Choose a digital proofing device

The prospects are somewhat daunting, not because the digital proofing technology itself is immature. The problem is that digital proofing has not yet opened up a clear and predictable market. Although Quickprint uses a high-end digital halftone and proofing system, it is as rare as a high-end publishing and printing business desktop inkjet proofer, but such a situation has emerged. Selecting digital proofing equipment in the mid-range market has not yet been decided! But for printers, if some of their customers accept the outlets of cheaper proofers, then what makes printers determined to buy 20,000 continuous inkjet printers?

The answer to the question is: Although the choice of digital proofer technology and features is very large, the company’s buying decisions are largely subjective, and they are sensitive to the printing customer’s preferences, professional skills, and the price of proofing. It is a big relationship, and sometimes even a customer’s momentary interest causes the printing company to be forced to purchase digital proofing equipment.

There are now four major digital proofing technologies. They are digital halftone dots, continuous dot dots, drop-on-demand, fuel sublimation. Other technologies such as variable dot transfer, laser, and thermal wax can also be used for proofing. But their application is not very much.

A digital half-tone proofing equipment

Digital half-tone proofs are formed by a process similar to analog imaging, where each pigment substance is imaged separately and then sublimated to the proofing material. This proofer can simulate dot gain, web corners, and other print characteristics. At the same time, this type of proofing machine can also match the SWOP color (sometimes GRACOI color and Eurocolor) using special pigment materials. Using laser imaging technology, the proof quality of digital halftone dot proofers is not only inferior to the quality of analog proofs, but also superior. The comparison of the increase of the halftoning halftone dots with the increase of the traditional halftone dottone proofs shows that the percentage of the halftone dots in the traditional proofing is only 12-15%, and the increase of the digital halftone dots is very significant. Close to the middle of the CTP workflow characteristics, superior to the traditional proofing. The problem is that the price of digital half-tone proofers is twenty thousand dollars.

Because the color of the colorant is fixed, digital half-tone proofing equipment has great difficulty in dealing with spot colors (such as hue, saturation, and density). Digital proofing equipment manufacturers are doing some work to provide support for common paint colors, but The supported colors must be very limited.

Second, fuel sublimation and inkjet proofer

In the medium and high-end market for digital proofing equipment, continuous adjustment of ink-jet equipment and fuel sublimation equipment are mainly used. These two types of equipment can be used for contract proofing and content proofing. The difference lies in the different front-end equipment, especially the selected ones. Color management software is different from RIP.

Continuous inkjet devices are continuously imaged by the ink stream to the print head. The ink flow is transferred to the place where the prints are needed. Since ink mixing can produce millions of colors, ink jet printers are more flexible than digital halftone proof devices in reproducing spot colors.

Fuel sublimation proofers use the dual role of heat and pressure. The colorant on the ribbon is transferred to the susceptor to form an image. In the same situation, the next good fuel sublimation proofer has the same printing speed as the ink jet printing agent, but the price is much lower than the inkjet proofer, but the fuel sublimation proofer needs a special proofing medium. , can not be wool on ordinary paper. The proofing cost per page is higher than the cost of inkjet proofing.

Third, on-demand inkjet proofer In the lower-end market, the digital proofer is a drop-on-demand proofing system (DOD), which is a type of drop-on-demand inkjet system that transforms from office printing to proofing. Type, micro-piezoelectric, etc., but their inks are on-demand inkjet instead of continuous outflow. The advantage is that the price is low, and the price of the on-demand inkjet proofing system is no more than ten thousand dollars. The disadvantage is the inconsistent quality of proofing, the inability to process color separation files and slow print speeds.

With the dramatic advances in color management and color characterization techniques for on-demand inkjet proofing systems, it makes little sense to use the term "low end" on it! In some cases, applying liexachrome color can better simulate the color of the press. Some software like Hclions' print preview can support the large sample accuracy of proofing equipment so that the proofing equipment can be as close as possible to the effect of the print job and can improve the final production quality. This kind of software can proofread a variety of proofing equipment.

Fourth, comprehend outlets

From desktop DOD inkjet systems to digital halftone dot systems, digital proofing machine selection strategies Many of these digital printing manufacturers are frustrated by the fact that they want this market to be more predictable.

The imaging officer of a large company’s CAPPS said: “If you can print outlets on paper, why not want to print the outlets on paper? You would be surprised at how different the colors are. Continuous proofing equipment will exist Some of the shortcomings, such as the inability to moire, can not handle different screening techniques, which is why the company uses high-end Approval.

Fifth, compared with analog proofing

Motheral Printing Company, a commercial and publishing printing company, decided to purchase POLAPROOF, a dot-based printing device, due to the need for its customers to convert to CTP. The former manager Owen said, "Despite the fact that printing clients initially had some doubts about digital proofing, they liked to have digital proofs when they saw the proofs?" he said: "At the beginning, we really felt that the digital proofs were too dazzling. The quality is good and clear, so we try not to let it. But now, our printing is just like proofs.

Motheral uses Creo's digital platesetter to make 1600 plates per month, which accounts for 60% of its platemaking workload. Irwin explained that “Because the printing masters had good proofs before the brush version, they knew from the proof sheets that they were adjusting factors, and the overall material and printing preparation time were reduced by 30-50%.” Motheral Company Digital proofs were also used to reduce disputes. They sent digital proofs to ink makers to provide suitable inks. This greatly reduces disputes, and all headaches related to ICC's color characteristics naturally disappear.

Sixth, the problem of workflow

Once digital proofing is added to the workflow, there must be some work process problems. The following aspects must be considered:
1. For companies that are not adapted to offline proofing, digital proofing can create bottlenecks.
2. The company should develop a calibration plan, which usually takes days to weeks to calibrate the instrument.
3. Buying digital devices means expanding the rest of the system.
4. If digital proofers and output devices do not use the same RIP, there will be some errors and slower productivity.

Seventh, summary

For the fast printing and small commercial printing markets, some companies will choose proofing machines with variable dot technology. This technique uses hot wax to create a variable dot size. Although the resolution of the device is not very high, some devices use a "pore" paper that can simulate more dots per inch. Improve the resolution.

For low-level printing companies, when selecting the proofing equipment, the most important thing is to consider the price factor, and low-cost equipment is certainly the first choice; for high-end packaging and printing companies, they prefer to choose ink-flow continuous inkjet proofers because he The color processing is more flexible; high-end publishing companies are considering choosing dot-based digital proofing devices that support the SWOP standard. It is obvious that companies engaged in digital printing purchase the proofing machine most suitable for their printing business is determined by many factors, and the function of digital proofing machine as the hardware itself is just a few of these many factors.