Out of 28 hard copy and soft proofing systems evaluated, CGS Publishing Technologies International’s ORIS Color Tuner was one of only four systems placed in the ’Excellent’ category by a panel of 17 colour professionals. Of the four companies represented in that group, only CGS and one other had entries in both hard copy and display-based proofing.
This year’s event marked a significant procedural change in evaluating proofing systems. Although average and maximum ΔE variances were recorded, the emphasis was on visual evaluations, and on the ability of systems to achieve good results from measurement data. A panel of expert judges evaluated entries based on colour hue accuracy, gray balance, flesh tone reproduction, as well as rendering of shape, detail, and tonal transitions. Vendors also did not have a complete visual reference during the test, but were required to work solely with an IT8.7/4 target and numeric data.
In the visual judging, ORIS was ranked among the top four systems in the Excellent Rendering category, with scores of 8 or higher, out of a possible 10. Both ORIS Color Tuner systems used the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer and ORIS PearlPROOF paper, one with UltraChrome K3 inks and the other with Pantone inks. Both entries’ measurement results were excellent – with extremely low average and maximum ΔE variances from the target values. (This year, the IPA did not publish the ΔE numbers, which were only given to vendors for verification.) ORIS’ spot colour results were also excellent, as in previous years. ORIS Soft Proof also fared well, ranked in the 7-7.9 category by the panel.
ORIS’ excellent ΔE and visual results were produced early in the testing process, after only a few hours of setup and calibration whilst several vendors spent much more time tweaking their systems to achieve comparable results.
Another significant change in this year’s test was the reporting of cost-per-proof. Based on software, equipment and consumables costs, both ORIS Color Tuner systems produced an 11×17-inch contract proof for US$1.90, the lowest of all systems scoring 8 or higher in the overall judging.
“Every year, an increasing number of proofing systems achieve numeric results similar to ORIS,” says CGS President Trevor Haworth. “The things to remember, however, are cost and ease of use. Our results were excellent, as always, but at a fraction of the cost and in far less time than our nearest competitors. In the real world, customers cannot spend hours of experts’ time getting each proof right.”
This was also the first time ORIS Soft Proof was evaluated at the Proofing RoundUP. In the overall judging, ORIS Soft Proof was ranked with the majority of all proofing systems, with scores of 7-7.9. No soft proofing system scored in the 8-10 category. ORIS Soft Proof uses PDF/X-3 files and Adobe Acrobat, rather than proprietary technology, to offer display-based proofing and collaboration, combined with on-demand hard copy proofing.
CyraChrome is agent for Color Tuner and CGS in Australia.
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