Speaking to global trade journalists at the pre-drupa event, X-Rite CEO, Michael C. Ferrara, and vice president of parketing and product development, James Weaver, outlined the company’s plans to deliver innovative, lower cost streamlined hardware and software colour management solutions, targeting creative, prepress, commercial print, on demand and packaging segments of the graphic arts.
To kick off its streamlined colour management product lineup, X-Rite announced an industry first for the pressroom – a fast, one-step, self-contained method both to evaluate colour quality and to generate (ICC) colour profiles.
Through the single press of a button, any press operator can initiate a fast colour measurement from a linear CMS test form to create a high quality ICC colour profile, which characterises the parameters of a print job (press, paper, ink, screening). This innovation makes pressroom production colour management so simple, it can be widely adopted and utilised by printers to ensure better separations and improved proof-to-press matching.
“At X-Rite, our focus is to develop colour management solutions that are streamlined within the printing process”, says Weaver. “By this we mean faster, smarter, more universal applications, consisting of integrated hardware and software to create solutions that are easier to operate, while delivering an economic return for our global customers”.
X-Rite also announced plans to introduce what it says is the industry’s first and only low cost, highly accurate, upgradeable, and truly portable spectrophotometer solution for the graphic design market. Utilising the company’s new patented colour measurement technology, paired with innovative software, this product offers colour management for the initial phases of the workflow.
Weaver claims “X-Rite’s new ergonomically designed portable instrument, integrated with our innovative colour management software, sets a new benchmark as the perfect creative colour solution for graphic artists worldwide.”
For the prepress area and on-demand printers, X-Rite will introduce a new X-Y AutoScan Spectrophotometer, which enables users to measure ICC colour management test forms faster than ever before, saving time and money. Today, this process requires at least 20 minutes. The new X-Y solution will measure targets in less than three minutes – with no compromises. Also included is a “set it and forget it” mode, which only requires the user to place the test form in the X-Y AutoScan and push a button to begin operation. This process only takes five seconds.
X-Rite will announce further details of these new products and several others in the weeks leading up to drupa.
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