Proofing Makes the Workflow Work

As printers steadily make more use of a digital workflow, the role and importance of filmless digital proofing is taking off, becoming at least as critical as color management, instrument calibration, and production control tools in helping to produce a quality, customer-approved printed piece.

"There's been a tide of change and a new level of acceptability of digital proofing," says Don Schroeder, senior product development manager for proofing for Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. "We've seen a dramatic decline in analog proofing today even though most printers still utilize film-based systems. This decline is matched by an increase in digital proofs."

A recent study by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) confirms these soaring prospects. Of the 109 printing companies and prepress service bureaus taking part in GATF's Digital Proofing Study, Part VI, 88.1% anticipate growth in digital proofing over the next 12 months while only 2.8% foresee a reduction.

Further, about two out of three respondents plan to make additional investments in contract-quality digital proofs over the same period. Firms with sales of less than $5 million were even more likely to buy contract-quality systems, with 87.5% indicating purchase plans, according to the survey.

The rising acceptability can be traced to the wider assortment of available digital proofing tools. "Two years ago, a wave of new developments arrived," reports Hal Hinderliter, a graphic arts consultant based in San Luis Obispo, Calif. "This year, the news is the growth in usage of digital proofing."

But he admits that there was a period of slow recognition and acceptance of digital proofing, which likely resulted from the diverse and sometimes confusing amounts of technology available.

Says Schroeder, "In five years, analog went from being the most popular form of proofing into a great decline, but it took printers a while to come around. I think they simply faced too many technologies: dye sublimation, ink jet, ablative, thermal dye, high-end dot, thermal dot. Today a few manufacturers offer a proof with a pigment-based ink that's designed to show a dot structure. This is so similar to analog that it gives printers a comfort level."

"At the core of it, a proof is the essential reference source that guides the press operator in meeting the customer's requirements," explains Rich Stoebe, director of marketing for Imation Corp. "However, there are many other uses for proofs, at earlier stages of production than at the press. So the issue is not how important a proof is, but the type that's necessary."

He continues, "Proofing requirements vary at different stages of the workflow according to imaging integrity, costs, and level of risk associated with the specific print project. In many ways, it's all about risk: disappointing or losing a customer because of quality, because a project is late, or because of production costs. We're committed to providing color accurate proofs that fill application requirements at every stage of the workflow."

In Stoebe's view, a proof (a) predicts the accuracy and consistency in hitting a client's color target (quality) and (b) adds value to the production process (time and cost). From concept through final output, there is a need for a proof to reference the customer requirements and how the final print will appear.

With the advent of digital proofing, these references are now an integral part of a successful workflow.

At concept, the proof could be a simple PDF or a more sophisticated "virtual" proof, which, by the way, Stoebe says Imation will be introducing at the Print 01 show in Chicago next month. Although virtual, such a proof actually allows a true simulation of a Matchprint standard proof, with CMYK color, to be viewed on a monitor.

As the print workflow progresses, however, the need for contract proofs that will accurately predict press conditions, complete with halftones and dots for fine tuning, will still be needed.

Digital proofing manufacturers have been introducing and updating products at an ever-increasing rate.

Since introducing its AgfaJet Sherpa line of piezo ink-jet proofers in 1999, in widths of 43" and 62", Agfa has installed more than 3,500 units worldwide. It debuted a 24"-wide Sherpa for four-up production last year. It has been adding a full solution to its line, including hardware, software, quality assurance, proofing materials, and color management tools.

At Print 01, Agfa plans to show an automated 43" SherpaMatic rollfed system, plus a high-resolution, contract-quality Sherpa—available in a variety of widths, with three times the speed, output of 1,440x1,440 dpi, 16 print heads, and up to eight colors—capable of showing the familiar rosette pattern that characterizes printed color reproductions.

Deborah A. Hutcheson, Agfa's senior product marketing manager for proofing systems, believes that ink-jet proofing is overcoming its original stigma. "At first, a printer or print buyer is skeptical," she admits, "but we're starting to reverse that reaction by showing prospects that ink jet delivers both lower cost and much faster turnaround. They soon see that an ink-jet proof doesn't mean giving up quality—but improving cost effectiveness. When we show them the match, they're ready to make the transition."

This summer, DuPont Color Proofing launched the 5.0 version of Digital WaterProof, which uses a continuous ink-jet platform to create a proof with halftone dots, and in the spring it introduced Dylux Digital on SpinJet, a two-sided imposition proof.

The company's new Thermal WaterProof, a computer-to-plate solution also offering a halftone dot, has been installed in six locations, including L.P. Thebault Co., a well-known printer in Parsippany, N.J. DuPont says Thermal WaterProof is so popular that it maintains a rolling waiting list for installations.

Fuji offers its PictroProof two-page color proofer and its four-page FinalProof system, which is designed to produce contract proofs containing halftone dots.

Another long-time proofing systems manufacturer, Imation, continues to introduce new products.

"Our core business is color proofing," says Rich Stoebe. "We at Imation believe that infrared thermal technology produces a great combination of proofs and plates; already, our Matchprint Digital Halftone Media is in production making proofs on more than 460 Creo platesetters and Presstek imagers. But we continue to make significant investments in improving proofing productivity, broadening our color gamut, and working closely with our hardware partners as they develop systems that provide a solid return on investment."

Stoebe says that, as a result of customer feedback, Imation is extending the Matchprint brand promise across new and unique platforms.

He says, "Our partnership with Xerox through the successful launch of the Imation Matchprint Professional Server to drive the Xerox DocuColor 12 is a recent example of delivering accurate and consistent color to a continuous-tone proofing/printing engine. The launch early this year of Imation Matchprint Inkjet Software to drive two-, four-, and eight-page devices is another example."

But, Stoebe adds, "While great technology is already available, hardware investment continues to be a stumbling block at present for a large part of the market."

He adds, "We are preparing to introduce our third generation of proofing media—substrates and software that hit an even broader range of color targets and improve productivity. Matchprint Digital Custom Color Software will broaden the color gamut for rendering special colors, and new precoated colors will soon be available for Hexachrome-capable proofing.

"Also, Matchprint Digital Direct-to-Paper enables proofmaking on actual printing stocks, saving time and money."

Kodak Polychrome Graphics has updated its Kodak Approval system in the past two years. "We've added spot color capability," says Bill DeMarco, the company's worldwide product line manager for digital proofing. "Our Recipe Color software, which won an InterTech Technology Award from GATF last year, enables the Kodak Approval XP system to produce literally millions of spot colors for more accurate proofing. Precise imaging allows perfect registration between exposure passes, enabling one dot of a particular color to be placed directly on top of a dot of another color."

He adds, "The fully adjustable density of the colors allows solids, halftones, and duotones to be proofed on the same sheet as intended. We've added the ability to proof metallic inks. We've also made the units twice as fast and doubled the format size."

Last year, Polaroid Graphics Imaging introduced Prediction, a two-up digital halftone version of its PolaProof system that also features much more advanced automation for high-volume, unattended production. Prediction, which uses Polaroid's laser ablation transfer technology, is designed for use by commercial printers, prepress shops, publishers, and corporate accounts.

Polaroid's DryJet system, available in two- and four-up format, uses actual paper stocks and pigmented inks that simulate press output. Proofs are designed for interim, comp, contract, or remote proofing.

For much of the '90s, printers were piecing together a digital workflow that made sense as both a productivity tool and a means to deliver acceptable output to customers whose demands were changing and increasing.

One such shop is Carey Color, which in 1990 began transmitting digital data for direct-to-cylinder rotogravure and then direct-to-plate printing. Today, it operates three locations: Carey Color Inc. in Medina, Ohio, and Carey Digital in Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

In August 2000, Carey Color replaced two proofers with a PictroProof and FinalProof system from Fuji. "We installed PictroProof to benefit our digital photography studio, to give our photographers and customers a quick hard-copy proof that they could expect would reasonably match the ColorArt proof," says Gary Moravcik, president and chief executive. "The quality, consistency, and productivity of the PictroProof unit greatly exceeded our expectations. Within 30 days, we produced more than 3,000 proofs of consistent quality without a single mechanical problem."

Today Carey Color uses the system for most of its mail-order catalog customers.

"We installed the four-up FinalProof for high-end customers, such as those in the fashion industry, where we needed a pigment proof with a halftone dot," says Moravcik. "We were equally pleased; registration is perfect, productivity is excellent—up to four proofs an hour, and consistency is better than anything we've seen. We've needed to calibrate color just a few times a month, not multiple times a day that many digital proofers require."

In January 1999, Eastern Rainbow, a prepress shop, merged with Souhegan Color Inc., a sheetfed printer, to form Vermillion Inc., which now offers creative capabilities, Web development, printing services, and data asset management in plants in Nashua and Derry, N.H.

The 110-employee company, which is equipped with a 28" Akiyama and a 40" MAN Roland press, serves clients in the Boston area, including advertising agencies; catalog and elementary and college textbook publishers; marketing communication companies; and packaging firms.

The merger combined technologies as well as clientele. In 1997, Eastern Rainbow became a field-test site for Polaroid's PolaProof system; the unit worked so well that the company eventually installed six. In February 2000, Vermillion installed Agfa's Galileo CTP system, and early this year it put in a Polaroid Prediction proofer.

Says Bob Stuart, the president of Vermillion who also serves as prepress manager, "The two-up Prediction, which averages output of about 10 pages per hour, is much more automated than PolaProof. We can feed Prediction a 44-page catalog and walk away. The system does require materials that are precollated for Prediction."

Stuart recalls that the merger pointed out the clear difference between digital and analog proofing. "An Eastern Rainbow customer would come in with a PolaProof and we'd be making plates in 15 minutes," he says. "But for a Souhegan customer with an analog proof, we wouldn't be finished making plates for 90 minutes. Obviously we were all soon using PolaProofs, saving on presstime and waste and getting up to color faster. Our return on investment was about seven months."

Stuart believes that the quick adoption of computer-to-plate has propelled the acceptance of digital proofs. His PolaProofs have never been returned by web catalog printers that can't match the proof, he says. Plus, he has no problem selling PolaProofs.

"I've used lower-end systems such as Rainbow and Iris proofs since early 1991," says Stuart, "but we needed a high-end solution. We looked at the others but decided on PolaProof. We produce up to 6,000 PolaProofs a month and run the Prediction system three shifts a day. It makes us more profitable, speeds our turnaround, and increases our PolaProof usage."

Many printers find that their customers wholly accept digital proofs, sometimes without being able to tell the difference. One of these is Seiz Printing, Acworth, Ga., a 100-employee shop serving the Atlanta market and equipped with four Heidelbergs, a 29" six-color and three 40" multicolors. In late 1999, the company installed two Trendsetter Spectrum systems and began field-testing another firm's proofing material.

Reports Mark Oglesby, prepress system administrator, "Our goal was to find an eight-up digital proofing solution that would mimic an analog Matchprint and require zero learning on the part of our sales people. The Trendsetter was the answer. Unless someone tells our customers that it's a digital proof, they never know; the high-quality laminated proof has the same format and size."

The only glitch was the proofing material being output by the Spectrum. "We were having color issues so we switched to Imation's Digital Matchprint material," says Oglesby. "We find that it's very stable batch to batch, plus Imation did a great job fingerprinting our presses. Within four proofs, Imation had the material running correctly. Every day we pull a proof to check solids and haven't had any drifting or need to recalibrate."

For Seiz, which produces 20 to 25 digital proofs per day, analog proofs now account for less than 1%. "We like the fact that the Creo system images the Imation material using the same RIPped file and laser that it will use to expose the plate," says Oglesby. "It's a golden master from the very beginning."

Oglesby concludes, "At first glance, digital proofing looks more expensive than analog. But when you realize you've eliminated film expense, cut manpower, and boosted job turnaround, the gains are very clear."

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company has been an early developer and user of digital proofing, first for its rotogravure presses, then for offset. In 1991, Donnelley installed the Kodak Approval system and has since added more than 15 such devices at its many sites; it now produces more than 90% of its proofs digitally.

"We feel that Kodak had the first and best high-end digital proofing system," says Michael Rodriguez, technical director for Donnelley. "More recently a lot of suppliers are providing halftone dot pigmented ink and ink-jet digital proofs with good color quality and consistency. There's a complex set of factors at work, including quality, cost, flexibility, and consistency. But we haven't seen any tremendous achievements yet to cause us to switch from the Kodak Approval system."

Nonetheless, Donnelley continues to survey the field. "The biggest surprise has been the tremendous strides in ink-jet proofing in the last two years," says Rodriguez. "DuPont, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, and Iris have respectable devices for early-round or contract proofs. The issue now is how to put good color management software to work."