

Global Graphics' Harlequin RIP provides high- performance processing for HP's digital front ends (DFEs) that drive HP Indigo and IHPS devices. The DFEs - the HP SmartStream Ultra Print Server and HP Production Pro - streamline and manage the print workflow and allow expanded, scalable performance to be added to HP digital presses. This is critical for high-value, high-volume printing applications that require RIP intensive job processing such as photo specialty printing, which has to accommodate peaks in seasonal demand, as well as book publishing.

"Our commitment is to deliver faster performing technology to support HP's exceptional productivity demands", comments Global Graphics' CEO Gary Fry. "HP is at the leading edge of digital printing and they need leading edge software that will support their high-volume devices and provide the efficiency gains required by their customers."

"The Harlequin RIP software in our leading SmartStream Production Pro print server helps us to provide a high performance DFE to our customers" said Alon Gazit, director of R&D HP Indigo. "We're excited to continue our relationship with Global Graphics and continue to lead with high performance RIP servers. "

Global Graphics first announced its partnership with HP to provide printing software for HP Indigo print servers in 2002 with introduction of the HP Production Pro. The two companies' collaboration was expanded again in 2004.

The Harlequin RIP is known for its high-performance and reliability notably in production intensive environments. It is widely used for digital printing, proofing, workflow and to drive Computer to Plate devices.

X-Rite, Incorporated, the world leader in colour management, measurement and communication technologies, today announced i1Profiler, the company's next generation colour profiling software and PANTONE Link, a new colour swatch bridging software. Both new solutions are integral components of X-Rite's widely anticipated next generation colour profiling solutions. i1Profiler and PANTONE Link offer unprecedented colour quality for up to 8 colour printing workflows, iterative profiling, ease of use for both advanced and novice users, peer-level workflow exchange, QA validation and verification against ISO, simplified colour space selection, and spot colour accuracy. The new solutions will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the X-Rite Booth (Hall 10 Stand D260) during the IPEX trade show (May 18-25, NEC, Birmingham, UK).

Accommodating a broad range of proficiencies and expertise i1Profiler lets pre-press, publishing, digital printing and photo professionals create custom profiles for their RGB and CMYK printers, monitors and digital projectors. i1Profiler features a number of unique colour management capabilities, giving users complete power and control to create professional quality profiles.  Using one convenient software tool, users can optimize their profiles and share them with their peers, rebuild profiles with ambient light measurements, compensate for optical brighteners in their papers, and use advanced controls for black generation and separation.

At the core of i1Profiler is X-Rite's i1Prism engine, whose unique iterative profiling technology lets users build highly accurate printer profiles for up to 8-colour printing workflows (RGB, CMYK and CMYK plus any other 4 colours). This reliable iterative technology -- first introduced in X-Rite's ColorMunki  portfolio and now already adopted by numerous X-Rite OEM partners -- is extremely robust, allowing for further profile optimization based on any combination of images, spot colours or captured colours. Users can select from any of the included PANTONE colour libraries, including PANTONE FASHION + HOME, the new PMS+. This in turn results in the best possible image quality and colour accuracy.

"X-Rite has long had a reputation for having some of the industry's most powerful colour profile engines. With our new i1Profiler, we have developed a next generation toolset that combines the best of our i1Match, ProfileMaker and MonacoPROFILER solutions," said Iris Mangelschots, X-Rite's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "X-Rite has then taken it one step further with new algorithms for truly unmatched colour results. Initial tests show marked tolerance improvements using this new iterative profiling technology compared to legacy X-Rite profiling software packages."

i1Profiler includes the PANTONE Link software – a brand new colour picker solution that incorporates the best features from previous colour pickers (including i1Share and ProfileMaker solutions).  The tight integration of i1Profiler with the PANTONE Link colour swatch bridging software gives pre-press and design professionals integrated access to all the PANTONE colour libraries for precise spot colour matching and reproduction. PANTONE Link makes it easy for users to select spot colours and translate them into their production method of choice – PANTONE to HTML or CMYK, for example.  Commercial photographers will also benefit when shooting corporate brand identities that demand specified colour match.

PANTONE Link also includes a style guide wizard that assists designers and corporate marketing professionals to create colour definitions for brand style guides including colour data, and output profile data to ensure that brand colours are reproduced faithfully across applications, devices and geographies. With i1Profiler's capabilities to optimize printer profiles for specific colours, the designer can be sure to print out the colours in the brand style guide in the most accurate way.

i1Profiler together with PANTONE Link, introduce  new UI concepts that offers an unprecedented level of flexibility to address the specific needs of users at all levels. i1Profiler combines the ease of use of the wizard-driven interface found in i1Match and MonacoPROFILER and the flexibility of the menu-driven user interface found in ProfileMaker.

i1Profiler adapts itself perfectly to the skill set of the user, while maintaining its ability to produce outstanding profile quality results in either mode. With i1Profiler, X-Rite also introduces a new concept that provides the user with the flexibility to save and reuse assets and preferred settings via drag and drop technology. This enables peer-level workflow exchange, allowing users to create future profiles more efficiently and share those profile creation workflows with others.  Teams can share their entire workflow data in addition to palette information and other colour data using X-Rite's Color Exchange Format (CxF) for unambiguous colour data exchange.

i1Profiler is designed to give creative professionals high confidence in their results thanks to advanced visual and measurement-based quality assurance validation and verification functions. The new solution includes QA tools for soft-proofing and print-simulations to check the quality of the representation of PANTONE colours in a print production process, and according to ISO (G7, SWOP, PSO, Japan Color) on a display or printer. The high flexibility of the QA process allows individual definition of patches and QA criteria as well as the use of ISO 12647-7 wedges such as the Fogra or the IDEAlliance media wedges.

For print separation, imaging professionals know that the quality of the prints is heavily dependent on the quality of the generation of blacks. i1Profiler offers intuitive yet highly-advanced controls for black generation and separation settings, providing the highest degree of control and flexibility and colour quality for custom CMYK (or CMYK+) profiles.

Traditionally ICC profiles are built so that the output will be viewed on D50 illumination, which is not always representative of the viewing environment of a finished print. i1Profiler is designed to optimize ICC profiles for different viewing conditions including daylight, tungsten, fluorescent lighting, and specific captured ambient light. Now photographers and other professionals who are concerned about the look of their image when hanging in a gallery, studio or any retail location can be assured their colour is being viewed accurately for virtually any ambient condition.

In addition, users are no longer restricted by a limited set of paper sizes. i1Profiler provides users the flexibility to create their own printer test target, choosing from a broad range of paper sizes ranging from smaller photographic papers to large charts for large format printers or presses.

i1Profiler also includes X-Rite's groundbreaking Optical Brightener Correction  technology (OBC), that when connected to an i1iSis, can effectively and precisely compensate for colour shifts in ICC output profiles typically caused by optical brightening agents (OBAs) in papers and other printing substrates. This results in prints with an improved visual match and reduces undesirable colourcasts caused by the brightening agents.  Moreover, once users have set their OBC parameters, they can easily re-apply them to other profiles.

 

Upgrades, Promotion and Availability

i1Profiler will soon be undergoing beta testing and is scheduled for release in Q4 2010. Anyone purchasing an i1XTreme, MonacoPROFILER or ProfileMaker solution between April 1, 2010 and the shipment date of the new i1Profiler and PANTONE Link software will receive a free software upgrade. X-Rite is also offering a $/€ 400 savings off the current ProfileMaker 5 and MonacoPROFILER solutions PLUS an additional $/€ 400 savings voucher for future X-Rite or PANTONE products.

For nearly 50 years, the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM has been the worldwide colour communication standard. As technology and working styles advance, Pantone continues to evolve its colour tools and technology to reflect today's design and production workflows. Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company and the global authority on colour and provider of professional colour standards for the design industries, today announces PANTONE PLUS, the next generation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM.

"PANTONE PLUS takes what designers and printers know and love about the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM and supercharges it with a host of new features, colours and digital tools," said Ron Potesky, senior vice president and general manager of Pantone. "The PLUS SERIES provides designers with greater freedom for selecting, specifying and matching colour. And, since the PANTONE PLUS SERIES is based on the widely used PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, there's no training or new equipment required to start pushing the boundaries of creativity."

"Adobe Creative Suite plays a central role in helping designers realize their artistic visions and Pantone is also crucial to this process, allowing creatives to make and implement critical colour decisions," said Lea Hickman, senior director, design and web segment at Adobe. "PANTONE PLUS provides Adobe Creative Suite users with expanded colour sets and more intuitive selection to help streamline the creative process."

PANTONE PLUS SERIES

A modern evolution of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, the PANTONE PLUS SERIES provides designers and printers with new features and capabilities to fulfill their creative desires. Enhancements include the chromatic arrangement of colours for more intuitive selection, an expanded palette of spot colours, the addition of new premium metallics and a broader range of neons.

PANTONE COLOR MANAGER Software, available free-of-charge with every PLUS SERIES purchase, lets designers update their favorite design applications with the new PLUS SERIES Color Libraries. An added feature allows users to convert spot colours to CMYK simulations based on loaded ICC profiles. Creatives can also access the entire PANTONE PLUS SERIES from their iPhones with the myPANTONE iPhone application, empowering designers to capture, create and share PANTONE Color Palettes – wherever they go and whenever they find inspiration. Additionally, with the myPANTONE X-Ref iPhone application, designers can easily cross-reference all PANTONE Color Libraries.

Making a colour-critical decision under the wrong lighting conditions can greatly compromise the final product. All guides in the PLUS SERIES include a ColorChecker Lighting Indicator to instantly show whether current lighting conditions are suitable for colour evaluation.

All books in the PLUS SERIES are printed on text-weight paper to more closely reflect the majority of printed work today and meet certification standards set forth by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent organization that promotes responsible management of the world's forests. Products carrying the FSC label assure consumers they are choosing products from forests managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations (Certificate Code SW-COC-003183).

The complete PANTONE PLUS SERIES includes: - PANTONE FORMULA GUIDE  (Solid Coated and Uncoated)

- PANTONE SOLID CHIPS (Coated and Uncoated)

- PANTONE COLOR BRIDGE (Coated or Uncoated)

- PANTONE CMYK (Coated and Uncoated)

- PANTONE METALLIC FORMULA GUIDE (Coated)

- PANTONE METALLIC CHIPS (Coated)

- PANTONE PREMIUM METALLICS (Coated)

- PANTONE PREMIUM METALLICS CHIPS (Coated)

- PANTONE PASTELS & NEONS (Coated/Uncoated)

- PANTONE PASTELS & NEONS CHIPS (Coated/Uncoated)

- PANTONE COLOR MANAGER Software

- myPANTONE and X-Ref iPhone applications

PANTONE PLUS SERIES FORMULA GUIDE and SOLID CHIPS

The FORMULA GUIDE and SOLID CHIPS introduce 224 new solid colours for a total of 1,341 colours, offering designers more options and flexibility in the creative process. The new colours are formulated with the same 14 ink bases that were the foundation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, ensuring that printers worldwide can reproduce the new colours when specified. Consistent ink film thicknesses make the new colours easier for printers to match on press.

PANTONE PLUS SERIES COLOR BRIDGE

After extensive technical research, development and testing, a single version suitable for worldwide use is now available. The new COLOR BRIDGE guide has been printed within today's ISO specifications and G7 processes, with the exception of a more desirable, optically brightened paper.

PANTONE PLUS SERIES CMYK

The new CMYK guide offers a smoother progression of 2,886 CMYK colours for four-colour process printing. The guide is printed with bio-friendly ISO-certified inks using a digital workflow within ISO specifications and G7 processes, but on optically brightened paper, allowing for a single version that is suitable for worldwide use.

PANTONE PLUS SERIES PREMIUM METALLICS and PREMIUM METALLICS CHIPS

The PANTONE PLUS SERIES provides significantly enhanced tools for working with specialty colours that add flair and pop to any design. PREMIUM METALLICS includes 300 new, non-leafing metallics that have been formulated for greater brilliance even when coated.

PANTONE PLUS SERIES PASTELS & NEONS and PASTELS & NEONS CHIPS

Neon colours have been gaining popularity in print, spurred by the sportswear, swimwear and footwear markets. To satisfy this increasing demand, PASTELS & NEONS offers a broad collection of 154 pastels with 56 neon colours.

 

Pricing, Availability and System Information

The PANTONE PLUS SERIES products are available immediately and can be purchased from the Pantone website at www.pantone.com or from PANTONE resellers worldwide. COLOR BRIDGE will be available in June 2010. Through the PANTONE Chip-in Program, customers can trade in old PANTONE Products and receive a rebate to help offset the cost of upgrading to PANTONE PLUS.

Every PLUS SERIES purchase includes COLOR MANAGER Software free-of-charge upon registration. The public beta version of COLOR MANAGER will be available in June 2010 to registered users. PANTONE PLUS Digital Libraries for Adobe and Quark will also be available in June 2010 free-of-charge to anyone wanting to update their favorite software with the new PLUS SERIES colours.

myPANTONE and X-Ref are available for download at the Apple iPhone App Store for U.S. $9.99 and $1.99 respectively. myPANTONE and X-Ref are compatible with iPhone OS 3.0 or higher, and can be used on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Automatic updates to the applications including the new PANTONE PLUS SERIES Color Libraries will be available June 2010.