Process Color Management Seminar

• Optimizing ink, ink film thickness and tone reproduction
• Press calibration and characterization through fingerprinting
• Color measurement, analysis and profile generation
• Utilizing ICC profiles in electronic workflow
• Managing expectations through proofing
• Process control in the pressroom

• Color systems 101, tone reproduction and gray balance
• Flexographic characteristics in process color printing
• Color fingerprint test
• Workflow of CMYK color management
• Proofing in's and out's
• Key process indicators and implementing process control

Location: Harris A. Smith Auditorium

Day 1

8:30 a.m. - Program overview and introductions

8:45 a.m. - Process color workflow: Design-to-print and key indicators: Map press, prepress, design and customer; review key components in each section; review how components integrate with process color.

9:15 a.m. - Color metrics, measurement and instrumentation: Spectral reflectance curve and physics of color; illuminants and observer; CIELAB and CIE LCh; density, dot area and dot gain; △E - DL, DC and Dh formulas; instruments, bulbs, geometry and agreement; handheld, tethered and in-line.

10:15 a.m. - Break

10:30 a.m. - Color systems, dots and gray balance: RGB and CMYK; additive and subtractive; CMYK ink trapping and overprints; tone reproduction with CMYK theory; tone reproduction in practice (intro to Dot%, NPDC and LPI); visual gray balance theory; gray balance in practice - grayscale, intro to G7 gray.

11:30 a.m. - Color specifications and standards: ISO 12647-6; FIRST process color specifications; preserving hue and maximizing chroma.

12 p.m. - Lunch

1 p.m. - Flexo system optimization I: Ink and Anilox: Substrates and ink film thickness; ink concentration and resulting color; aniline volume, CPI, color strength, coverage and wear; banded aniline test and controlled experiment.

1:30 p.m. - Flexo system optimization II: Plates: Plate dot structures including translation from file to plate; implications of the highlight dot to process color workflow; optimization with mounting - slur, mottle and coverage; solid patterning.

2 p.m. - Breakout sessions:

• Session A: Press calibration: Press testing 101; press colors to ISO 12647-6; sample measurement; near-neutral calibration; curve generated; establishing a process control benchmark.
• Session B: Banded anilox evaluation: Anilox roller selection; capability analysis; LPI evaluation and selection; highlight optimization; hands-on densitometers and dot area plot.
• Session C: Ink analysis and formulation: Drawdowns with different anilox on different substrates; basic color measurement; analysis of color strength and chroma, return on investment and ink film thickness.

5:30 p.m. - Group dinner

Day 2

8:30 a.m. - Curves and prepress workflow: Accounting for press and flexo system variability with prepress curves; curve selection and continuous improvement; near-neutral calibration methods; halftone angles; total ink limit.

9:45 a.m. - Break

10 a.m. - Digital proofing for flexo: Flexo proofing considerations; technology available; screened and contone; ICC deficiencies; certified proofing.

11 a.m. - Breakout sessions:

• Session A: Plate process control; anilox process control; print IT8 and color test; dial-in to established benchmark; documentation.
• Session B: Color reference file; color measurement; color data analysis compared to standard data sets; profile generation; profile analysis.
• Session C: Photoshop color evaluation; separations to GRACoL; separations to custom; output proofs; proof certification.

12 p.m. - Lunch

1 p.m. - Breakout sessions (Continued)

3 p.m. - Break

3:30 p.m. - Print quality assurance: Global and multi-plant perspective; ink, aniline and plate; pressroom process control; tone strips: 100, 70, 30, 10, min; linear vs. curved; plate control, print control and curve control.

4:30 p.m. - Process overview and final job preparation: Review entire process color characterization workflow and prepare images for final job (RIP and inspect).

5 p.m. - End of day

Day 3

8:30 a.m. - Managing flexo expectations: Customer perspective: Process color in packaging; managing creative expectations through proofing; process control for packaging repeatability.

9:15 a.m. - Expanded gamut process color printing: CMYK integration within ECG; extra process inks defined; curve calibration with ECG; intro to color management in ECG.

9:45 a.m. - Break

11 a.m. - Breakout sessions:

• Session A: Inspect and measure samples of process print defects to determine the root cause of the problem.
• Session B: Running to the numbers; final job printing; samples; proof-to-press evaluation.

11:30 a.m. - Evaluations and adjourn

21 days prior to event date for 100% refund; 14 days prior to event date for 50% refund; no refund will be given less than 14 days. Email us for more information.