Proofing is part of the
culture of modernity. In the previous century, the attitude of many
Indian offset printers was: “Why do it?” However, even with
single color offset machines, it made all the difference between the
majority of printers and the award-winning, color-proficient and
profitable printers. Nevertheless, it was a challenge to match a wet
single color ‘progressive proof’ with all its overlays to the
final printing.
In the late 1970s and the
early 1980s, to Indian offset printing came scanners, imagesetters,
densitometers and 4-color presses that printed wet on wet and the
awareness – if not universal acceptance of printing a quality
control strip on the tail of the sheet for both measurement and
visual evaluation. The same era saw the introduction of flatbed proof
presses in India. First came the FAG proof press and then a bit more
economically Dainippon Screen and eventually Chinese-made machines
got into the industry. These were single color machines that provided
analog progressive proofs.
The masters of good
flatbed proofs (including progressive proofs) were the prepress trade
houses such as Unique, Comart, Jasra and Supressa and Express
Colourscan. Flatbed proofs battled it out with the DuPont Chromalin
proofs that were quick and easy to courier with a set of films but
which did not satisfy everyone. Some publisher printers proofed all
the ads on a flatbed proof press and then sent a letter to each
advertising agency saying that they could not be responsible for the
end result and thus successfully circumvented the very idea of ‘a
contract proof.’ Needless to say the very idea of a contract proof
is a kind of holy grail in printing that at least in India is rarely
achieved.
The digital inkjet
proofers arrived in the 1990s and many of the ad agency guys of still
wanted progressive proofs, lamenting that they could not see the
final dot or flower pattern of their favourite screen ruling on the
final proof. There were digital methods that showed the actual
screened dot such as the Kodak Approval system but this was in most
cases, an expensive system for the Indian environment.
Ultimately the inkjet
proofers won the day simply for ease of use and their price
performance and also because of the huge improvements in software and
inkjet proofing media that could actually match multicolor presses
that were fingerprinted. This trend also benefitted greatly from the
use of computer to plate (CtP) devices that created first generation
dots on the plate with the possibility of improved dot gain curves
for plate exposure based on press fingerprinting.
One of the huge
contributions of CtP was that a printer could output a first
generation quality control strip on every plate rather than having to
compromise by using a contact film strip that often did not even
register. Moreover, color management as a concept took hold as the
software began to work and densitometers were replaced by
spectrophotometers and variations in color began to be measured in
Delta E’s.
Thus in the first
decade of the 21st century we arrived at the contemporary age of hard
copy proofing (while soft proofing on super calibrated press-side
monitors is still the next big thing.)
However, there are still
two type of inkjet prints being produced. A simple color print which
is also called a concept proof and used sometimes just to visually
establish the placement of the appropriate pages on a folded
signature. And then there is the proof print. Quite often a color
print is mistakenly treated as a proof print.
However, the key
difference is that a proof print is output on a high quality printer
using a RIP or software that is calibrated with a reference. The
reference may be a global standard such as GraCol or FOGRA or an
in-house standard based on fingerprinting the installed multicolor
presses. Such prints can also also be certified to match the
reference standard within specified tolerances.
Epson
Epson’s inkjet printers,
by and large, have become the de-facto proofing output devices in
India (as well as globally). However, each industry segment has its
own proofing requirements and the printer model, the software and the
proofing medium have to be chosen accordingly.
Epson has 4, 8 and
10-color models to choose from. The 4-color printers are normally
recommended only for newsprint. Generally newspapers like to create
proofs using one-bit output files on the same newsprint that they
print their dailies. They can choose the Epson T-3070 a 24-inch wide
printer which just about covers two broadsheet pages. Or they can
choose a 17-inch printer to proof a single broadsheet page at a time
but the only printer available in this size is the 10-color Pro 4900
which is more expensive than the 24-inch T-3070.
Commercial printers need
an 8-color inkjet printer to cover the wider gamut that they can
produce on coated papers and they often choose between the 24-inch
wide Epson Pro 7890 and the 44-inch Pro 9890. For commercial and
packaging printers who need to proof Pantone colors and other special
and brand colors, it is recommended to use 10-color printers to
improve the oranges and greens. These are the 24-inch Pro 7900 and
the 44-inch wide Pro 9900 devices from Epson.
For those in the board,
label and flexible packaging segment who need to have proofs that
include metallics and also to be able to proof on flexible film
substrates, there is the extremely effective 24-inch Epson Pro WT
7900. In this category, increasingly there is competition for Epson
from both Roland and Mimaki who also promote their inkjet machines as
short run label printing devices. It is important to keep in mind
that all hard copy proofs need to use media that is generally
supplied by the manufacturer, although some high volume printers use
high quality paper which they have effectively calibrated and matched
to their in-house and other standards.
Most packaging buyers
often insist on proofs on the same media that will be used for the
actual pack. This is somewhat difficult to achieve with inkjet
printers as special coated media is needed for the inkjet printer to
actually perform to spec. The solution sometimes is to use the Kodak
Approval system which actually outputs on a special foil which is
then laminated on the substrate to make a proof that incorporates the
substrate or laminate that will eventually be used. Inkjet proofs
such as those done on the Pro WT 7900 on special films can also be
laminated to appropriate materials.
Software
Another question is what
is the best software for each of these applications? Mumbai Epson
dealer and color expert Himanshu Desai says, “Although I have a
clear bias, I would vouch for ORIS. However, on a more neutral note,
what is needed is any software that can achieve a proof resulting in
a Delta E of less than one. The software should also handle spot
colors and allow selective color correction. Finally, it should be
both user friendly and user configurable.”
We will continue our
discussion of proofing and color management in the next issue but
there are a number of software providers that have their strengths
and which can be chosen on the basis of features appropriate for your
application, price and local support. These would include, GMG, CGS,
Alwan Systems, Color Logic, Système
Chromatique and several others that are
now used not just for proofing but for the standardization of the
entire workflow. Similarly, new proofing substrates and inks
especially for metallics are being continually released that broaden
the possibilities of inkjet hard copy proofing. In subsequent issues,
as in the past, we will continue to discuss quality, proofing, color
management and standardization issues.
Naresh Khanna, April 2014 issue Indian Printer and Publisher
