Independent profiling and testing lab for the digital large-format printing industry, Color Concepts, has rebranded as ColorBase.
This company said this change reflects its renewed focus on reducing waste in the printing industry by connecting players through intelligent platforms that enable smarter collaboration, material sourcing, and colour management solutions.
Those familiar with Color Concepts will recognise the name ColorBase – it is the name of the company’s proprietary database containing details on more than 430 large format printers, 3700 materials, 90 RIPs and 1.2 million printer profiles.
This dataset powers a series of interconnected software tools – ColorBase Labs, ColorBase Exchange, and ColorBase Toolbox – that create value for users by enabling sharing of information between industry partners, and significantly reducing waste.
The company said its decision to focus its efforts on the ColorBase project makes the progression from the Color Concepts identity to ColorBase a natural evolution.
“We aim to change the world – so first, we must change ourselves. Instead of repeating the same testing and profiling over and over again, we aim to digitise our knowledge and the results of our work,” ColorBase CEO Marco Roos said.
“To those who have followed us for the past 20 years, keep following us – we are transforming and it is exciting!”
ColorBase added that it is committed to making the transition as seamless as possible for its customers and partners.
It will continue to offer the testing, profiling and certification work that put Color Concepts on the map, alongside its new digital products.
As part of the rebranding, the company has hired Brend Kouwenhoven as the new general manager of ColorBase.
He has joined the company to oversee the transformation and rebranding of the business into a fully digitised and democratised resource.
Kouwenhoven said he aims to reduce the $90 billion worth of waste in print, adding that 10 per cent of everything that is printed is waste.
The team at ColorBase see this as an opportunity to take out a lot of the guesswork and trial and error in printing to make inroads into that 10 per cent wastage.
“The printing process is there to create applications, not simply produce output. It might be to create a traffic sign to last for many years, a tin can with the right colour or a vehicle graphic to withstand tough conditions,” Kouwenhoven said.
“Whatever the application, the colour usually needs to be 100 per cent accurate, and the overall product needs to comply with any environmental or regulatory requirements that go with it, such as UV/fire/wind resistance, slip levels etc. Otherwise, that print will have to be redone, which is a waste we shouldn’t have to subject our planet to.
“We are a technical and scientific company by nature, which means we always look for the best and most efficient solutions. We believe we have created something revolutionary for our industry that will also greatly benefit the environment.
“Over many years, our labs have tested thousands of print combinations and developed great software and testing processes to do this. It amounts to over 1.2 million unique recipes for successfully matching the right media, print and ink and configuring them to deliver the right solution the first time.
“We have built a strong foundation for testing that allows us to develop and communicate a structured testing environment for others to follow. Why? Because we know this process reduces waste, and the more it can be done, the more waste we can take out.
“Our skills are in digitising and democratising the process and testing software. We then make the data readily and easily available to manufacturers, printers, brand owners, and specifiers.”
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