CeBIT 2000: Heidelberg Demonstrates Coloropen with Software Updates
02/24/2000
Optimized Color Management for quality-focused prepress
If you use different applications from different manufacturers and still want to achieve quality in prepress, all the components involved in the processing of color images need to be reliably attuned to one another. Since the advent of desktop publishing, Color Management has therefore been an essential precondition for achieving quality. Heidelberg has been continually improving the necessary tools and adapting them to suit requirements, and has now prepared the new program versions of its Coloropen solutions package for presentation at the CeBIT 2000 exhibition. The Scanopen, Viewopen and Print-open programs generate ICC profiles (ICC = International Color Consortium) for scanners, monitors and all the associated equipment used in the output process such as proofers, printers and filmsetters.
Scanopen ICC 2.1: Profile calculation improved even further
With Scanopen ICC, any scanner can be profiled in a matter of minutes, thereby preparing the ground for true color work. The program is available for PC users with Windows 95 and Windows NT and for Macintosh users. Less experienced users can call upon the built-in wizard to guide them through the program sequence step by step and perform simple tasks automatically, while expert operation allows Color Management specialists to work quickly using the clearly-arranged menu.
To improve ICC profile calculation still further, the relevant algorithms have been optimized in version 2.1. White scaling is now more precise, while there is also greater depth of detail in the shadows for transparencies. It is now also possible to load 16-bit calibration scan data, and adjustments have been made to accommodate the latest version 6.0 of Heidelberg's LinoColor scanning and repro software. The options of choosing different profile sizes and quality levels and performing quality control by displaying calibration results in graphic form have also been maintained.
The software and documentation are available in five languages (German, English, French, Italian and Spanish). The package includes the complete target set for photographic papers from Agfa, Fuji and Kodak.
Viewopen ICC 2.0: Optimum conditions for soft proofs
Viewopen ICC delivers something which DTP users have been demanding since the technology was first developed, and which is still not an automatic feature for color matching - WYSIWYG operation. Monitor profiling is a very important factor in the end-to-end Color Management system - particularly when soft proofs are generated on the monitor.
There are two profile sizes for monitor calibration in the new version 2.0 of Viewopen ICC, one of them matrix-based (e.g. for use in PhotoShop) and the other based on three-dimensional look-up tables. A helpful feature for the user is the fact that, when profiling, the ambient brightness is taken into account (Color Appearance Model) and the contrast/brightness setting on the monitor is adjusted with the aid of measuring instruments. As well as the Sequel Chroma 3 Color Calibrator, suitable instruments recommended by Heidelberg now also include color measuring devices such as the Sequel Chroma 4, the Gretag Spectrolino and the X-Rite DTP-92.
Like Scanopen, Viewopen supports both professional operation and a wizard to assist beginners. The software and documentation are available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Printopen ICC 3.0.2 (Mac) and ICC 3.1.2 (PC): New license key
If you want to make optimum use of the real color space of a proofer, color printer or printing press, you need to characterize it, i.e. measure its various parameters. You also need to use a printing table or profile to specify how images from the LAB or RGB color space should be imaged in the output color space - normally CMY(K). This task is performed by Printopen, which is available in two versions (3.0.2 for Macintosh and 3.12 for PC with different functionality).
In update 3.0.2 the proofing tables for black generation have been revised and the algorithms for profile calculation have been optimized, particularly with regard to shadow detail in separations. Measuring instruments can now also be connected to the PowerMac G4 and Mac OS 9. New devices recommended by Heidelberg include Gretag SpectroEye, X-Rite 528, X-Rite DTP 41 T, Color Savvy, Barbieri 1150 and ColorScout S. Software protection of the new version is via a license key which permits use. Software and documentation are available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
PC version 3.1.2. includes CMYK post-editing functions for printing and proofing tables as well as optimized profile calculation algorithms, particularly for shadow detail in separations. Users also benefit from new profiles with transformation tables for process conversion to the print output (gamut mapping) and a new averaging function for color measurement values from several test forms. The recommended measuring instruments are the same as for the Mac version (see above), and the PC version also uses a license key to activate the software.
Heidelberg will be demonstrating Coloropen as part of its presentation of the Prinergy workflow management system at the CeBit exhibition in Hall 1, Stand 1/4c 1.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 47 47
E-mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com
If you use different applications from different manufacturers and still want to achieve quality in prepress, all the components involved in the processing of color images need to be reliably attuned to one another. Since the advent of desktop publishing, Color Management has therefore been an essential precondition for achieving quality. Heidelberg has been continually improving the necessary tools and adapting them to suit requirements, and has now prepared the new program versions of its Coloropen solutions package for presentation at the CeBIT 2000 exhibition. The Scanopen, Viewopen and Print-open programs generate ICC profiles (ICC = International Color Consortium) for scanners, monitors and all the associated equipment used in the output process such as proofers, printers and filmsetters.
Scanopen ICC 2.1: Profile calculation improved even further
With Scanopen ICC, any scanner can be profiled in a matter of minutes, thereby preparing the ground for true color work. The program is available for PC users with Windows 95 and Windows NT and for Macintosh users. Less experienced users can call upon the built-in wizard to guide them through the program sequence step by step and perform simple tasks automatically, while expert operation allows Color Management specialists to work quickly using the clearly-arranged menu.
To improve ICC profile calculation still further, the relevant algorithms have been optimized in version 2.1. White scaling is now more precise, while there is also greater depth of detail in the shadows for transparencies. It is now also possible to load 16-bit calibration scan data, and adjustments have been made to accommodate the latest version 6.0 of Heidelberg's LinoColor scanning and repro software. The options of choosing different profile sizes and quality levels and performing quality control by displaying calibration results in graphic form have also been maintained.
The software and documentation are available in five languages (German, English, French, Italian and Spanish). The package includes the complete target set for photographic papers from Agfa, Fuji and Kodak.
Viewopen ICC 2.0: Optimum conditions for soft proofs
Viewopen ICC delivers something which DTP users have been demanding since the technology was first developed, and which is still not an automatic feature for color matching - WYSIWYG operation. Monitor profiling is a very important factor in the end-to-end Color Management system - particularly when soft proofs are generated on the monitor.
There are two profile sizes for monitor calibration in the new version 2.0 of Viewopen ICC, one of them matrix-based (e.g. for use in PhotoShop) and the other based on three-dimensional look-up tables. A helpful feature for the user is the fact that, when profiling, the ambient brightness is taken into account (Color Appearance Model) and the contrast/brightness setting on the monitor is adjusted with the aid of measuring instruments. As well as the Sequel Chroma 3 Color Calibrator, suitable instruments recommended by Heidelberg now also include color measuring devices such as the Sequel Chroma 4, the Gretag Spectrolino and the X-Rite DTP-92.
Like Scanopen, Viewopen supports both professional operation and a wizard to assist beginners. The software and documentation are available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Printopen ICC 3.0.2 (Mac) and ICC 3.1.2 (PC): New license key
If you want to make optimum use of the real color space of a proofer, color printer or printing press, you need to characterize it, i.e. measure its various parameters. You also need to use a printing table or profile to specify how images from the LAB or RGB color space should be imaged in the output color space - normally CMY(K). This task is performed by Printopen, which is available in two versions (3.0.2 for Macintosh and 3.12 for PC with different functionality).
In update 3.0.2 the proofing tables for black generation have been revised and the algorithms for profile calculation have been optimized, particularly with regard to shadow detail in separations. Measuring instruments can now also be connected to the PowerMac G4 and Mac OS 9. New devices recommended by Heidelberg include Gretag SpectroEye, X-Rite 528, X-Rite DTP 41 T, Color Savvy, Barbieri 1150 and ColorScout S. Software protection of the new version is via a license key which permits use. Software and documentation are available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
PC version 3.1.2. includes CMYK post-editing functions for printing and proofing tables as well as optimized profile calculation algorithms, particularly for shadow detail in separations. Users also benefit from new profiles with transformation tables for process conversion to the print output (gamut mapping) and a new averaging function for color measurement values from several test forms. The recommended measuring instruments are the same as for the Mac version (see above), and the PC version also uses a license key to activate the software.
Heidelberg will be demonstrating Coloropen as part of its presentation of the Prinergy workflow management system at the CeBit exhibition in Hall 1, Stand 1/4c 1.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 47 47
E-mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com
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