Color Management Solutions – Printing software and measurement technology for industrial digital printing

ColorGATE presents Color Management Solutions for industrial digital printing at InPrint 2016, from November 15th to 17th 2016 at stand E28 South Hall, MiCo, in Milan:
Established printing software and innovative measurement technology for the area of
decoration. The solutions address manufacturers and developers of digital printing systems for almost every application from digital décor, ceramics, textile, to packaging printing.

Digitally decorated objects and packaging can be produced in smaller batch sizes with the help of digital printing techniques. Besides, the process allows more efficient material storage and minimizes scrap production, which further reduces costs and also contributes positively to the environmental balance of a company.

ColorGATE introduces application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions and the Fingerprint Module (FPRM). This unique software module generates a fingerprint production file, which includes a colorimetric specification of the initial print, which represents a digital master that provides a reliable reference so that future reprints can be reproduced exactly and colorconsistently. The procedure allows to standardize and ensure optimal reproduction results of digitally decorated objects, such as wood- and plastic surfaces, laminates, ceramic floor- and wall tiles as well as decorative textiles.

Furthermore ColorGATE presents color management measurement technologies, like the ColorGATE Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP. In addition, ColorGATE demonstrates Measure Mount for the first time, a device for the use of the hand-held i1 Pro2 from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped containers and hollow-ware such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses.

ColorGATE presents: Variety of Industrial Productionserver
The Industrial Productionserver Lab Edition software targets manufacturers and developers of industrial digital printing systems for all kinds of applications. The software includes all required functions to process all common graphic file formats into optimal print data for arbitrary device configurations in high quality and performance.
Alongside with the Adobe PDF Print Engine as leading rendering engine for PDF documents all typical layout tools as well as Color Management modules for ICC-profiling and color standardization and optimization are contained. Extensive tools for spot color handling and an industry-standard compliant JDF interface are part of the product configuration.

The Industrial Inkjet Lab driver can optionally be equipped with ColorGATE´s Ink Saver technology for automatic total ink reduction to achieve optimal drying and post processing properties of the print result with no compromises on image quality. Included is a Value Pack to ensure access to support and future updates and upgrades of the software.

As an additional highlight at InPrint ColorGATE presents the Fingerprint Module (FPRM) in Milan which has been first introduced at the ceramic exhibition Tecnargilla in September 2016. Its objective is to ensure color consistency of re-runs of the same design and it is based on a patent that was recently granted to the firm.

What is so special about it?
So far ICC profiling was only applied for device-specific color characterization to achieve an optimal representation of arbitrary artworks, digital imaging or document files on an ICC-profiled device. Meanwhile it is widely experienced that the standard ICC Color Management approach is not sufficient for managing colors suitably in surface decoration.
Fingerprint technology extends the standard graphic arts approach and applies a new methodology for synchronous design specification and process characterization to be used in industrial surface decoration. 
It creates a Fingerprint Production File that includes a colorimetric specification of the initial print run which represents a digital master reference for future color consistent re-runs.The colorimetric specification contains all design colors, like a color finger print which ensure in future print runs to minimize interpolation errors during color transformation into output device color spaces of any given digital printing system.
A color consistent re-print can be performed on any alternative production system or production line as long as its gamut covers the specific color space of the individual specification. The software module also contains a gamut viewer to assess prior to reproduction if the color space of a selected production system is capable to cover all the specified of a Fingerprint Production file.

Therefore it provides an ideal approach to ceramic wall and floor tile producers that need to ensure that each new production lot color matches the design reference. The software provides an intuitive user interface and is a practical application that is easily trained and requires no expert knowledge. Fingerprint is to date the only available procedure to make reprints of specific designs to match their references without manual retouching effort. The company is therefore also offering this unique technology to interested OEM´s such as printing machine vendors and ceramic ink and design suppliers.

The Fingerprint Module is also available for the Ceramic Productionserver:

ColorGATE´s Ceramic Productionserver functions as a central print data management system and accomplishes therefore the highest process efficiency from design to the final ceramic product. Applications include floor tiles, wall tiles, tile decoration, dishes and tableware. The digital end-to-end workflow offers a secure import and conversion (n-Color) of designs and color data as well as the creation of separations with 3-8 channels.

Combined package: Ceramic Productionserver & Rapid Spectro Cube HD (RSC HD SP)
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and Color Management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that addresses all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

Décor Productionserver is a modular workflow and Color Management solution aligned to digital décor printing with industrial digital printing systems of all leading manufacturers.
Applications include composite wood (LDF / MDF / HDF, laminated plywood, HPL), décor films and laminates, flooring and vinyl parquetry and edge bands for boards and furniture.

Décor Productionserver has been developed especially for the industrial décor reproduction printing. The new Décor Productionserver is now equipped with all necessary functions for the use with single-pass and multi-pass printing systems for the direct printing of plates and sheets, as well as for the roll-to-roll production of films and papers. The licensing model also allows the processing performance to be scaled to meet all performance requirements.

ColorGATE offers with Packaging Productionserver a performance optimized RIP and Color Management Software for direct decoration of containers, flexible packaging and cardboard packaging in an industrial scale.
Applications are: Direct-to-object-decoration (Bottles, glasses, cans, tins, tubes, container), flexible packaging (labels, shrink wraps, bags & pouches, blister packs) and cardboard packaging (carton, corrugated)
This comprehensive and automatable solution ensures cost-efficient digital print production with optimal color reproduction and easy-to-use functions for all requirements in highquality packaging printing. The main focus is the coloraccurate printing of non-standard materials as well as the precise special color reproduction taking into account the control of special inks such as primers, white, metallic and varnish. Packaging Productionserver is of modular design and can be extended per demand or scaled in terms of processing speed.

Textile Productionserver is a modular RIP and Color Management solution, especially for digital text-to-color printing, which, in conjunction with the software Colorrizer, can take over a complete workflow from coloring to automated digital printing.
Applications include apparel & fabrics, interior textiles, homeware, technical textiles, outdoor textiles (awnings, sunshades, and garden furniture).
Supported are all leading printing systems for sublimation processes, as well as digital text printing systems for natural, artificial and mixed fabrics, using reactive or pigment inks in the direct printing process.

Together with Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC), an extremely fast color measuring system and Colorrizer, ColorGATE's innovative color and repeat generation software for the colorbinding design of industrial production systems, Textile Productionsserver can take over the entire work process starting from design development with soft- and hard-proofing over profiling up to the control of the digital printing plants.

Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP (RSC HD SP) - Extremely fast color measurement and profiling for industrial digital printing application.

In addition ColorGATE presents the Rapid Spectro Cube an all-in-one Color Management solution for the creation of ICC profiles especially in industrial digital printing applications. It contains an ultrafast color measurement system and software for ICC profiling. RSC can take substrates right up to a size of 600x600 mm with a maximum substrate thickness of 80 mm while processing as far as 10,000 patches per target. Even color measurements of complex substrate surfaces such as ceramics, glass, textiles or metal are possible due to special optimizations. Additionally, the RSC takes measurements of very small objects, for instance from business card sized labels, from which the RSC can read up to 1000 color patches in just a few seconds, which will be processed into highquality ICC profiles.
ColorGATE has launched a new version with the RSC HD SP since September 2016.
This highly stressresistant system is more suitable than the transportable alternative for the use in industrial production environments. It has a robust steel frame construction with resistant side walls, as well as a substrate drawer for convenient placement of objects. The control software has also been extended for the RSC HD SP and now provides a new, higher-resolution new sensor with colorimetrically accurate scans from every surface for further processing in design as well as for direct reproduction using digital printing.

The new development ColorGATE Measure Mount allows the color measurement of cylindrical container and hollow-ware with the help of X-Rite i1 Pro2. The Measure Mount is a device for the use of the i1 Pro2 hand-held measuring device from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses. The manually adjustable device can be adapted to circular bodies with diameters from 2cm to 20cm in just a few steps. As a result, the measuring device is optimally positioned above the shaped body to be measured. With ColorGATE's profiler modules, available for all RIP software solutions from ColorGATE, individual target geometries can be specified for the color characterization of cylindrical objects. The target generator makes it possible to define the number, size and arrangement of the measuring fields. If necessary, multipage targets can also be distributed to several objects. The subsequently printed measuring field targets can be fitted in the Measure Mount with any X-Rite i1 Pro2 measuring device from the ColorGATE Profiler software in scan or patch mode and then processed to ICC profiles. With the Mount, ColorGATE finally offers an apparatus for the comfortable and fast color control of round objects, also for offline quality control.

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Further information

Do you already want to have more information about ColorGATE products before InPrint 2016? Under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZEtTPkTeg you can find a video about the Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC).

More information about InPrint 2016 under https://www.inprintshow.com/italy/english/

Do you want to visit ColorGATE at InPrint 2016?
Register here for free and get your own ticket:

If you are interested in our solutions, ColorGATE’s invites you to come and visit at stand E28 at InPrint in Milan, Italy.

We are looking forward to seeing you at InPrint 2016.

About ColorGATE
ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging,
ColorGATE supplies modular software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems.
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and color management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

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