Ugra/Fogra Digital Plate Control Wedge

To work with digital plate setters, better known as computer to plate devices, in a controlled manner, demands for appropriate control tools as all complex systems do to supervise the daily production process and as such allowing a safe production. The complexity of computer to plate systems emerges from the multitude of components, which are involved, like digital data from different applications with different data formats, variable RIP and output parameters, divers printing plate types and treatment parameters and requirements for the tone reproduction of the output device. This  Situation demands high skills of the operators in order to rule the process.

Through a lot of analysis and practical tests a new control method for computer to plate devices was found. It is a further development of the well-known Ugra/Fogra Postscript Wedge, which was acquainted as the standard tool to control Postscript output devices by the industry. Later one doesn’t loose anything of its value for the control of film setters and the digital workflow.

The Ugra/Fogra Digital Plate Control Wedge contains
six functional groups or control fields, which are:

*Information field
*Resolution patches
*Line patches
*Checkerboard patches
*Visual reference steps (VRS)
*Halftone wedge

The novelty is the part with the eleven visual reference steps (VRS). Each VRS consists of two checkerboard fields, which are surrounded by a reference halftone field. There are eleven VRS, which are stepped in 5% increments from 35% to 85% dot areas. Under theoretical ideal conditions and a linear tone reproduction the two fields in VRS 50%should show the same tone value, that means there is visually and in measure no difference. Depending of the plate type, the plate setter calibration, the plate treatment and the tone reproduction this goal is not reachable.The same tone value of the checkerboard and the halftone field will be in a lower or higher VRS. Important for the daily production is that always the VRS is found right, which manufacturing conditions lead to the optimal printing result.

Further patches contain resolution sensible information and a halftone wedge, with which the tone reproduction characteristic can be tested. To eliminate productionrelated unevenness in the block, a full-tone patch was placed adjacent to the checkerboard patches. With the unset block outside the plate wedge, the positions for the densitometric measurement of zero (uncoated substrate), rendering and full tone are immediately adjacent to each other. Nevertheless Ugra promotes to use planimetric measurement methods on printing plates. The resolution patches consists of two star targets, the one generated with negative lines the other with positive lines. The line whit corresponds with the resolution setting of the plate setter. The line and checkerboard patches change their line or dot size with the resolution settings of the plate setter.

What is Bar Code Verification?

QUALITY CONTROL FOR BAR CODES!
Verification measures the printed quality of the bar code to international (ISO) standards. This is the standard used by retailers worldwide. According to international standards, verification is mandatory for all companies either designing or printing their own bar codes, ensuring that an acceptable image is created.

Why Verify?
Bar code quality is vital, as every time a bar code fails to scan, costs are incurred. At best the data is required to be input manually whilst at worst deliveries are rejected.
A recent survey by the e-centre (EAN UK) put the cost of poor quality bar codes at over £500 million. Until recently, many retailers have accepted these costs as a ‘fact of trading life’. However, an ever increasing number of major retailers are now taking a very different approach by passing these costs back to suppliers. Goods are returned and fines imposed. For repeat offenders the ultimate sanction can be, and has been, delisting as a supplier.
Insurance
At its most basic level, verification is an insurance policy helping to assure you that your bar code will scan first time at all levels in the supply chain, thus enhancing your supplier/customer relationship.
But it’s more than that. As part of an effective QA system it can help you win business. Are your competitors using verification? Are they questioning the quality of your bar codes with your customers? Is it affecting your business?
Why Can’t I Just Use A Scanner?
Scanning is no substitute for verification as no two bar code readers are identical. They vary from wands to lasers to cameras, from manually operated to automatic. Ambient light will vary as will the distance of scanning. A bar code that is ‘checked’ with a wand gives no guarantee that it will be readable with another wand, let alone a laser based unit.
A verifier is a scientific device, taking precise measurements of each individual bar and space and the amount of light reflected from each. More advanced units will automatically identify the symbology and magnification, check data structure and validate the content as well as providing diagnostic information. It is all very well knowing that your bar code is incorrect but a verifier must be able to identify the problem to allow you to take the necessary corrective action.
Why was the ISO/CEN/ANSI method introduced?
Prior to the Current ISO standard of verifying printed bar code symbols, only two factors were taken into consideration:
• Dimensional accuracy of the bars and spaces.
• Reflectance values of the bars and the background (PCS).
This traditional method would have been a reasonable way of assessing the print quality, except that there was no agreed way of determining where bar edges actually were or how and where reflectance measurements should be made. As well as this, bar codes were being measured with differing beams of light (apertures). Both of these factors resulted in a wide variation of results between verifiers.
With the variety of uses for bar codes and the wide range of printing techniques used, it was felt that a more scientific approach was needed. In particular it was noted that different scanners and the differing environments in which these were used resulted in some aspects of poor print quality being more significant than others. Simple reflectance measurements were also found not to be helpful when the contrast might vary within the symbol. A definition of where a bar-space transition actually occurred was required as were specific aperture sizes dependent upon the symbology and size of bar code.

Trendsetter NX Imager:High-quality CTP for flexo and Offset

High-quality CTP output for digital flexo and Offset plate making
Building on our success and expertise in thermal CTP technology, the Kodak Trendsetter NX Imager offers exceptional productivity and consistency, as well as a wide tonal range for flexographic printing. The reliable and robust Trendsetter NX Narrow and Mid Imagers offer outstanding imaging technology, semi-automatic operation, process stability, and easy maintenance.
As part of the Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System,Trendsetter NX Imagers allow packaging printers to produce highquality results to differentiate their products. They use Kodak squarespot Imaging Technology for outstanding process control and to produce an image dot size as small as 10-micron.Trendsetter NX Imagers expose Kodak Flexcel NX Thermal Imaging Layers at an impressive speed of 9.5 m2 per hour. These layers are then laminated to Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic Plates for exposure and processing. The result is a digital flexo plate imaging solution that eliminates drop off of highlights and provides exceptional printing results.
Speed and versatility
Trendsetter NX Imagers expose the Kodak Flexcel NX Thermal Imaging Layer at an impressive speed of 9.5 m2 per hour, about half the time it takes to image a digital flexo plate with a laser
ablative mask. Loading and unloading are also faster, because no taping or clamping is required.
Following exposure, the imaging layer is laminated to a Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic Plate. The result? A digital flexo plate imaging solution that eliminates highlight drop-off and
provides exceptional printing results. The hybrid option for Trendsetter NX Mid and Narrow Imagers
enables imaging of both flexo and offset plates on the same device, maximizing your return on investment as well as image quality across substrates.
INNOVATION
The Flexcel NX System uses unique technology to deliver print quality and
print performance that is a significant step ahead of traditional digital flexo.
Flat-top dots
Unlike traditional digital flexo plate making where oxygen inhibition during UV exposure causes the dot profile to become rounded, especially in highlight areas, the Flexcel NX System eliminates all oxygen during UV exposure to produce full amplitude flat-top dots with sturdy bases and strong shoulders. This dot structure is the key to superior on-press performance, Delivering a consistent, repeatable printing form that is resistant to changes in impression and wear from substrate or cleaning.
High resolution imaging
The third piece in the puzzle is high resolution imaging to ensure maximum tonal range and fine image reproduction. The Trendsetter NX Imagers use squarespot imaging at an effective resolution of 10,000 dpi to enable printing dots as small as 10 microns, allowing subtle highlight detail, vignettes that fade to zero and use of all available grey levels—and because of the one-toone image reproduction and the flat-top dots, none of that detail is lost from the beginning to the end of a print run.
DigiCap NX Screening
DigiCap NX Screening is a softwarebased feature for the Flexcel NX System that enables a major Step forward in ink transfer efficiency through the application of a micro surface texturization pattern to the surface of all elements on the Flexcel NX Plate. Print applications that traditionally struggle with efficient ink transfer can now enjoy higher print densities, smooth solid area ink coverage and expanded color gamut with process printing.

Color Tool 3.0,for quality assessments and for creating ICC profiles

Color Tool 3.0 consists of two components:

• Profile Tool 3.0 with the Multicolor add-on
• Quality Monitor 3.0

Profile Tool 3.0 lets you create ICC-based profiles of calibrated and controlled prints and proofs. The pro-files contain information about the devices and pro-cesses plus their parameters that can be used for accessing the correct profiles during production. The software helps you generate the profiles in an easy way.
Details about all the relevant process parameters (plates, substrates, inks, color order) are saved in the profiles. This includes the relevant process standard in the form of dot gain curves and solid densities or the color data of the process colors. You can also use these details for quality control and setup of the press. Different procedures make a quality check sys-tematic and simple and allow you to record the devices and applications involved in the color work-flow.

Quality Monitor lets you check and evaluate device and process calibrations, ICC profiles and proof cor-rections and lets you document the results. The focal point of this software is to check the process parame-ters of the imagesetters and platesetters, printing pro-cesses and proofers you use. The measured data required for this are recorded using defined test equipment. The software helps you record and evaluate the mea-sured data in an easy way and gives you tips about possible problems and their elimination

New or enhanced functions in Color Tool 3.0

• Merging of ICC profile creation with Profile Tool (PrintOpen) and quality assessments with Quality Monitor to one joint application, Color Tool 3.0
• Revised and enhanced assessment of color data (trend)
• Assessment of measured data of spot colors, i.e. assessment of multicolor control strips, e.g. FOGRA 5/6 or Prinect 6GS/8GS
• Support of the new FOGRAcert test parameters for proofs
• Comparison of data sets (optional) with automatic loading of a reference file
• Intelligent file filter for Image Control data files
• Revised management and editing of process standards
• Revision and extension of the process standards (ISO-12647-2:2007, FOGRA, HDM). The process standards included in the shipment are write-protected.
• Further integration of the process standards in the results and diagrams
• Compatibility between Quality Monitor and Calibration Manager (Calibration Tool)for dot gain data
• Substitution of the Heidelberg logo with a custom bitmap with printing
• Further optimization of the profile quality in black and color composition (yellow/blue)
• Creation of multicolor profiles (separate option that can be purchased) for 5 colors: CMYK plus orange/red or green or blue for 6 colors: CMYK plus orange/red and green for 7 colors: CMYK plus orange/red, green and blue
• Enhanced color calculator: Support of multicolor profiles and calculation of process colors (e.g. CMYK) back to Lab
• Creation of device link profiles with black and color preservation options- Smoothing filter (optional) for ICC profiles (smoothing in the color space)
• Optional output of ICC profiles in the ICC-v4 profile format- Support of X-Rite EyeOne-iO and EyeOne-iSis spectrophotometers
• Support of the Techkon SpectroDens spectrophotometer
• Extension of the test charts for EyeOne-iO and EyeOne-iSis- Special test charts for multicolor printing (not for all measuring devices)

ArtPro : All Packed and Labeled to go.

ArtPro is one of the world’s most productive and effective editors for the pre-production of labels and packaging. This workstation software, running on Apple, includes dedicated functions and tools to prepare the graphics for a wide array of packaging production (litho printing, flexo printing, gravure, silk screen).

ArtColor’s functionality includes comprehensive image corrections and effects, sophisticated masking tools including soft edge masking, brushing capabilities, and support for "real" transparency, while keeping all objects at their respective resolutions. All image objects remain independent and editable at all times, and no compositing (or rendering to one layer) needs to take place at any stage in the assembly phase of the production.

ArtLink is the ArtPro module for database-driven layout or package assembly.
Based on one template file where graphic elements contain links to dbase fields, ArtLink can render the different flavors or versions of the series based on the records in the database file.
ArtLink increases productivity tremendously by automating the package assembly stage. The level of automation is even more elaborate when combining ArtLink with NexusProcessor.

ArtRender is the ArtPro module that allows you to create three-dimensional images or movies from your two-dimensional artwork.
3D animations can be rendered for boxes (e.g. folding cartons) as well as for conic shapes (e.g. cups).
The animations can be exported to QuickTime or QuickTime VR movies, which are ideal to send to the customer for approval or as visual check of the final package, even before the package is proofed or printed.
In production, ArtRender is also useful to verify the seamless joins on the cups or cartons, or to use TIFF images of the 3D objects on other packaging, e.g. to display the other flavors or versions from the same package.

PowerLayout™ is ArtPro’s Step & Repeat module offering a variety of ways to create repetitions or to assemble separations of one or different jobs for film or plate output.
Industry standard formats such as PostScript®, EPS, DCS, native ArtPro data, PDF, TIFF/IT and Scitex CT & LW files, can be repeated easily. The repetitions are based on a preview of the job. This not only makes step & repeat fast and interactive, it also means that when the original single job is modified, the Step & Repeat layout is updated automatically.
ArtPro can be configured with PowerLayout as a module, or PowerLayout can also be provided as a standalone program. PowerStepper as well as PowerOptimizer are optional modules for PowerLayout for dedicated step and repeat purposes. PowerStepper executes the repetition process based on CAD information, while PowerOptimizer calculates the optimal distribution of different labels on one sheet or plate.

PowerStepper is the ultimate Step & Repeat program for packaging.
As the system uses CAD information to define and position the repeat, it is the ideal solution for Step & Repeat for carton packaging. PowerStepper can import CAD files in CFF2 and DDES format.
PowerStepper is an optional module running on PowerLayout that can be used as a module inside the basic application ArtPro, or the combination of PowerLayout and PowerStepper can be purchased as a standalone software package.

PowerOptimizer is an add-on module to PowerLayout
PowerOptimizer™ calculates the most economic label imposition based on a set of rules and specifi cations from the user. The calculation part of PowerOptimizer can be used on a separate station in for example the estimating department.

PowerTrapper™ is a fully automatic trapping tool which allows the user to trap a complete job or any part of it, based on the selected objects.
This accommodates the need for specific trapping requirements for different parts of the job. Trap widths can be set separately for traps from color to color, to black, or to images. PowerTrapper’s default trapping color matrix, which contains the trapping parameters for the different objects in the file, is based on the luminance of the colors used, while taking opaque inks into account. This matrix, which is fully editable, defines trap directions, widths, and colors.

PowerWarp™ is an optional ArtPro module that allows powerful and technical deformations of line-art, text and images.
PowerWarp allows deformations of any kind as the system is based on warping a source grid onto a destination grid. Grids can be entered freely and therefore typical deformations to achieve drinking cups, metal cans, ceramic plates, rounded cardboard boxes, blister packs, bottles, etc. are easy to define.
To use the PowerWarp module to deform images or vignettes, the ArtColor module is also required.

Prinect Signa Packaging Pro 4.0

Prinect Signa Packaging Pro 4.0
Functions and features Prinect Signa Station:
• Job Assistant guides the user in a structured way through the imposition process.
• Prinect Signa Station uses resource data e.g. for customers, papers, presses, CTPs and much more. The information has to be entered only once and may be used many times.
• Folding sheet based process allows fast and easy changes between different presses.
• Multiple use of folding sheets, press sheets, jobs and job parts.
• Combination of different bindings in one job.
• Fast and secure production of jobs in multiple languages or different versions.
• Graphic view allows visual check of pages, page lists, folding schemes, print sheets, plate templates and content data.
• Clear display of job structure.
• 3D visualisation of reader's spread, collating marks and folding sheet.
• Marks editor allows the creation of individual marks and mark sets.
• Automatic generation of dynamic barcodes.
• Combi marks allow automatic adaption of color marks to the different colors in a job.
• Bottling (automatic tilting) compensates paper twisting when large sheets are folded.
• Imposition assistant allows the creation of complex schemes for web printing.
• JDF Connector allows link to a Management Information System (MIS).

Functions and Features Packaging Pro:
• Import and processing of all common CAD formats
• Generation of layouts based on CAD data
• Generation and processing of clipping paths
• Clipping path handling with enhanced functionality
• Generation of "CoverClippath" marks automatically derived from clip path
• Support of ink pick-up fields
• Generation of Station and “Waste” Numbers as text mark
• Automatic clipping of color control fields depending on clipping paths
• Step & Repeat functionality• Export of all common CAD formats