Proofing Options Vary For "Critical" Color...

In general, there are two types of color in the graphic arts: "critical" color and "pleasing" or good-enough color. In terms of color proofing, the first two categories may be viewed in the context of what printers use for each of those classes of customers. This provides a sense of what printers view as the most accurate proofing systems on the market, and what proofing systems they can get away with.

A new TrendWatch special report entitled "Proofing: What Is It? Why Is It? Where Is It Going?" includes the results of a survey of printers regarding what they use to proof jobs for critical color customers as well as their "pleasing" or "good-enough" color customers.

For critical color, say survey data, a single-sheet proof made from actual printing film (Matchprint, Cromalin, ColorArt, etc.) is still the preferred proofing method: 56% of all printers prefer it for critical color jobs. Even 68% of digital printers prefer it, and 75% of plants with metal direct-to-plate equipment use proofs made from actual printing film for critical color clients.

This raises a good question. The whole point of direct-to printing technologies (direct-to-plate, direct-to-press) is to eliminate film from the process. If the number-one critical color proofing method is based on film, what hope is there for the future of color proofing? There have been some cases in which even though a book or publication was being printed direct-to-plate, the publisher had film made anyway just to get a Matchprint. Not a very cost-effective way of proofing, but accurate nonetheless.

The crucial issue with proofing is not just a case of color matching, but seeing halftone dots. This is why Matchprints and their ilk are so highly valued for their accuracy: they include halftone dots, where you can see, for example, if your document is going to have dot-related problems such as moiré, misregistration, and so on. This is why digital proofing systems that will produce halftone dots, such as the Kodak Approval, are becoming so highly valued, and they are the number-two proofing method for critical color customers, say survey data.

TrendWatch Report, presented exclusively for Graphic Arts Monthly readers, is contributed monthly by TrendWatch, a Cahners Business Information company, as part of its in-depth survey of U.S. printing managers. The Spring and Fall surveys have been conducted since 1995.

TrendWatch, a registered trademark of JW2 Ventures, Inc., applies reliable sampling methods to a statistically accurate profile of various printing industry segments. The results garnered from each of the surveys are derived from about 3,000 mailed questionnaires.