Lisa Cross

Patents Go to Color Enhancing Techniques
May 11, 2007

Color Control Network (CCN) says it has patented technology which offers an extended color gamut and unprecedented accuracy to offset printing. Henry Martinez, founder and CEO of CCN, has received two U.S. patents for his work in the field of 4/C lithography.

“When I began working with color separation images, I kept wondering, where did all of my beautiful, intense colors go?” “And, if I feel this way, imagine how the advertisers who depend on these images to sell for them must feel!” Martinez says of why he started to study this problem.

He began to experiment with highly pigmented inks in order to obtain a longer printing range and capture those intense colors. Printing accurately at higher densities without unwanted color distortion calls for modeling the behavior of highly pigmented inks as they are superimposed to form color images, going beyond the conventional approach of only addressing tone-reproduction.

This discovery ultimately led to CCN-certified inks, which are currently distributed by Top Level Ink. CCN’s Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black typically run at solid densities of 1.95, 1.95, 1.40 and 2.00 respectively.

In their patented methodology for modeling the behavior of inks, CCN uses a number of sophisticated algorithms to generate a proprietary, 256-component, 32-curves set which is applied to each file before it is plated. Adjustments are based on detailed analysis of the elements of a given job, including, but not limited to, characteristics of the press, the proofing system and the paper.

“Intense color with predictable results remains an objective in 4/C commercial printing,” says John Jeffus, Chief Technical Officer of CCN, “and we are very excited to offer a technology that can potentially rival the visual impact of photography, inkjet printing and RGB monitors using a set of four inks.”

CCN’s web-based service is easily integrated with the most basic to the most complex of today’s workflows. The system is designed to work with digital halftone proofing systems from leading manufacturers and currently supports Kodak’s Approval®. Support for other manufacturers’ proofing systems are planned and will follow at a later date.

This technology is now available to print content producers, heatset web and sheetfed offset printers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. CCN will announce the national availability of their services through a network of certified color management consultants at GRAPH EXPO, booth #4653, September 9th, 2007.

About Color Control Network
Color Control Network (CCN) is a robust, new, patented technology that is changing the commercial printing industry. This technique of making colors and images better than they have ever been is being brought to the market for the first time by CCN. Created by color experts with more than 100 years in the commercial printing industry, CCN allows existing four-color presses to provide accurate, consistent color for the first time ever - color that is up to 48% more intense and vivid. For more information, please visit www.colorcontrolnetwork.com

Posted by Lisa Cross on May 11, 2007 | Comments (0)