Reduce the gap between flexographic proofing and actual printing
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Whether it's offset, digital or flexographic printing, printers are looking for ways to improve and simplify production processes in response to ever-shrinking profit margins. One way to do this is to ensure that the finished products that the customer receives meet their expectations and avoid re-production and re-printing. This means that an accurate, high-quality contract proof is critical.
Proofing has always been a headache in flexographic printing. Some people may say that the best way to show customers the effect of finished products is to print them directly. However, this approach is not very easy to implement, not only is the cost higher, but also the cycle is longer. When using other printing processes, relatively simple inkjet proofing can often be used to simulate the actual printing effect. The flexographic printing is special, the dot enlargement rule and the screening angle are different from other printing methods, and the spot color and metallic printing are also widely used in flexographic printing.
Therefore, for flexographic printing, the required technical conditions are relatively high. Printers should have a RIP that can drive accurate and reliable output devices. The RIP of the professional flexographic proofing system reproduces the flexographic effect involving many variables and then outputs an image of the contracted quality to the proofer. The quality of the proofing is very important, and the quality of the Epson equipment is unparalleled, so it has the largest share in the proofing market. Epson has recently introduced four new 8-color printers, the Stylus Pro 4880, 7880, 9880 and 11880, all featuring UltraChrome K3 technology for bright magenta inks that enhance image quality, and the printheads also use award-winning MicroPiezo (micro-piezo) technology, this also ensures that high-quality proofs are printed at a reasonable cost.
A problem often encountered with flexographic proofing is that the primary substrate used in the proofing process is white paper, which is rarely used in the final version of the flexographic plate. The only way to get realistic proofs on actual materials is to perform wet proofing, which is beyond the cost tolerance of many printers. An alternative technology is to use specially developed technology to match the high standard inkjet proofing machine to accurately reproduce the real printing results.
The FlexoProof system from GMG reproduces the proofing of actual substrates, such as corrugated cardboard. In fact, any low quality paper can be simulated by changing the image noise. GMG's products support Epson Stylus Pro printers, taking full advantage of the transparency and density of the UltraChrome K3 ink system, as well as the precision of micro-piezo print head technology with ultra-fine dots (UltraMicro Dot) ) The accuracy of inkjet.
The StarProof system from Compose System solves the complex problem of dot structure by analyzing CMYK dot shape and screen angle. This analysis was provided by the Actual Dot system, which reproduces the original screening and dot shape printing techniques with proof resolution. When sent to a high-resolution printer, such as the Epson Stylus Pro4880, you can output high-quality proofs with sharp dots, clear images, accurate colors, and fine-grained levels.
The flexographic screen dot usually requires a small adjustment of the height or width of the dot to compensate for dot gain during printing. The StarProof Dot Distortion tool generates the correct screening points based on the original's deformation ratio or expansion ratio under user control and extends the deformed dots to the correct size. StarProof also compensates for small dot loss during flexographic transfer during printing. By entering the size value of "Dot Lost", the screen dots smaller than this size will be removed and will not appear on the proof sheet, which is in line with the actual situation of printing.
Most Rips handle spot colors in the same way, by software analysis, to convert the spot color to the closest CMYK value. XPer's Advanced Proofing's OpenRIP Flexo is capable of printing composite colors or specific colors for press proofing and customer proofing. It is also possible to change the spot color when Rip, which can reduce the amount of ink required for overprinting, while previewing effects such as limit printing, overprinting and knockout. OpenRIP uses KoolKolor inkjet proofing technology for ICC color management and color management files for target devices to simulate the final printed product.
GMG's FlexoProof supports all standard spot color systems, such as the Hexachrome or Pantone spot color libraries, which are available with the product. An image can be divided into up to 64 colors, and there is no limit to the total color separation of a printed product. These colors are stored in the database and users can add colors to the database as needed. With the FlexoProof solution, color opacity and associated print order can be specified as needed, and even white bases can be designated as spot colors.
Early screening problems can also be solved by GMG's FlexProof. In addition to handling pre-press data formats for almost all industry standards, FlexoProof can handle the final 1-bit data, such as those obtained from CTP RIP. These data are color management using the network information that was originally reserved, rather than information about the network. This makes it possible to detect hue discontinuities, moiré and trapping errors early before the plate is exposed.
It is a problem that RIP can output high quality effects, and the final proofing effect may be another matter. If the color is out of the gamut, the proof will be completely different from the one you imagined. The proofer needs to have the ability to output modifications made by the proofing system. Epson large format printers have a good reputation for color performance thanks to the outstanding performance of UltraChrome K3 inks, which have a certain water resistance, fast drying after printing and excellent light fastness. Unlike traditional blacks, Epson UltraChrome K3 uses three different concentrations of black ink for a more stable and accurate grayscale balance, and uses less color ink for more precise color control. Together with a print resolution of up to 2880x1440dpi, it can perfectly match the RIP output.
Although the professional Rip suppliers such as GMG, Xante and Compose System have made great advances in technology, coupled with the cooperation of Epson inkjet printers, the flexographic proofing technology has taken a big step forward, but the flexographic proofing is still a big step. Not reaching perfection. Through high-quality contract proofing, the gap between proofs and finished products is gradually shrinking printing technology. The closer the sample and final product output of the proofing device is, the more happy the customer will be.