New Print Color Management from Heidelberg
Print Color Management (PCM) is the new multi-stage
offering from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). The aim
of PCM is to perfectly coordinate prepress and press settings. The
result is true-color, cost-effective production which saves the
customer time and cuts down on waste. Print Color Management covers
the following five areas: Advice, standardization, optimization of
prepress and press, and generating and implementing ICC color
profiles. The target group includes full-service general commercial
printshops from the "industrial printers" market segment
who mainly print four-color jobs with process colors. Typical end
products from this sector include advertising material such as
booklets and brochures, business stationery, posters and magazines.
A PCM team works with the customer to draw up an action plan
by advising them and assisting with standardization. When this is
implemented in practice it optimizes the color workflow and thus
increases the productivity of the printshop. The Heidelberg experts
start in the prepress where they calibrate the relevant output
devices. The imagesetters are also set to the required dot gain in
print by means of a process calibration. Then the press is
optimized under real production conditions with the help of
cleverly devised printing tests to adapt it to the customer's
particular needs. In the final stage, the color spaces of the
printing press and the upstream output systems are measured and
integrated into the workflow via ICC profiles. This ensures maximum
color fidelity throughout - from the screen and the proofer to the
press itself. "Print Color Management has made printing of
decorative objects miles better than it was. The color fidelity is
reliable and our customers are very pleased with the results,"
states Günter Widmann, Managing Director of Digitaldruck
Karlsruhe GmbH and Druckerei Widmann GmbH.
The many benefits of Print Color Management
Print Color Management increases the productivity of
printshops. Binding proofs are generated in the prepress and
standardized printing ensures reproducible print results. PCM also
shortens setup times. "With Print Color Management we achieved
very consistent colors between proof and print. By these
optimizations we are saving between 1 and 2 pulls per job,"
says Peter Sommer of Sommer Corporate Media AG in Waiblingen. Dick
Kouwenhoven of Hemlock Printers in Canada adds: "After using
Print Color Management we benefited from improved ink preset
information and better waste management. In the final analysis, we
reduced makeready impressions by 25 percent."
Print Media Academy trains PCM specialists
Following a one-year test phase in Germany, the USA, Canada
and Belgium, the product is now being launched onto the markets. To
accompany the launch, the Print Media Academy (PMA) is training
teams of print and prepress instructors from Heidelberg's sales
offices.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Hilde Weisser
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 66
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail:
hilde.weisser@heidelberg.com