Digital inkjet solutions from color standardization to print automation up to flexible mass production

ColorGATE will be presenting its updated solution portfolio for commercial and industrial printing at FESPA 2019, taking place from 14 to 17 May at the Munich Exhibition Center. With the brand-new Spectral Spot Module, ColorGATE is bringing effective brand color management into fully digital and non-standardized production environments for the first time. Another innovation: the Textile PS DTG Edition. The modular and individually configurable software was specially developed for use in combination with direct-to-garment printing systems from almost all leading manufacturers.

Also discover ColorGATE’s Adobe PDF Print Engine based RIP software families Productionserver, Filmgate and Proofgate, as well as the Industrial Productionserver range for almost all application areas:

• Décor (décor paper, roll-to-roll or direct-to-board)

• Textile, ceramic, floor tiles, wallpaper, glass printing

• Packaging (Direct-to-object decoration e.g. bottles, cans or other containers)

Visit ColorGATE at booth K26 in hall B4.

Interested visitors can use this link for free entry at FESPA 2019.

RIP and Color Management solutions for standardization, automation and tailor-made workflows

Digital inkjet printing has revolutionized industrial printing. ColorGATE's expertise supports manufacturers and users of inkjet technology on their way to the future of Print 4.0. The application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions are characterized by a tailor-made workflow for achieving optimum quality standards with a high degree of automation and offer modular functionalities that can be adapted and extended at any time to specific requirements in terms of performance, area of application and type and number of devices used. For industrial applications, ColorGATE focuses on the flexible design and decoration of products in real time directly in the manufacturing process, whether in classic mass production or in production scenarios of mass customizing, in which customer-specific adjustments are made in mass production.

ColorGATE Productionserver offers optimally standardized color accuracy and, above all, color consistency for follow-ups and reprints. This is ensured by Media Device Synchronization (MDS).

Media Device Synchronization (MDS) – consistent color quality, idependent of production location

Even for geographically separated production sites, ColorGATE’s Media Device Synchronization can guarantee a consistent visual output. This is achieved by characterizing a printing system as a master reference and using MDS to match the color characteristics of the desired target systems to the reference system. In this process, the individual color differences caused by printer-specific color characteristics and production-related differences are compensated. Once a reference state has been defined, the printers managed by MDS can always be recalibrated to this state. This guarantees color-accurate production, on any device, at any time.

Spectral Spot Module – Brand Color Management in cooperation with PantoneLIVE and freieFarbe e.V.

ColorGATE will be presenting the new Spectral Spot Module for the first time at FESPA. This module enables the spectral characterization of spot colors both for commercial and industrial printing applications and thus improves reproduction accuracy, especially when reproduced using digital printing. Spot color descriptions in CxF/X4 format according to ISO 179972-4 are supported. High color consistency for spot colors is required especially when producing packaging using digital printing, or when producing digital proofs for conventionally manufactured packaging such as flexible packaging, folding boxes or cardboard boxes using inkjet. There is also an increasing demand for accuracy in the color reproduction of corporate colors on textiles. With Spectral Spot, these requirements can be met by creating and managing extensive spot color tables yourself.

In addition, starting with the upcoming major release, ColorGATE will be supporting PantoneLIVE, X-Rite's cloud-based solution for the digital management and exchange of spot colors, which will also be presented at FESPA. With PantoneLIVE, designers and brand owners can access color palettes across printing processes and substrates and define and communicate these using the cloud.

In cooperation with freieFarbe e.V., ColorGATE offers a further range of products for managing spot colors.

freieFarbe e.V. promotes license-free, open color communication in order to achieve consistent color results in all application areas and coloring processes. The association has initiated DIN SPEC 16699 "Open Color Communication", which describes procedures for communicating color professionally from design to production and provides license-free HLC color libraries for this purpose. These color libraries will also be included in the upcoming major release.

ColorGATE brings the advantages of PantoneLIVE and freieFarbe e.V. to fully digital production environments for the first time (in addition to proof printing). With the direct control of digital printing systems, effective brand color management has now arrived even in non-standardized printing environments, such as digital packaging printing. The entire production workflow, from the designer to prepress and production to finishing, benefits from effective color management, consistent reproduction and innovative workflow solutions.

Measure Mount & ColorScout: automated color measurement for industrial printing

Effective color management is only possible on the basis of high-quality color measurements. Following this guiding principle, ColorGATE will be presenting two solutions at its booth that enable the use of high-quality spectrophotometers in industrial printing applications.

ColorGATE supports a number of well-known spectrophotometers, which were originally intended for single-patch measurements only, in combination with the ColorScout A+ XY table and thus enables automated color measurement of targets in conjunction with the Profiler modules. For the measurement of round bodies, ColorGATE offers the Measure Mount, the only solution that allows using X-Rite's handheld i1Basic Pro 2 for the color measurement of cylindrical and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses.

ColorGATE launches Textile PS DTG Edition

With the Textile Productionserver (TPS), ColorGATE offers performance-oriented RIP and Color Management software for all areas of application in digital textile printing. The greatest challenges in textile printing include the handling of different fabrics and the consideration of functional properties, such as haptics and color stability (wash durability of the print), while at the same time ensuring high color accuracy and color consistency for follow-ups and reprints.

ColorGATE launches the new Textile PS DTG Edition at FESPA 2019. This is a modular software, which can be configured and extended at any time, especially for use in conjunction with direct-to-garment printing systems from almost all leading manufacturers. It addresses DTG service providers and technology users who value high color quality and standardization of production processes. This software solution offers a high degree of productivity by automating otherwise time-consuming print data preparation processes, such as the generation of semi-transparent prints in which the print motif merges with the color of the fabric.

The DTG Edition also offers advantages in supporting PDF files, with the latest Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) leading to uncompromising print results and facilitating communication with customers due to the worldwide PDF standard as the document standard. In addition, ColorGATE's special APPE implementation for DTG offers unique features to remove background colors from PDFs so that the material color of the garment is used instead. In order to be able to control the color output at any time, even with drifting printing systems or varying textile qualities, it is possible to add an integrated profiling assistant to the software.

Even the preparation of print data for dark substrates is no longer a major challenge with the DTG Editon: Smart White Creation automatically calculates the exact amount of white for underprinting. Furthermore, the inherent color of black T-shirts can be used as the 'rendering' color of the print motif. Thanks to optimal ink application, this not only reduces ink costs, but also improves the haptics.

3D Surface Director: innovative complete solution for digital surface design

With the 3D Surface Director, ColorGATE presents the comprehensive scan-to-print solution that serves the entire workflow. It consists of the unique SURF 3D digitizing hardware from METIS and the ColorGATE software suite to acquire, transform and output complete surface description data.

3D Surface Director digitizes the 3 dimensions of any surface:

• Structure

• Color

• Reflectance

and, by freely combining these three, allows the design of virtual surfaces for a variety of decorative digital printing applications such as decor, ceramics, textiles or wallpaper.

ColorGATE partner booths

DP Solutions: hall B6 booth A35: Filmgate

Epson: hall B5 booth G10: Filmgate

Farben Frikell: hall A4 booth L22: PS 10

Kaut-Bullinger: hall B5 booth F65: PS 10

Kornit: hall B6 booth A10: Kornit Atlas + TPS / DTG

Ricoh: hall B4 booth K30: PS 10 

Signtronic: hall A6 booth A10: PS 10 CTS Editon

ColorGATE's trained and customer-oriented application specialists will be happy to advise you on your challenges in the field of commercial and industrial printing. You can take a look at samples of various applications and find out more about our workflow and color management solutions.

Visit ColorGATE at FESPA Munich from 14 to 17 May 2019 in hall B4, booth K 26.

About ColorGATE

For more than 20 years, ColorGATEs color competence has been supporting the graphic arts industry with its printing equipment manufacturers as well as producers, operators and technology users for Sign & Display, decor, ceramic, textile and packaging. The market for large format printing with its applications in LFP and Wide Format also benefits from ColorGATEs solution competence on the way from analogue to digital printing and into the future of Print 4.0. 

ColorGATE has been successful on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing and the revolution of inkjet technology since the beginning in 2000. 

ColorGATE delivers an innovative, tailor-made and modular portfolio of software and hardware solutions in the specific application areas for industrial printing and decoration processes along the entire process chain. Effective color management always ensures optimal color rendering and consistent reproduction, while standardization and automation of the production processes maximize productivity with flexible configuration, as needed. Furthermore, the most complex tasks can be controlled via an intuitive workflow management to simplify the production processes and for a transparent cost overview. Thousands of digital imaging users around the globe trust ColorGATEs solution expertise in their daily work.

ColorGATE meets customers as partners on equal footing and the corporate culture is driven by an innovative spirit and trustful customer satisfaction. With a focus on Industrial Printing and its worldwide network of trained Sales Partners, ColorGATE ensures optimal support for end users. ColorGATE collaborates closely with the leading global imaging players and supports more than 50 other manufacturers of printing systems in the Industrial & Commercial Printing segment.

ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

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