Dr. Renmei Xu is an associate professor in the School of Art at Ball State University, where she teaches courses in the Graphic Arts Management program. She received her PhD degree in Paper and Imaging Science and Engineering from Western Michigan University in 2006. Her research areas include color management, print quality, ink mileage, computer to plate/screen, functional papers, printed electronics, edible printing, rapid prototyping technologies such as laser engraving and 3D printing, etc.
Comparison Between Inline and Offline Color Management Processes for Digital Presses
Renmei Xu, School of Art, Ball State University
Digital presses have become one of the most efficient ways to create short-run or personalized print products. Compared to traditional printing presses, it is also easier and quicker for digital presses to make changes in color management, especially with inline measurement systems. Inline color management can not only perform automated registration and real-time color density adjustments, but also create custom ICC profiles for different substrates under different environmental and press conditions. This inline process can be added into an automated workflow to ensure color matching or G7 conformance. However, it would be interesting to know whether quality has been sacrificed for speed.
In this study, a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C2070 at Ball State University was used to compare inline and offline profiling processes. An inline IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer installed on the press along with EFI Fiery™ Color Profiler Suite was used to create custom profiles for eight paper substrates, five coated and three uncoated. The G7 method was used for calibration and then 1,617 patches (CGATS IT8.7/4) were printed and measured inline. The inline process took about 10 minutes to create one profile. An offline X-Rite ES-2000 spectrophotometer was also used to create custom profiles for these eight substrates. Again, the G7 method was used for calibration and then 1,617 patches were printed and measured manually. The offline process took about 40 minutes to create one profile. Profiles created using inline and offline processes were evaluated and compared in CHROMiX ColorThink™ Pro to find out their differences. Profiles of these substrates were also evaluated and compared to investigate the differences between uncoated and coated substrates. Advantages and disadvantages of inline and offline processes were summarized.