FlexoGlobal TM 2008.pdf · The Kodak FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System is a revolutionary step...

• G7CalibratingofProofs&Presses

• AniloxSleeves:CaringfortheFutureofFlexo

• IfOnlyICouldLearnMOre

• QualityControl&ColorManagement’sRole

• RevolutionaryStepsinFlexography

• PromotingtheNextGeneration

• ColorManagementforPackaging:SpectralColors&Beyond

...andmore!

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May2008

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Features

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FlexoGlobalTM

FlexoGlobal’s e-magazine is brought to you by FlexoGlobal,

your portal to the global flexographic industry.

FlexoGlobal’s mission is to deliver to the global flexographic community topnotch technical

articles authored by industry experts, industry updates on an

international level, and overviews of business practices to improve

operating efficiencies.

Publisher & Editor-in-ChiefLaura Wayland-Smith Hatch

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Contents

Welcome to e-FlexoGlobal ..............................................................6 Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch, FlexoGlobalWelcome to the inaugural issue of e-FlexoGlobal, the new technical journal for the international flexographic community. Available in a PDF format for speedy distribu-tion and hot linked throughout, our mission is to deliver topnotch technical articles authored by industry experts, flexo industry updates on an international level, and over-views of business practices to improve operating efficiencies.

G7 Calibrating of Proofs & Presses ..............................................10 Wayne Peachey, Keating TorontoA new movement in the litho industry is permeating its way into flexo. Called “G7”. It is a calibration process aimed at matching presses to each other so that they achieve similar results. We’ve all heard the comments “We print warm” or “We print sharp;” however, these differences often drive our customers crazy and lead to extended colour retouching, press approvals, or rejected print.

Quality Control & The Role of Color Management ...........................14 Dimitris Ploumidis, Pacific Southwest ContainerColor management in a manufacturing environment is a tool in the mix of processes that assures that the product conforms to the established quality standards. This article will deal with the general concept of color management as applied to quality control purposes, and subsequent articles will discuss the issues mentioned here in more detail.

Anilox Sleeves: Caring for the Future of Flexo ................................22 Sean Teufler, Harper Corporation of AmericaToday’s demands for faster production and changeovers have made essential the devel-opment of anilox sleeve technology. The anilox sleeve concept was fostered by the suc-cess of the print sleeve, precise controls, and servo technology utilized on many wide-web central impression presses.

If only I could learn more .............................................................26 Malcolm Keif, Cal Poly San Luis ObispoIf you are like me, you get frustrated that you can’t learn as much as you’d like. As I get older, I deal with that part of life that we all (will) deal with …. the memory isn’t what it once was. Now, where was I? Oh yeah …

Revolutionary Steps in Flexographic Plate Technology ......................28 Dr. John Anderson, Eastman Kodak CompanyThe Kodak FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System is a revolutionary step forward for flexographic plate making. It combines new products with a new method to make flexographic plates that will enable the flexo industry to make significant advances in quality, consistency, and productivity.

http://www.flexoglobal.com


Get the new Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System and challenge the traditional boundaries of flexo printing. Now you can print jobs never before possible with flexo. And help grow your business in ways you never imagined. Outstanding results. No compromises. Just gravure class quality in a revolutionary system that will change the way you look at flexo printing. Only from Kodak. Giving you the power to get more business.

Visit kodak.com/go/flex©Kodak, 2008. Kodak and Flexcel are trademarks of Kodak.

Call 1-866-563-2533

http://graphics1.kodak.com/us/consumables/plates/flexographic/kodak_flexcel_nx_flexographic_plates/default.htm


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Contents

Color Management from a Global View .........................................32 Darrian Young, Color & Image Consulting - GMG IberiaOne of the main topics in color management seminars, forums, trainings, symposiums, etc. over the last couple of years has been standards. As color management technology has improved over the years and become more affordable, it has provided the basis for the development of tools and procedures to establish color standards and specifications in the graphic arts industry.

The Phoenix Challenge: Promoting the Next Generation of Workers ...................................36 Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch, FlexoGlobalThis past April, I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to witness my first-ever Phoenix Challenge Foundation Annual International High School Flexographic Skills Competition for students in North America currently study-ing flexography.

Sustainability in Printing and Packaging .........................................42 Liam O’Hara, Clemson UniversityWe’ve all heard the terms “sustainability” and “green printing” and “packaging score-cards” by now, but while there’s an awareness of the buzzwords, the implications of sus-tainable practices on commerce and the printing/packaging industry are things we’re just coming to terms with.

Kodak Breaks the Limits of Flexo Printing ......................................46Producers of flexible packaging, labels, and other packaging-related products have long relied on flexographic printing for these jobs, and the imaging of flexo plates has often been viewed as equal parts art and science. However, the process has improved dramati-cally over the past few years with the introduction of digital plate imaging technology.

Color Management for Packaging: Spectral Colors & Beyond ...........48 Abhay Sharma, Ryerson UniversityColor management for packaging faces special challenges as many packages require bright and bold colors that are beyond the gamut capabilities of process inks. Typically, the gamut of process CMYK inks may be expanded through the use of special colors such as red, green, or violet. Reproducing a design in a special color keeps registration issues to a minimum. Special colors are much easier, especially when a packaging prod-uct is to be printed across all three print processes— gravure, flexo, litho.

May & June 2008 Industry Events ..........................................................53



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Editorial

Laura Wayland-Smith HatchPublisher & Editor-in-Chief

Welcome to the inaugural issue of e-FlexoGlobal, the new technical

journal for the international flexographic community. Available in a PDF format for speedy distribution and hot linked throughout, our mission is to deliver topnotch technical articles authored by industry experts, flexo industry updates on an international level, and overviews of business practices to improve operating efficiencies.

In this issue, we focus on Color Manage-ment. Dimitri Ploumidis, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, begins an ongoing series of articles on color man-agement, beginning with an overview of color management and process control. Wayne Peachey, Keating Global, provides insights into G7; Darrian Young, Color & Image Consulting - GMG Iberia, dis-cusses color management from a global perspective; and Abhay Sharma. Ryerson

University, takes on color management as it relates to the packaging industry.

On the flexo-specific side, Sean Teufler of Harper Corporation provides excellent information on the care and handling of anilox sleeves, and

And on the education side, there is a review of the recent Phoenix Challenge International High School Competition, which took place in early April in Char-lotte, North Carolina; and Malcolm Keif, Cal Poly, brings us up to date on his recent sabbatical and “continued learning” expe-riences in the flexographic industry.

So, is your company offering new state-of-the-art technology and/or products to the flexographic market? Do you have research findings that you’d like to share with others in the industry? And, do you want to reach out to the international, and growing, flexographic industry?

If your answer yes to any of those ques-tions, then I’d like to invite you to become a contributing author to e-FlexoGlobal. And, it’s very simple to do. Simply drop me an e-mail at [email protected] with your proposed article, and I’ll get back to you to discuss the details.

FlexoGlobal officially launched on March 11th, and is an independent Web-based enterprise designed to promote and ser-vice the global flexographic industry. It is not an association, nor is it a private membership-based organization. And, it does not sell flexographic products or services. Our sole mission is to serve as an unbiased flexographic information portal that communicates with and services the international community—individuals, companies, and associations alike.

All areas of FlexoGlobal are available to its visitors free of charge. Already on the site is a comprehensive Print Glossary that

Welcome to e-FlexoGlobal!



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7www.flexoglobal.comMay2008 FlexoGlobal

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Editorial

is continually being added to, an Industry News center with the latest press releases, and an Events calendar covering seminars and trade shows worldwide. We’ve also added “Think About This,” a section dedicated to great ideas, whether they are flexo-related or not.

But, our Web site is a work in progress, and, just like our e-magazine, content will be added and changed, so make sure that you bookmark www.flexoglobal.com and check in on a regular basis.

But while you now know about Flexo-Global, you may still be wondering who I am.

For almost nine years, I was Editor of a traditional ink-on-paper gravure publica-tion and Director of Communications for a gravure trade association. During that time, I learned all about the gravure process and print market and came to know many of the key players—at both the industry and educational levels. For another year and a half, I worked for a flexographic trade association in several positions related to publishing and mar-keting.

In 2006, I began partnering with gravure professionals to deliver a new type of ser-vice that takes advantage of modern tech-

nology to deliver information in a cost-effective manner—GravurExchange—and now I am expanding into the flexo-graphic industry with the same concept.

As we move forward, I want to stress that FlexoGlobal is responsive to its visi-tors and often includes their suggestions in Web site upgrades. Your feedback is important, so take the time to drop me a note with your thoughts and ideas!

I hope you enjoy the first issue of e-Flex-oGlobal. Look for the next installment in July.

FlexoGlobal is a “Hot“ Publication!

Just look for the typed out hyperlinks or blue text in the body of articles and click! .And don’t forget that all advertisements are “hot” as well. Just slide your mouse over the page and off you go!



Interested in making a splash in the flexo industry?

Become a FlexoGlobal Sponsor& reach out around the world!

Contact us at [email protected] to learn about the opportunities.




STandards

A new movement in the litho industry is permeating its way into flexo. Called

“G7”—G (grey-scale calibration) and 7 (CMYKRGB)—it is a calibration process aimed at matching presses to each other so that they achieve similar results. We’ve all heard the comments “We print warm” or “We print sharp;” however, these differ-ences often drive our customers crazy and

lead to extended colour retouching, press approvals, or rejected print.

The relevance to flexo is that our cus-tomers are becoming G7-savvy, and the transfer of work among different print processes means that if we don’t get on the bus now, it just might run us over!

Further information is available at http://www.gracol.org, which contains informa-tion, downloads, and links to software that simplifies the process.

The concepts driving this proof-to-press-to-press calibration method are simple and logical. Explaining how simple is not always that easy, but I’ll give it a try.

G7 Calibrating of Proofs & PressesBy Wayne Peachey, Keating Toronto

This article first appeared in March's issue of Package Printing in Canada

Stephen Trace (Customer Service) and Wayne Peachey (Operations Manager) in Keating’s new flexographic plant in Mississauga.




1. Match your CMYK inks to a colour standard, aiming for ink colours and densities that match your chosen standard (I’ll explain later why that’s such a controversial topic).

2. Run the G7 images on press. Create Prepress curves that aim for neutral grey balance and specified density targets through the midtones. This process aims to achieve ISO’s defini-tion of grey balance.

3. Run a confirmation press character-ization.

Many industry professionals feel that 75 percent of the colour differences among proofs, presses, and print methods can be controlled using the above approach. The limited evidence is that this view has merit, and the logic driving this method is compelling. If designers, prepress, and printers aim for the same colour targets, then waste in the form of unnecessary colour retouching can be avoided.

In reality, there will always be some dif-ferences between colour spaces, but this method moves us much closer together as an industry than we have ever been. In the real world, we will still use press-spe-cific colour profiles in prepress, although these will be much closer to each other, and some common profiles will be used between presses and printers.

It must be remembered that this is an emerging technology that has already evolved from earlier versions. At the Splash Color Management Conference, there were criticisms of this process (and its creators), saying that it stepped outside of ISO and that it should not be published until it was ratified into ISO documenta-tion. Equally strong arguments were used to contradict this viewpoint.

Perhaps you won’t see the relevance of this technology until your customer says, “We want you calibrated to G7.” It will catch

The circles represent the chosen ISO standard for CMYK plus the RGB overprints. Ink hue angles are the most important considerations for G7.

The Idealink software suggests curves that will achieve a neutral grey balance for CM&Y. Alternatively, there is a graph paper method that costs nothing—but

time!




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you by surprise, sooner rather than later, and end users are certainly beginning to see the merit of this off-the-shelf stan-dard.

What colour is Magenta? To an outsider, this should be a very simple question, but it’s not. An outsider would expect all Magentas to be the same. They would also expect a Neutral Grey (50 per-cent Cyan, 40 percent Magenta, 40 per-cent Yellow) to have a “right: or “wrong” answer. Today, however, many hours of effort go into workarounds, because the reality is that there are no right answers.

What G7 attempts to do is define C, M, Y, K, plus the RGB overprints, and define the neutral grey appearance of midtones compared with black.

Most printers could not reference their inks to any particular standard. Inks typi-cally use pigments that are chosen for vari-ous reasons including compatibility with resin, solvent, and lightfastness. There-

A typical confirmation press characterization containing standard G7 elements plus colour profiling targets.

fore, inks from printer to printer or from print scenario (ink/substrate/lamination) to print scenario rarely match.

Under G7, there is a target for that colour, and the system will not work if the ink is way off the target. For instance, a very yellow magenta will prove difficult when trying to achieve a neutral grey.

The best place to start is with the various standards for the print industry…

• FIRSTsetsL*a*b*standardsforSolvent, Water or UV inks.

• ISO2846-5:2005setsanL*a*b*standard for flexo (these are derived from the above).

• ISO12647(series)setsL*a*b*standards for many print pro-cesses by substrate.

So which CMYK data set should be used? Good question, and currently there are no right answers, only opinions.

How far is a mile? Well it’s a measurement that can be traced back to one standard that cannot be disputed. How many dif-ferent CMYK standards are defined in these documents? At least 13!

There is an argument for following ISO standards for your print process, because these are international standards recog-nized throughout the world. However, what’s the point in everyone targeting dif-ferentL*a*b*valuesandthensayingtheyhave reached a “standard?” If there is more than one standard, or more than one defi-nition of a mile, it cannot be a standard (I have to thank Mark Mazur of Dupont for opening my eyes to that one).

The logic (which can be and is disputed), is that our customers only want one Magenta and not 13, and they don’t care about different print processes; therefore, for Flexo film, we (Keating) target the ISO_12647-2 litho standard. We may not get there, but that’s our target. There will be occasions when these numbers are difficult to match; however, when chal-lenged, the ink companies have responded admirably.

What other challenges are there?Achieving high densities and saturated colour is a challenge for flexo; therefore, some optimization or compromise may be required.

It must be noted that G7 does not expect printers to match ink strengths or densi-ties, only the ink hue angles. For exam-ple, Newsprint will not achieve the ink strength of Commercial Gloss paper. Our approach has been to say, “If we can achieve the ink strengths to compete with Litho and Gravure, why wouldn’t we?”

The dots/solids illustration shows what we achieved through optimization during our G7 project at Sonoco Terrebonne (Montreal). We have achieved equally




stunning results working with Sonoco’s location in Mississauga (Toronto).

There are some print challenges that force us to fall outside of G7—for example, light-safe magenta pigments are typically much yellower than the standards. This presents a situation that does not easily fit with the G7 methodology.

Benefits?The perfect workflow would see Design-ers using G7 color management for their proofs, Prepress would then only make slight modifications to supplied files, and Printers would achieve approved colour quickly, matching litho/gravure standards in the process. The benefits for these sup-pliers are in workflow simplification and improved quality offerings. End users see benefits in improved colour matching among suppliers and in improved quality

due to the “sorting” process of supplier qualification.

Our testing has proven to me that the process creates good-looking images and matches presses closely so that work can be transferred more readily based on pro-duction availability.

This is new technology (especially for flexo) based on some established charac-terization ideas, and it falls within ISO. Any new development that results in the quality improvements we are seeing must be good for the Flexographic industry and for our customers.

About the Author:Wayne Peachey is the Operations Man-ager at Keating Global in Toronto. Keat-ing specialize in prepress for the packag-ing industry supporting Flexo, Gravure,

We tested many plate types, stickyback combinations, and also plate cell patterning. The worst combinations showed slurred dots and pinholed solids. The best combination showed perfect dots, and plate cell patterning provided a

smoother ink laydown with densities at least 15 points higher.

and Litho print processes.

Wayne graduated in the UK and worked in Graphic Design before moving into the technical aspects of prepress production.

He was recruited to Canada 10 years ago where he has held production, quality, and technical positions. He has focused his attention on color management for Flexo and Gravure and managed color for packaging graphics for many consumer product companies. More recently, he created and implemented a global color management system for a major CPC. He is a co-chair of the prepress section of the FFTA FIRST 4th edition.




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Color management in a manufactur-ing environment is a tool in the mix

of processes that assures that the prod-uct conforms to the established quality standards. This article will deal with the general concept of color management as applied to quality control purposes, and subsequent articles will discuss the issues mentioned here in more detail.

Printing companies are defining their mis-sion with a focus on the customer, realizing that what constitutes success is not print-ing by itself, but printing to meet custom-ers’ requirements. These requirements are communication requirements, and quality should be defined under this perspective. In a competitive environment where print is more often than not considered a com-modity, being able to be responsive to the

customer’s needs and positioning one’s business as an integral part to the custom-er’s communication strategy is necessary in establishing long-term relationships that allow for the value-added benefits of providing service.

The importance of measurement with regard to qualityTo be efficient, sometimes even to survive, we need to control the manufacturing processes to assure quality. The founda-tion of such control is measurement. Alan Greenspan argued that one of the main problems of the former Soviet Union was their inability to accurately measure their productivity—define the processes to be assessed, determine the best way to assess them, and capture that information. The inability to identify and act upon those

areas where improvement was needed resulted in an inability to resolve econom-ical issues.

The first consideration is defining what quality is and what is its cost. If quality is based upon the expectations of the cus-tomer, then the quality standards should be established within that scope. However, every manufacturing process has inherent variation, and the establishment of quality standards should take this variation into account. There is unavoidable variation in color, in the degree of slide angle for pack-aging coatings, in the moisture content and ply bond of the stock, and so on. The printer should establish good communi-cation with the print buyer to precisely determine what the purpose of each prod-uct is and manufacture it within the toler-

Quality Control & The Role of Color Management Part I of an ongoing Color Management Series By Dimitris Ploumidis, Pacific Southwest Container




ances that assure conformance. Without accurate measurement of the process, it is impossible to define these tolerances or how capable and consistent the process is and, thus, let the customer know what is feasible and what is not. The capability of the process, therefore, imposes constraints on the customer’s expectations; but, with-out it, the demanded quality would be unattainable and the business would be put at risk. The real determination of qual-ity is what degree of variation is acceptable to the customer. A discussion on these expectations will provide the basis of a reliable and healthy relationship.

Measurement should be able to establish the tolerances defined by the inherent variation, and at the same time moni-tor the process for any deviation from these tolerances that would be attributed to unsystematic causes. Human errors, equipment malfunctioning, raw materials that don’t meet the established standards or require different processing methods are all causes of poor quality. If the pro-cess is not measured, it is very likely that these errors would go unnoticed, only to be captured at the customer’s warehouse. Then, the cost of quality, or poor quality, is significantly higher, as is the cost of cor-recting it. Monitoring such non-confor-mances allows a facility to determine, in effect, how systematic these unsystematic errors are. For example, if “human error” is a frequent cause of nonconformance, then it is fairly reasonable to say that if those costs outweigh the cost of training, the manpower needs to be trained.

Measuring every aspect of manufactur-ing is not an easy task, though, and is restricted by the labor cost involved or automation systems required to capture the information. A manufacturing facility is a complicated environment where the various production line processes form a

subtle web with possibly unstable links. Finding out in advance the various threats to each link, or even the whole of the web, is an almost impossible task. Even the cost of trying to measure everything can be prohibitive, and most likely it would drive both management and personnel to insanity. It would, thus, make sense to use qualitative means to evaluate the processes that need closer monitoring, or to ini-tially use broader measurement processes to pinpoint general areas that are not at maximum operating efficiency, and then utilize more resources in a concentrated effort to capture analytical information in those areas.

Furthermore, not knowing the capabili-ties of the process is like not knowing how good or how bad we actually are. We cannot possibly be seeking improvement if the present state is unknown. How would we know if we need to improve, what to improve, and at what costs that improve-ment would incur? How would we even know that we’ve actually improved? Implementing quality in a competitive environment is tied up with improve-ment and change—as well as resistance to change. In that, quality assessment based on measurement provides the most objective and most compelling argument towards change.

Prerequisites to Quality ControlSTANDARDIZATIONThe industry is working diligently to create standards that allow printers to implement best practices and provide the foundation for repeatability in produc-tion across different platforms. Standards

enable reliable communication with the customer and the supplier by creating a common understanding of what is accept-able and calibration methodologies that assure the final print product will adhere to the same quality standards.

Standardization can be broken down into internal and industry-wide or interna-tional. An internal standard would be a sampling plan, or the standard densities that are used as targets for a particular customer, or the tolerances of the process. Standardizing these parameters allows for operational repeatability. A broader set of standards is the industry-wide or interna-tional standards. Two of the most impor-tant standards are the ISO 12647 and 2846 series. The ISO 2846 series defines the ink colors for the various printing pro-cesses, and it should be up to the ink sup-plier to deliver inks that meet these speci-fications. The ISO 12647 series provides standards for the process itself, covering the ink colors on different substrates, tonal value increase, and the respective toler-ances. Working together with the suppli-ers to make sure that the incoming materi-als adhere to these standards is the starting point for any successful operation. There are also plenty of standards about differ-ent paper properties, on the metrology to be used, the viewing conditions and test-ing methods, as well as standards related to each printing process.

EDUCATIONEducation of the workforce is another cru-cial quality prerequisite. Decision making takes place at every step of the process, but it can only be efficient if each individual has the requisite technical knowledge of the process and a clear understanding of the product’s quality requirements. A skilled craftsman is more reliable than any system or piece of machinery. What is different today than in the past is that




STandards

problems as they come along is like chas-ing one’s tail. For that, maintenance should be as preventive and proactive as possible. Maintenance needs should be established through detailed assessment processes that allow the machinery to be taken off production at a scheduled time. This will prolong the life of the equipment and allow for higher operating efficiencies.

Color management as a means of quality controlHaving discussed quality in general, we can move on to the role of color management and see how it should be implemented under this scope. The technical topics that we’ll go through will be discussed in further detail in following articles.

CRAFT OR SCIENCEPrinting has traditionally been considered a craft. Press operators pride themselves in making a complicated piece of machin-ery produce the desired output. To do that, they rely on the hard-earned under-standing of the mechanical and chemical elements of the process and their interac-tions. What makes their craft even more challenging is that they need to do so on a job-to-job basis. Contrary to other man-ufacturing processes where the output involves a rather stable input, in printing, every job has different graphics and layout, and, thus, different needs. Moreover, the interactions of the raw materials are still not fully understood and cannot be accu-rately predicted. The amount of ink emul-sification is one example; the absorbency of different stocks, the effect of tempera-ture, and press speed are a few more.

press operators need to have a thorough understanding of color measurement and management as part of their arsenal, and must utilize these “scientific” methods to augment their productivity and deliver quality work. The initial reaction, how-ever, may be one of resistance to change. For people who have been working for a couple decades without a closed-loop color measurement system, for example, it may be hard to view the application of science as something other than unnec-essary extra work. These people need to be empowered for the transition from a craft-based process to a more scientifically driven industry. Untrained operators are a hazard to the process; their work involves higher operating costs and the constant threat of non-conformance. An invest-ment in training allows management to declare that every employee is an inte-gral part of the business, and the pay-off should be increased employee motivation and productivity.

MAINTENANCEThe role of maintenance and good house-keeping is integral to delivering quality product. Each press and auxiliary system needs to be working properly. The older the press is, the less its ability to deliver consistent product. There are, neverthe-less, important reasons that fight against this assumingly “common sense” issue. A poorly maintained piece of machinery may still deliver what it is meant to deliver, but at a decreased productivity rate and with higher costs translated in downtime and waste and with possible defects that do not conform to the given quality stan-dards. The costs, however, might not be measured accurately enough for the real-ization to occur that they are actually more than the costs of maintenance. Moreover, in order for the press to be taken care of, it has to be taken off production. It is a vicious cycle; trying to fix mechanical

Still, even if we lack an exact scientific prediction of the materials’ interactions, we can set guidelines for each material by itself by utilizing the available standards and then assessing through density or color readings the printed output as an overall quality metric. In doing so, we’ll be able to detect any deviations from the normal having excluded part of the equa-tion’s unknowns. This makes detection and elimination of root causes easier. What could be more reasonable than to expect a quantification of the process’ input and output to reduce the degree of uncertainty involved?

SUBJECTIVITY IN COLOR VISIONThe human eye is a perfect discrimi-nator of color variation. A color shift from a neutral grey, for example, is easily detected by the observer. However, our eyes are incapable of determining with precision the amount of variation. We are able to see that one grey is different from another, but we do not know if the dif-ference is acceptable. Furthermore, there are other constraints in relying purely on vision. Human error and lack of attention, eye fatigue, and differences in the viewing conditions are some of the most common reasons why our eyesight should not be the sole judge of conformance.

Color is not an objective property of the object. It depends on the object itself, the observer, and the viewing conditions. Two people see and interpret color differently; this allows for variability in determining what is acceptable and also in trying to correct those differences. Even the color vision of a single observer is not constant. The most common cause of shifting is fatigue. A pressman views color differ-ently at 11:00 p.m. when the shift starts and 6:00 a.m. when the shift is about to end. Detecting and acting upon what is perceived as right and wrong is hazard-




ous when we understand that color vision is subjective. Moreover, inspecting color under a light booth versus room lighting is also going to result in slight color differ-ences. It is likely to have differences even between two light booths, if the bulbs of one are old and emit different wavelengths. Do we even need to mention that we have no certainty in knowing where the cus-tomers inspect the supplied press sheets or proofs? Or what they define as “red-dish”? We need objective measurement to avoid these uncertainties. Whether it is density or color, solids, tints, or grays, the printed sheet has to be measured at a fixed sampling rate to detect variations in the output.

A common misunderstanding in imple-menting metrology is that people tend to regard the measured value as an absolute attribute. There is a difference between what is, and what is measured. For exam-ple, there can be differences in the absor-bency characteristics of certain substrates that can result in different density or color readings, even if the same amount of ink is transferred. Dot gain is an ambiguous metric, since the interaction of light with the substrate is not precisely undefined. Likewise, certain differences in colors are more forgiving than others—despite all the applied color science. The same amount of measured color difference between a dark and a light yellow color would con-stitute the dark yellow acceptable and the light one unacceptable. Creating a process that would have different clauses for each of these different scenarios would lead to over-engineering. The best solution is to train the manpower adequately enough to realize the basic concepts and be able to exercise their judgment on applied metrol-ogy. In determining conformance, human judgment needs to go hand in hand with quantification.

INSTRUMENTATIONTechnology advances are making instru-mentation affordable and predictable. However, there is deviation among instru-ments and variation within the same instrument. Manufacturers specify the instruments’ repeatability, and the devices should be calibrated on their white point as per the manufacturer’s specifications, and their precision should be verified on a standard with known densities or color to determine that it reads correctly. Inter-instrument agreement is a more compli-cated issue. Differences in optics and lack of standardization from the instrument manufacturers’ side may disallow two instruments to provide the same measure-ment. There isn’t much to do here, since we are not in the business of manufactur-ing instruments, but we could still use the same instrument—as long as its repeat-ability is verified—as a reference for pro-cess control purposes. We should also be clear on the exact measuring specification used; two density measurements of the same patch can be different if we are using absolute or relative density. As such, it is important to decide upon and implement the preferred metrology and educate the press operators in using the different instruments functions.

PROCESS CONTROLWe’ve talked about systematic and unsys-tematic process variation in all aspects of the manufacturing process. When it comes down to color management, how-ever, we should narrow down the field to ink film thickness. The amount of ink film that is laid down on the substrate is what varies throughout a press run, resulting in

visible or not differences on the output. It is, thus, the major determinant of the end product. Either density or color can be used to measure ink film thickness. It would be unrealistic to imagine that the ink film would be constant throughout a press run. The question is how capable the process is, or how consistent the ink film remains throughout the press run, and what amount of variation is acceptable. Certain jobs can be considered acceptable with a variation of 0.10 density points. Other jobs call for significantly tighter tolerances at the range of 0.05 density points. As long as the process is capable of delivering an output within these tol-erances, then there is agreement between what is acceptable and feasible. Defining the standards of quality on these premises is a best practice.

The application is also a determining factor on the tolerances specified. For packaging, for example, one of the most important areas that needs monitoring is where the two sides of a box overlap. Our eyes are not precise enough to detect the amount of difference in color when the areas of interest are across the two sides of the printed sheet. However, when the sheet folds, these differences become obvious. This is an example of the need to establish particular process control param-eters for the application at hand.

In addition, depending on the printing process, there are different ways in which it can systematically vary. Gravure, for example, lays down an even ink film across the sheet, where offset printing has more variation due to the ability to modify the ink keys across the ink key fountain. A capability study of the process must provide a detailed determination of the parameters that should be controlled and their frequency.




STandards

Knowing the capability of the process allows for a determination of a trend in which the process can systematically vary. Any variation larger than the one that has been established as systematic should be attributed to a different cause that impacts the process. Having such insight allows the printer to search for the cause and eliminate it, thus making the process more consistent. This detailed analysis could further allow the printer to define a sampling plan. The frequency of different unsystematic errors cannot be accurately determined; they are, after all, unsystem-atic. However, it is possible to determine a sampling plan at a frequency rate that pro-vides assurance that an unsystematic error is detected timely.

Furthermore, there are different metrics that allow for a more detailed insight into what goes on inside the press. Dot gain, or tonal value increase—as it has been recently termed, provides a more sensi-tive metric to the interactions of ink and water than solid ink density, thus allowing a more precise process control metric for the interaction of ink and water and tint reproduction. Print contrast has tradition-ally been used to define the overall quality of the reproduction. Trap provides insight into how the different inks are being laid on the paper with relation to each other. Grey balance is a metric of the overall acceptability of the image, of whether all the inks are balanced enough to achieve a pleasing reproduction. It is also the easiest means by which we can detect deviation in any of the inking units. Colorimetric values are used to verify that the inks and stocks adhere to international standards and to verify that spot colors are what the customer expects them to be. Usually a combination of such metrics should be used to assess quality, taking into account the specifics of the job and the printing process.

COLOR-MANAGED WORKFLOWSWe’ve been mainly talking about the use of color management as a process con-trol tool to assure quality. However, color management answers also the questions of color predictability and portability. Establishing a color-managed workflow from the digital file to the printing press is the most advanced application of color management. An ideal pressroom should be able to print every job targeting stan-dard densities and within certain toler-ances on density, color, grey balance, and dot gain. There are significant benefits in relation to waste and productivity if this is achieved. But for that, all the elements that affect the repeatability of the process should be addressed; otherwise, the sci-ence cannot be applied.

Color portability refers to the ability to move a job from one press to another and still achieve the same visual appearance. This is quite often a necessity in a pro-duction environment. However, it is fea-sible only if the inks are standardized and the behavior of each press is repeatable. If these requirements are met, then the differences between the presses could be compensated with plate curves that would force each press to print the same. Color predictability refers mostly to the ability to predict the color of the press during the proofing stages, and in doing so create proofs that match the press sheet. In order for this to be effected, the press needs to be characterized and through one of the various color management software pack-ages that rely on ICC profiling or propri-etary color calculation algorithms, color manage the output of the proofing system to match the color of the press in terms of gamut and the tone values.

The technology advancements in color management software are providing fea-tures that address the particular needs

of different applications. Each software developer uses different algorithms to color manage a workflow, and there might be slight differences among the different packages. However, the main goal of such packages—matching color among differ-ent print platforms and providing a precise hardcopy or softcopy prediction (what we would call “proof ”) of the printed output—is achieved by all of them. The printer needs to decide which software offers the features that best fulfill the needs of the applications at hand. Then, it is important to apply the same principles of consistency and documentation of the elements that affect the workflow to have good results.

Today, print buyers frequently request a printer to determine the metrics that allow the best assessment of quality and request a proof of conformance based on those metrics. This can actually be a necessity for customers that print and sell their products in international or regional markets, and a printer needs to meet this expectation to get that business. The best practice to satisfy this demand is to agree on the methodology to be followed on calibrating the presses and implement-ing a color-managed workflow. If all the steps were followed correctly, the result-ing product would share the same visual appearance and characteristics. The metrics and their tolerances would then verify that the methodology was properly applied, providing quality assurance. The industry is working in this area as well, trying to decide on a common method-ology that would be best for all the inter-national markets. Even if being similar to others seems like a competitive disadvan-tage, it is a fact that not all printers are able to apply such sophistication to their workflow, yet, their customers demand it, and there are important benefits in terms of productivity.



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STandards

About the Author:Dimitri Pou-midis finished his Master of Science in Print Media from the Rochester Insti-tute of Technology, with a concentra-tion on Color Sci-ence. His thesis

dealt with the consistent reproduction of spot colors. During his studies, he worked in the Color Management System’s labs at the School of Print Media and did an internship with Graphics Microsystems. Upon graduation, Dimitri moved to California to work for Pacific Southwest Container as a Color Assurance Engineer (www.teampsc.com). Prior to his studies at Rochester, he completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing in Greece, and worked as a printer, designer, and photog-rapher.

Please, submit any comments, questions, or topics you would like to discuss on printcolor.blogspot.com under the post of the respective article.

Dimitri can also be contacted on [email protected].

AUDITINGDefining the capability of the process, training manpower, taking care of the machinery, agreeing with the customer upon what is feasible and acceptable, assuring conformance of the raw materi-als, and establishing color-managed work-flows are all best practices that are nev-ertheless subject to wear and change due to a variety of reasons. Expecting that the processes in place would assure everlasting quality could be a grave mistake. In order to help prevent any degradation of these processes, they need to be monitored and systematically audited. If any of the ele-ments that were in effect during the char-acterization of the presses changes, then color cannot be predicted. Thus, it is criti-cal to systematically audit and follow up on the implementation of these systems.

ConclusionWe have discussed the different prerequi-sites and means to achieve a conforming product in a print production environ-

ment to provide the expected quality as defined by the customer and the capability of the process. Controlling the quality in complicated manufacturing environments is not an easy task, and it entails a variety of systems that allow the assessment, pre-diction, and correction of the production parameters. The one thing that remains constant is the need to quantify the pro-cesses so that management can objec-tively evaluate and improve as demanded by a constantly changing environment. Color management is, in this perspective, another quantification and quality control tool. However, its efficient utilization has the same needs for consistency and under-standing of the science and technology that are found in using every other tool. Moreover, color management allows for advanced applications that allow color to be predicted and be reproduced on differ-ent print platforms. This series of articles will cover in detail the particular aspects discussed rather broadly here, focusing mostly on their technical aspect.



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Technology

Today’s demands for faster production and changeovers have made essential the development of anilox sleeve technology.

The anilox sleeve concept was fostered by the success of the print sleeve, precise controls, and servo technology utilized on many wide-web central impression presses. Anilox sleeves in the form of a compressible bladder sleeve are becoming the standard ink delivery vehicle for the flexo industry. A thorough understanding of the sleeve itself and how to properly care for anilox sleeves are required to ensure successful utilization.

Sleeved anilox roll technology offers many advantages to the con-verter. Sleeves are light in weight—usually only 25-35 lbs. In con-trast, a typical 54-inch x 7-inch (journaled, steel-tube bodied) anilox roll weighs approximately 350-400 lbs. This removal of the weight burden allows for one person to easily and quickly exchange sleeve aniloxs versus the two persons that would be required for the laborious switch of the much heavier and unwieldy journaled aniloxs. The 10-15 minute timesavings for sleeve exchange adds up quickly: downtime reduction, increased uptime, and product throughput. Sleeves have no need for gear-ing to be attached, which allows for servo-driven presses to have indefinite repeats.

It is easy to understand why sleeves are the preferred foundation for anilox technology once the advantages are outlined. For these reasons, sleeved anilox rolls are becoming the future of flexo-graphic printing.

Sleeved and journaled aniloxes do share some common traits, such as having hard, but brittle, ceramic shells and requiring some similar handling considerations. Engravings for all aniloxes are sensitive to impact and can be damaged easily.

Anilox Sleeves: Caring for the Future of FlexoBy Sean Teufler, Harper Corporation of America




Under the ceramic shell, the inner con-struction is very different. Traditional aniloxes have a steel-tube construction with headers welded to the ends. The con-struction of a sleeve is much more com-plex by comparison. It begins with a fiber-glass inner layer followed by a compress-ible layer. This compressible foam allows for the expansion necessary to allow the sleeve to be loaded and unloaded from an air mandrel. Typically, the inner diameter of the sleeve is .005-inch under the outer diameter of the mandrel to ensure a secure fit. The next layer is a repeat layer similar to a print sleeve, but is typically minimal on an anilox sleeve. This sandwich is com-pleted by an aluminum cladding shell to form the raw sleeve. To convert this sleeve to an anilox, the familiar addition of a bond layer and ceramic are applied.

The stark contrast in construction of the two aniloxs must be understood by the converter as an increased challenge to suc-cessfully maintain a capable anilox inven-tory. It cannot be understated that along with the engraving, the sleeve construc-tion itself is very fragile and many more considerations for the care and mainte-nance of a sleeve inventory are required. What follows are a description of these considerations and a top-ten list for anilox care and maintenance.

Component CleanlinessIt is very important to keep the insides (bores) and ends of the sleeves clean and free of dried ink. Contamination on the inside bore will impede the ability to install and remove the sleeve from the mandrel. Dried ink in the bore causes operators or assistants to forcibly remove the sleeve, which can lead to damage to the sleeve or anilox roll surface. Do not chip the ink off the ends with metal tools; always try to dissolve and wipe clean. Keep the mandrel free of any dried ink or contaminants. Clean it with a rag with solvent or other component-friendly

cleaners to ensure a clean, smooth surface for the sleeve to slide onto. Check for any burrs, nicks, or dings in the mandrel that will prevent smooth installation. Make a special point to check the air holes in the mandrel. A majority of sleeve/mandrel seizures are caused by clogged air holes.

Check the sleeve-mounting air system (gauges and hoses) to ensure proper work-ing order. Make sure the air pressure is set to the OEM specification (PSI/bars). Should you have any questions, contact the press OEM and read through the operating manual for guidelines and set-tings.

Figure 1: Sleeve Mounting and Removal

It is important to install (slide) the sleeves on the mandrels carefully and smoothly. Avoid rocking the sleeves (up and down, back and forth) during the mounting pro-cess. This can damage the foam expansion

layer, which will affect future proper fit, circularity, and Total Indicated Runout (TIR) issues.

BE GENTLE installing the sleeves, making sure not to slam the sleeve into the backstop on the mandrel. This can cause damage seen below (ceramic chipping on the roll edge). Chipped ends can create ink slinging and accelerate end-seal wear. Over time, chipped ceramic on the ends may lead to further ceramic separation on the sleeve surface.

Figure 2: Ink Sling Guards

Keep the ink sling guards clean and free of ink. Do not allow the sling guards to fill with ink and rub on the ceramic or sleeve end.

Check the screws that hold the sling guards in place on press. If the sleeve guard is loose and is allowed to touch, rub, or drag the sleeve surface, it will definitely cause damage to the ceramic and eventu-ally cause damage to the sleeve.

Figure 3: Corrosion Prevention




Technology

Anilox roll sleeves are susceptible to corro-sion if safe cleaners are not used cleaning steps are not properly followed. Chemi-cals that are caustic or have a high pH can corrode the aluminum cladding and end rings, causing the ceramic to blister. The pH of chemicals should never be below 6.5 or higher than 11.8. When using any chemical to clean an anilox roll, make sure the surface is properly rinsed and the chemical neutralized. The final step in the process is to wipe the roll surface with alcohol or acetate to flash off any residual chemical or water. Never cover and store a wet sleeve or roll; they must be dry. Should you have any questions, consult your anilox roll supplier.

Figure 4: Composite Component

It is important to keep the composite materials dry and free of any chemicals. Exposure to chemicals can lead to delami-nation of the sleeve. Should you choose to use cleaning bath tanks or methods that utilize chemicals, make sure end caps are used to seal the ends and prevent chemical penetration into the inner bore.

Figure 5: Post-Cleaning Practices

Once the anilox roll surface has been cleaned, make sure you always dry the surface and ends thoroughly. Utilize an alcohol or acetate wipe as the final step to remove any residual chemicals or water from the roll surface. This will also pre-vent water spots that can occur when the roll is not properly wiped after cleaning.

When using compressed air to dry the engraving, make sure the air is oil free and water free. Place a filter in the line to remove any moisture or oil.

Handling PrecautionsMuch of the handling process is centered on the ability to successfully and carefully remove or install a sleeve on the air man-drel without damaging the ceramic surface or sleeve body. Remember—the ceramic used on a sleeve anilox is no different than that used on journaled rolls. Ceramic has very good wear resistance; however, it does not have good impact resistance and chips easily if impacted.

Be careful and use caution when cleaning the ends of the sleeves. Avoid using sharp tools such as screw drivers, knives, metal putty knives, etc. Use of these tools can chip the ceramic or cause damage to the ends of the sleeves.

Figure 6

Because sleeves are light in weight, they tend to be handled in a cavalier manner. This mindset must not be allowed to develop in the routine of the press per-sonnel. Sleeves are an important invest-ment and should be treated accordingly.

The care taken to a journaled roll must be amplified to meet the concerns surround-ing the use of a sleeve anilox. Further con-sideration for this subject is listed in the following passages.

Sleeve StorageAnilox sleeves are best stored in a vertical orientation in a rack. Sleeves should not be stored on end, on uneven or hard floors. If they are knocked over, the sleeve and the ceramic can be damaged and become unusable. If possible, utilize a rubber or cushioned mat to protect the ends of the sleeves.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Sleeves can also be stored horizontally, but make sure the diameter of the support system is slightly smaller than the mandrel. This ensures proper support (see photo below). Over time, if there is not enough support, sleeves can sag and become out-of-round and unusable. This will prevent stress overload on the internal expansion foam (bladder).




Protect Your InvestmentWhen not in use, anilox sleeves should be protected with a cover to prevent damage. Avoid installing the cover on rolls with wet ink. If you use plastic sleeve covers, keep the inside free of ink and contamina-tion. This will prevent any scratches to the roll surface.

Figure 9

10 Tips for Anilox Sleeve Care & Maintenance:1. Component Cleanliness:

• Keeptheinsides(bores)andends of sleeves clean. No dried ink!

• Keeppressmandrelscleanandingood condition.

• Keepthesleevemountingairsystem (gauges and hose) in good working order, and set to OEM specifications (PSI/bars).

2. Sleeve Mounting:• Slidesleevesonmandrelscare-

fully.• Avoidrockingthesleevesupand

down during mounting. Rocking can damage the expansion layer (affecting proper fit and circular-ity), and create TIR issues.

• BEGENTLE!Impactingthebackstop can chip the sleeve’s ceramic. (Chipped ends create slinging and accelerate end seal wear, which leads to ceramic separation.)

3. Ink Sling Guards:• Donotallowslingguardsto

touch or rub sleeves.• Keepslingguardscleanandfree

of dried ink to prevent grinding and damage to the ends.

4. Corrosion Prevention:• Causticcleaningchemicalsand/

or high pH inks can corrode a sleeve’s aluminum cladding and/or end rings, causing ceramic blistering. The pH of chemical cleaners should never be below 6.5 or above 11.8.

• Consultyouraniloxsupplierprior to using any cleaning or flushing chemicals.

5. Composite Component:• Donotallowaqueouschemicals

or cleaners to contact the com-posite. This can lead to delami-nation of the sleeve.

• Usecautionandprotectiveendcaps when cleaning sleeves in chemical bath tanks.

6. Post-Cleaning Practices:• Alwaysdrytheaniloxsurface

and ceramic ends thoroughly.• Removeanyresidualchemicals

or water with an alcohol wipe.• Whenusingcompressedairto

dry the engraving, ensure it is oil-free.

7. Handling Precautions:• Sleeveceramicisthesameas

roll ceramic; it is not impact-resistant and chips easily.

• Usecautionwhencleaningends;avoid cleaning with sharp tools.

• Sleevestendtobeeasilymis-handled and damaged because they are lightweight: HANDLE CAREFULLY!

8. Sleeve Storage:• Sleevesarebeststoredvertically

in a rack.

• Donotstandsleevesuponuneven or hard floors; use rubber or cushioned floor mats.

9. Storage Precautions:• Whenstoringsleeveshorizon-

tally, the diameter of the support stem is important: The stem diameter should be slightly smallerthanthemandrel.•This will prevent stress overload on the internal expansion foam (bladder).

10. Protect your Investment:• Whensleevesarenotinthe

press, use protective covers to avoid damage.

• Donotuseaprotectivecoverona wet anilox sleeve.

ConclusionAnilox sleeve technology is the future of flexographic printing. Sleeves offer numer-ous benefits over traditional journaled rolls, but do require a much different care and handling protocol. By following the maintenance points in this article, you will be assured of productive, long-lasting use of your anilox sleeves. If you have any questions about your press environment and how it affects your anilox care, seek help to determine the improvements you need to make by scheduling a press-area audit with your anilox supplier.

About the Author:Sean Teufler, Technical Graph-ics Advisor for Harper Corpora-tion of America, applies over 17 years of experience in troubleshoot-ing, consulting,

and teaching to help clients achieve their printing goals. For more information, contact him by phone, 704-557-5106, or by e-mail, [email protected].





Education

If you are like me, you get frustrated that you can’t learn as much as you’d like. As

I get older, I deal with that part of life that we all (will) deal with …. the memory isn’t what it once was. Now, where was I? Oh yeah …

I really hate learning something new, only to forget the details a week later. The good news is that with age, we have more “con-text” for which new knowledge can be cat-egorized and applied. Even though I don’t have the laser-sharp memory I once had, I have much more experience and can pro-cess new knowledge faster. Learning is a necessary part of growing, both personally and professionally, and plays a particularly vital role in the life of a professional edu-cator. The most frustrating learning situ-ations occur when you have the opportu-nity, resources, time, and desire to learn, but don’t have the finances to take advan-tage of those opportunities. For educators, those situations are all too common.

On occasion, teachers in higher education get the opportunity to take a sabbatical leave of absence to get a “learning-boost”.

These opportunities come up every seven or more years in a typical University system. I know what you are thinking … give me a break! In the real world, you’d never get the chance to take a large chunk of time off ! True—but, in the University environment, sabbaticals provide faculty the opportunity to not only retool and refresh, but also research new ideas and bring back new knowledge to the class-room and program. The idea is that in the end, the organization gets smarter and the classroom experience improves for the students.

2007 was my year for a sabbatical. I applied for a six month sabbatical leave from Cal Poly for the purpose of learning more about flexography. I had an idea of companies I wanted to visit and events I wanted to attend but needed the release from the classroom for a period to get to them. At Cal Poly, if you take a sabbati-cal longer than three months, you must take a pay reduction. In my case, my salary was reduced by 25 percent during the sab-batical. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had a dilemma on my hands. The

University gave me time off but did not increase my travel budget. On top of that, I was making 25 percent less income. Not a good situation to take advantage of the learning opportunities I had before me.

When explaining my problem to some industry friends, one couple quickly came up with a plan to solve it. In 2007, the Katherine Harper Teacher Education

Fund, managed by the Phoenix Chal-lenge Foundation, was conceived. Ron and Kather-ine Harper estab-lished this fund to

help educators like me retool to improve learning in the classroom. Without their support, I would never have been able to complete the travel necessary to grow and increase my expertise in flexo. The Kath-erine Harper Teacher Education Fund provided me with $5,000 toward Flexo-related travel expenses.

So where did I go with the KHTE fund-ing?

If only I could learn more…. By Malcolm Keif, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo




• OnFebruary8thIattendedaWest-ern Flexo Label Association (WFLA) meeting in San Francisco where Doug Staggs from Pitman discussed how to calibrate a plate imager for a press. Since this was fairly close to home, I was able to bring two students with me to this workshop.

• On March 8th I attended the westcoast FTA Flexo Roadshow. I pre-sented at this conference about my experiences with the FlexSys Simula-tor. Two students also attending this workshop in San Francisco.

• On March 11th and 12th I visitedMark Andy and Rotometrics in St. Louis. Since this was first visit to either company, it was a tremendous learning experience. Both compa-nies were very hospitable and gave wonderful tours with detailed infor-mation on their manufacturing pro-cesses. I hadn’t seen how rotary dies were made so being able to see first-hand CNC milling and the quality checks that go into die making was very interesting. I had been to other press manufacturers before but since we have a Mark Andy at Cal Poly, the MA tour was of particular interest.

• OnMarch26th-31stIwenttoChar-lotte, NC. There I observed my first Phoenix Challenge competition. Wow, that was a great event. I’m glad I was able to simply observe, though I did helped tabulate some scores at the end of the competition. Most of my time was spent watching dif-ferent techniques the students used and interacting with the judges to get their impression of how a student was doing. It was insightful in comparing the PC competitors’ skills with my own students’ skills. Obviously my students are collegiate level and these students were high school but there was still much to be learned.

• DuringthatlateMarchtrip,Ialsovis-ited three companies: Harper Corpo-ration, WaterInk Technologies, and Max Daetwyler Corporation. Harper

was my first visit to an anilox manu-facturer. I was a kid in a candy shop. It was fascinating and gives me new experience to bring to the classroom. I am better prepared today to explain the manufacturing process and also discuss the variables that must be con-trolled related to ink metering. I’ve been to a bunch of ink companies but my trip to WaterInk was most inter-esting because we have been running some G7 tests at Cal Poly and Water-Ink has been making the inks for the testing. So it was nice to speak face-to-face with the actual individuals who are developing and blending the inks I use in my own lab. Daetwyler was also a first for me. I have seen lots of engravers and doctor blades over the years, but never been to a place where they are manufactured. Obvi-ously I learned a lot.

• Inmid-April, I attended the FTA–PIA/GATF Continuous Improve-ment Network conference. Because of my interest in Lean Manufacturing and the fact that I teach a quality class at Cal Poly, I was very interested in attending this conference and learn-ing what converters are doing in the area of quality. While in the Jackson-ville area at the conference, I visited Smurfit Preprint, my first corrugated preprint visit.

• My sabbatical travels concluded atthe FTA Flexo Forum in Montreal. If you have never been to a Forum, you must go. While there, I was able to see many of my flexo friends, net-worked with new acquaintances, and most importantly, learned about new trends and technologies in flexo. Four Cal Poly students attended the forum with me (different funding source) and together we were able to bring back new knowledge to the class-room.

Though I’ve been in higher-education for nearly twenty years, this was a year of “firsts” for me. I visited several companies

for the first time. I saw manufacturing that I had never observed before. And it was my first real full-time sabbatical. People sometimes ask me what I like about being an educator. I tell them about how I enjoy the students, how I like being a positive influence on their careers, about the pleas-ant work environment, and other things. But the thing I like most about being an educator is that I get to spend my life being a student. Every educator is a student and learning is a central theme of our lives. We just get paid to learn.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ron and Katherine Harper for their generous and relentless support of flexo education and flexo educators. Without their support—no matter how dire your program’s financial situation is—we (flexo educators) would not be in the position we are in to prepare our students for a life-long career in flexography. Hopefully, you or one of your teachers or professors can take advantage of the KHTE fund some-day. You never get too old to learn some-thingnew–youjusthavetoworkharderto remember it!

Malcolm G. Keif is an Asso-ciate Professor in the Graphic Communication Department at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA.

He oversees instruction in Flexographic plating and press operations at Cal Poly, as well as teaching course work in Qual-ity Management, Cost Estimating, Web offset, and Gravure printing. Malcolm is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and the author of two books: Lean Print-ing: Pathway to Success, and Designer’s Postpress Companion.




Technology

The Kodak FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System is a revolution-

ary step forward for flexographic plate making. It combines new products with a new method to make flexographic plates that will enable the flexo industry to make significant advances in quality, consis-tency, and productivity.

A new imaging system reproduces dots as small as 10 microns consistently and reli-ably. A new plate, a new thermal imag-ing layer, and a new method to make the plates produces enhanced dot structure on the finished plate.

These new innovations result in several benefits. Full tonal ranges are now possible, eliminating the need for the bump curve and allowing offset-based separations for process printing. Using offset-based sepa-rations for flexographic printing enables greater consistency, simplicity in prepress,

interchangeability of jobs between offset and flexo, and enhanced proof matches.

On press, the plates, which are clean run-ning and simple to use, provide greater consistency and expanded impression lati-tude. Jobs can be printed with increased screen counts for higher image resolution, and colors that previously had to be run as spot colors can now be run as process separations, enabling greater efficiency on press and improved profitability.

An Innovative ApproachIncluded in the FLEXCEL NX System are the Kodak TRENDSETTER NX Imager, the Kodak FLEXCEL NX Ther-mal Imaging Layer (TIL), the Kodak FLEXCEL NXH Digital Flexo Plate, and the Kodak FLEXCEL NX Laminator. The system produces an image and plate ready for exposure and plate processing.

Loading the Thermal Imaging Layer into the TRENDSETTER NX Imager

The TRENDSETTER NX Imager uses Kodak SQUAREspot Imaging Technol-ogy to reproduce dots with consistency and imaging accuracy, allowing a full tonal range. And, the TRENDSETTER NX Imager is fast, too, imaging the specially constructed Thermal Imaging Layer in only 3 minutes, 19 seconds for a 24-inch x 30-inch image, including loading and unloading of the TIL.

Revolutionary Steps in Flexographic Plate Technology By Dr. John Anderson, Eastman Kodak Company




After imaging, if required for customer specifications, the imaged TIL can then be inspected or used to produce a Dylux 1:1 proof for records. This feature is important in pharmaceutical and simi-lar applications and is not possible with LAMS (laser-ablated mask) layer-based digital flexo technology.

The TIL is then taken to the Kodak FLEX-CEL NX Laminator. The FLEXCEL NXH Plate, specially designed for lami-nation, is fixed in position on the vacuum table, and the laminator then laminates the TIL to the plate. A special snowplow head on the laminator removes the cover sheet from the plate as it feeds through the laminator, protecting the plate surface during the entire process. A roller cleans the TIL surface automatically, removing any dust or contaminants before lamina-tion. Lamination forces intimate contact between the TIL and plate to ensure 1:1 image transfer onto the plate. Normal lamination time for a 24-inch x 30-inch plate is 30 seconds, with the total process taking only 1 minute, 25 seconds.

FLEXCEL NX Laminator for laminating the TIL onto the FLEXCEL NXH Plate

After lamination, the operator takes the plate and TIL combination to the expo-sure unit for back exposure and then main exposure, using standardized exposure times for the deeper relief used. The TIL is specially constructed so that oxygen bar-riers ensure that there is no oxygen present at the plate surface. Oxygen inhibition as

a variable is eliminated, allowing the cre-ation of a robust, consistent dot structure.

After main exposure, the operator takes the plate and TIL combination back to the laminator, places the TIL on the vacuum table, activates the vacuum, and simply peels the plate away from the TIL. This process allows the TIL to be kept for storage and record keeping if required.

The plate then goes through a standard solvent washout system, but because there is no mask to remove, the washout time tends to be a little shorter than LAMS plates (dependent on the particular wash-out system), which helps reduce solvent absorption and shortens drying times.

The plate is then dried and finished as with other plate systems.

AdvantagesThe FLEXCEL NX System has many advantages, both during prepress and on press that can result in greater consistency and customer satisfaction.

Consistent and Stable Dot Structure The oxygen barrier built into the TIL eliminates oxygen inhibition, resulting in a stable and consistent dot structure. Oxygen inhibition causes a bullet-shaped dot structure and inconsistent dot height. Eliminating these effects produces stable, full-height dots with flat tops.

Typical LAMS Plate Dot Structure

FLEXCEL NX Plate Dot Structure

The FLEXCEL NX System produces consistent, full-height dots as small as 10 microns:

Close-up of FLEXCEL NX Plate Dot Structure

1:1 ReproductionThe intimate contact between the TIL and the plate enables a perfect 1:1 repro-duction of the dot surface.

TIL Image




Technology

Plate Image

ResolutionThe FLEXCEL NX System holds a consistently smaller dot and line struc-ture, about 40 percent of that quoted for LAMS digital flexo plates:

• Free-standingdots/lines:50µm/20 µm

• Screeningcapabilitiesupto:300lpi/Staccato 25

• Minimumdotsize:10µm• Withallgreylevelsused

Simplified PrepressBecause FLEXCEL NX Plates can print a full tonal range, there is less need to retouch files to make them work for flexo printing. Eliminating the need for a flexo bump curve greatly simplifies prepress and workflow.

In addition, being able to use offset sepa-rations and dot format improves match-ing to proofs, which are normally based on offset reproduction.

Print ProductionResults from print trials and commercial production runs have shown the follow-ing consistent advantages for printers:

• Duringprintsetup,thestabledot size and flat-top dot struc-ture enabled faster and easier setup, even print, and excellent proof matches.

Cross Sectional Views of FLEXCEL NX Dot Structure

• Oncejobswererunning,theprint latitude provided superb consistency with excellent ink transfer, and the deeper plate relief enabled clean operation. In some cases, higher print speeds than normal were achieved.

• Theimproveddotstructureenabled greater on-press stabil-ity compared to LAMS digital plates.

The FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System enables process printing using flexo where typically it has not been practical. Skin tones and designs with subtle grada-tions are now possible, enabling many new potential applications for flexo printing.

ResultThe Kodak FLEXCEL NX System is an important step forward for flexographic printing. It streamlines the prepress pro-cess, saving time through faster imaging, improved consistency, and less retouch-ing, and it opens up many new opportuni-ties for flexo printers and converters.




Dot gain is more consistent with over impression with FLEXCEL NXH Plates

Close-ups of label printed with FLEXCEL NXH PlatesLabels printed using the FLEXCEL NX System by WS

Packaging Group, Inc. Algoma, WI

About the Author:Dr. John Ander-son joined East-man Kodak in November 2007 as the Product Man-ager Flexo Plates Americas, respon-sible for the Flexcel

NX Digital Flexographic Plate products along with the Flexcel SR Analog Plates, as part of Kodak's extensive packaging portfolio. John was previously the Techni-cal and Education Director at the FFTA, a Consultant for Flexo, Offset, and Gra-vure print simulators to Sinapse Graphic, and the Technical and Training Manager at the EFTA (UK) Ltd. Educated at the University of Wales Swansea, John now lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and two daughters. [email protected]






STandards

One of the main topics in color man-agement seminars, forums, train-

ings, symposiums, etc., over the last couple of years has been standards. As color man-agement technology has improved over the years and become more affordable, it has provided the basis for the development of tools and procedures to establish color standards and specifications in the graphic arts industry. Although there is still much to be done, we have come a long way with regards to the implementation and aware-ness of printing standards worldwide in a relatively short period of time.

Before going into the reasons and benefits, as well as the challenges for the adoption of printing standards, it is interesting to

trace some of the history that has brought us to this point.

Not that long ago, before color manage-ment had been widely adopted, it was common to use analog proofs to define what the correct color should be once the file was printed. This interpretation of the “correct” color was not as reliable as most would have liked; however, given that it was dependant upon the materials of the proofing manufacturer—pigments, substrates, laminating material, etc.—this meant that if you asked for a proof from three different service providers, you could very well get three differently col-ored proofs depending upon which manu-facturer’s proofing system they were using.

Of course, all claimed that their proof was the correct one, with the authoritative support of their proofing materials sup-plier and manufacturer. In addition to this problem was the fact that in many cases, the final print material did not match the proofing material very well. For a maga-zine publisher, for example, it could be a great disappointment to see a beauti-ful analog proof, with a glossy laminated coating on a thick substrate, when com-pared to the final printed product in the magazine on LWC paper. In spite of these problems, given that there was no other alternative in many cases, the expected color was defined by these proofing sys-tems. One could say, then, that at this point in time the proofing system manu-

Color Management from a Global View

Darrian Young, Color & Image Consulting - GMG Iberia




facturers defined the color standard, or “correct” color.

With the advent of color management, this started to change. Color manage-ment paved the way for digital proofing, which has had a profound impact on color standards. Digital proofing meant that the industry was no longer dependent upon a small number of analog proofing manufacturers to define what the color would be in print. It also meant that dif-ferent printing conditions could be simu-lated more accurately—gloss paper, matte paper, offset, gravure, flexo, etc. Given the speed in which a digital proof could be produced, as well as the enormous reduc-tion in the costs involved also meant that many more jobs could be proofed, not just a few of the more sensitive pages. These, as well as other factors, led to the increase in customer expectation with regards to a good proof-to-press match.

Digital proofing did not, however, bring only good consequences. The digital proofing systems needed a simulation profile in order to make them reflect printing conditions. Color management fulfilled this need and provided the means to create not only the proofer profiles, but also the simulation profiles that would be placed in the software configuration of the proofing device. Problems arose as there was no common consensus as to what sim-ulation profiles to use. The wide variety of choices included: canned profiles from the manufacturer, profiles created from test charts printed on the analog proof-ing system, and profiles created from test charts printed on the printing machine among others. The final result was that the situation was even more confusing for the print buyer than before, due to the fact that the same file could produce an amaz-ingly wide variety of color interpretations depending upon where it was proofed. Adding even more to the confusion was the fact that many digital proofing systems

had poor calibration routines, and sub-optimal color rendition capabilities that introduced other anomalies in the proofs, which did not exist in the files themselves, such as skewed grayscales (often reddish or greenish—or even worse, both at the same time) and steps in the gradations.

Resolving Color Management IssuesThe solution to these and many other color-related problems presented itself in the form of standards and process control. How have standards been able to resolve these and other problems? If we look once again at the definition of the “correct” color of a file, in the analog proofing environment, it was the proofing manufacturer that determined the color, and in the digital proofing environment, it was the choice of the user as to which profile he or she wanted to create or use in the proofing system. Both of these cases led to ambiguities as to what the correct color is. In the case of a standard, however, it is the standard that defines the correct color, and so is not dependent upon any particular manufacturer or the choice of a particular user or profile selection.

Although printing standards are not new, it has been the combination of these stan-dards along with color management tech-nology and process control methods that have made the standards truly usable. A standard will often define aim values and tolerances for a series of parameters such as primary ink colorimetric values, media properties, etc., but these in themselves are not enough to use in everyday production. It is the creation of characterization data based upon these standards that provide this functionality.

Once characterization data has been pro-duced that conforms to the standard, then profiles can be made for the various printing technologies and substrates. For example, the PSRgravureLWC_ECI2002.txt data was used to create the PSRgra-

vureLWC.icc profile. This profile can be used then in Photoshop for color retouch-ing and color conversion, as well as the simulation profile in the proofing system for those jobs destined to be printed on LWC paper in a gravure press. A print buyer and those involved in the produc-tion cycle therefore can be assured that the color separation being done on the file is adequate for the printing condition, and the “correct” color of the proof is now not ambiguous—for an LWC printing job, the LWC simulation profile should be used.

The second thing that standards and color management provided was the estab-lishment of tolerances and the means to verify compliance. Although it is known which simulation profile should be used for a particular job, given the differences in quality in proofing applications, there can still be some differences (although less than previously with differing profiles) in the final proof. By having a standard, however, this problem can be solved. The characterization data for that standard has a series of colorimetric values defined for a large number of color combinations (namely those used to make up the more than 1,400 patches in the test chart). So, in order to check the quality of a proof, a control strip such as the Ugra/Fogra Medienkeil can be measured to see if the colorimetric values on the proof meet the colorimetric values defined for the standard within the specified tolerances. Although there has been, and continues to be, much discussion with regards to what the tolerances should be, this colorimetric control has greatly increased the precision of color in digital proofs.

The benefits of printing according to standards are many, but here are a couple of examples:

Reduced makeready time - Many times, difficulties in matching the correct colors on a press run are due to incorrect




STandards

prepress work during the color separation stage, or from an incorrect proof. Through the use of standard profiles, it can be assured that the correct profile has been used for color separations and for proof-ing. Furthermore, a colorimetric check can be done of the proof to make sure that the colors represented are correct. In this way, the printer can be sure that only those files that are printable make it to the press, and all others are returned to prepress to be resolved according to their respective inconsistencies.

Reprints - Often, catalogs, brochures, and other materials need to be reprinted either locally or in another country. When it is not known how these jobs were pre-pared and printed the previous time, it is very difficult to create the same condi-tions to print them the same way again. If it is known which profile was used to separate the data as well as for the proof, then the printing machine can be set up for that standard printing condition again to reproduce repeatable color.

Optimized and reliable print-ing conditions - characterization data and profiles have been created by experts under tightly controlled conditions. This means that they are optimized for that particular printing condition. Sub-sequently, once the profiles are released, they are used worldwide for thousands of daily production jobs, which provides valuable feedback as to whether the pro-files are correct or need to be fine-tuned in some areas. Custom profiles lack this reliability as they are more often than not created under less optimal conditions and do not possess the same reliability due to less experiences from the much smaller user base.

Now that we have standards, specifica-tions, methods, and tools to create and implement standards, what are the bar-riers that still need to be dealt with? On the one hand, technologies are constantly changing, both with regards to print-ing machinery as well as substrates. This means that the standards need to be updated and expanded to accommodate these changes, while at the same time taking care to assure that these changes do not occur too quickly. If standards change too quickly and do not give time for users to implement them, they will fall into disuse for lack of usability.

Probably even more importantly is that in order for standards to work, every-one needs to use them. This means that we need to work together to provide a common framework in spite of national differences, corporate differences, and professional differences. It is not easy to cooperate sometimes when that means that you might have to wait for your ideas to be accepted, that others will want to test your ideas and not just accept them for face-value, or that in an international arena your voice loses some of its protago-nism and becomes just one more. But, that is what we need to do if we want to con-tinue to advance in terms of productivity, efficiency, cost-reduction, and compat-ibility. The past few years have provided some amazing progress in this direction, and with hope and hard work, these suc-cesses can provide the incentive to obtain even higher goals.

About the Author:

Darrian Young has worked in Color Mangement for 12 years, and over that time he has been a consultant to compa-nies such as Hewlett Packard, GretagMac-beth, Canon, among others. Presentations that he has done regarding color manage-ment and standardization include: Spain - Gremio Barcelona 2005 and 2006; Color Congress Valencia 2003, 2004; APRES Logroño 2007; Sign Madrid 2005, SGIA in Phoenix 2005; Graphics of the Ameri-cas/XPLOR in Miami 2006; Print Media Forum in Stuttgart Germany 2005 and 2007; European Experts on Standard-ization in Amsterdam 2007; and GATF Color Management Conference in Phoe-nix 2007.

Darrian is is FOGRA Certified PSO Expert.. He has been an ECI member for four years and last year became a Board Member. He currently serves as Busi-ness Development Manager for GMG in Iberia, Director of Color & Image Con-sulting, and Co-Director of Tucanna Software and Development.

Darrian can be reached at [email protected].







No one has more environmentally-friendly, Aluminum-safe ways to clean your anilox rolls than HarperScientific.

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XLT Anilox Rolls are 100% performance guaranteed for quality and consistencyand supported by the most knowledgeable sales technicians in the industry.

ANILOX & COATING ROLLS DIVISION

A team of Flexo experts with knowledge of every aspect of the business. Provensolutions to make your plant run more efficiently from our Consulting Division.

GRAPHICSOLUTIONS DIVISION

Protect your Anilox investment with environmental-friendly, roll-safe cleaners, rollcovers, racks and accessories. Handproofers that save ink, substrate & press time.

HARPERSCIENTIFIC DIVISION

Free seminars at our advanced facility or coming to a city near you.

ROAD SHOWS & WALKINGSEMINARS

Scholarships, grants and funds invested in the future of the Flexographic Industry.

THE HARPER EDUCATION PROJECT


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Education

This past April, I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Charlotte,

North Carolina, to witness my first-ever Phoenix Challenge Foundation Annual International High School Flexographic Skills Competition for students in North America currently studying flexography.

From April 2nd through the 4th, students grouped into teams of two scattered across the three floors of the Central Piedmont Community College’s Harper Campus for testing on their general flexographic knowledge and math, prepress, platemak-ing, and pressroom skills. Judging was conducted by a group of industry profes-sionals who generously donated their time and talents to evaluate and encourage stu-dents in their flexographic studies and career choices.

While the students rotated from one skill test to another, their teachers took part in training put together by the Phoenix Challenge staff and presented by industry representatives and educators.

At the end of it all, students, teachers, and judges alike spiffed up and regrouped at a banquet to thank the judges and spon-sors and to recognize the winners. And, every student participating in the com-

petition truly walks away a winner with a certificate of recognition plus a bag filled industry-donated gifts valued at well over $100.

This year’s overall winners truly reflected the international aspect of the competi-tion, with all three tops teams representing schools in Canada! The first place 2008 Competition Winners were the Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School team of Hannah Plavich and Jyoti Brar. Their instructor is Peter Belanger. The second-place team of Ian Zakovorotny,and Daxal Desai was also from Gordon Gray-don and the third-place team represented the Winnipeg Technical College.

“This was our largest group ever, and I’m so happy for the students and teach-ers who came to the Phoenix Challenge,” said Bettylyn Krafft, Phoenix Challenge Chairman. “I know they left with the knowledge that Flexo is a great career. I also want to thank all of our volunteers and sponsors for making this opportunity possible because without them this would not come together.

Why do companies step forward and sup-port this event? Dr. John Anderson, East-man Kodak Product Manager Flexo Plates

The Phoenix Challenge: Promoting the Next Generation of Workers

By Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch, FlexoGlobal




America, explained, “Kodak strongly believes in the need for supporting flexo-graphic education and the future of the flexographic industry. The Phoenix Chal-lenge provides us with a unique opportu-nity to do this.”

During the banquet, the Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association announced through the testing, 18 indi-viduals had met the criteria to receive their Basic Flexographer Level I certifica-tion, which was developed to recognize those who have a basic knowledge of the industry or are entry level personnel—quite an accomplishment for these young students!

I’m not quite sure what I expected when I arrived for the Phoenix Challenge, but I came away excited and pumped up

about the competition, the caliber of the students participating, the dedication of their teachers, and the dedication of the industry judges to making sure the next generation entering the flexo industry is prepared with the tools they need.

On the following page, I’d like to leave you with the thoughts of Frank Burgos of FlexoExchange. He sums up the feelings of many who participated.




Education

Hi Folks,

When I attended my first Phoenix Chal-lenge competition as a Judge, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I thought it would be a good cause, but I didn’t realize just how good and how important a cause it is.

When Laura was kind enough to ask for my thoughts on The Challenge, I won-dered what I could say that might help folks out there better appreciate what The Challenge is all about. I’m glad she gave me a little time.

As it sunk in, I realized that there are many other Phoenix Challenge participants that

could more eloquently and articulately describe The Challenge and all of the good it does. What, then, might I say?

When I returned from this year’s Chal-lenge, I recorded a video of myself making an appeal for folks in the industry to generously contribute to The Challenge. When I viewed it after the first and only take, I realized what I would say!

Please learn more about what The Chal-lenge is about, folks. This is an operation that answers so many of the questions we ask ourselves. Questions like: what can I do to help teenaged kids in these troubled times? What can I do to contribute to my community? What can I do to contribute

to society? What can I do to feel like I am participating and making the world a better place?

The answer to all of the above is to con-tribute to The Phoenix Challenge Foun-dation.

I could try to be elegant, articulate, long-winded, or whatever. Let’s keep it simple: Look into The Phoenix Challenge, and then pull out your checkbook!

Best Regards to All!Frank Burgos, FlexoExchange

Click here to view Frank’s Phoenix Challenge video.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGI-NxMZFAw




Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) & Association of Independent

Corrugated Converters (AICC) Seminars

Fundamentals of Improved Flexographic Printing & Rotary Die Cutting Seminars

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

June 23-25, 2008

August 18-20, 2008

Who should attend: Press operators, press supervisors, sales representatives, and other plant personnel.

What you’ll learn: This 3-day graphics and die cutting program combines hands-on press work in printing and die cutting 2 and 3 color jobs using a WORKHORSE 3-color flexo rotary die cutter with interactive classroom analysis and discussion. You will acquire new skills to improve operations back at the plant. $1,250 AICC members, $1,450 nonmembers

Digital Production for Containers and Displays

Wednesday & Thursday

October 8-9, 2008

Who should attend: Customer service, pre-production, production, supervisors and line management

What you’ll learn: This NEW intensive workshop teaches digital production and processes. The program covers digital workflows, coordination of the various production components; equipment utilized, and includes live on-site demonstrations. The agenda covers corrugated manufacturing in a digital world, workflow and component coordination, equipment and processes, demonstration of digital production flow, putting the digital production puzzle together, and making it happen back when you return to your workplace. $995 AICC members, $1095 nonmembers

Sell to Your Manufacturing Capabilities

Thursday & Friday

May 8-9, 2008

Who should attend: Sales people and designers

What you’ll learn: This NEW program teaches trends in graphic communications; markets of opportunities for converters; case study of one company’s approach to selling digital; business development selling strategies; and creating a plan using specific strategies and tactics that meet appropriate client needs. $995 AICC members, $1095 nonmembers

Seminars are held at FVTC, Appleton WI

Register with the AICC at (877) 836-2422 or (703) 836-2422

http://www.aiccbox.org/

For additional information visit

http://www.fvtcedu/flexo or call FVTC at 920-735-4755





Education




2008 Flexographic PrintingTraining Opportunities

FUNDAMENTALS OF WIDE WEB PRESS OPERATION

JULY 14 – 16 | NOV 3-5 The goal of this 3-day seminar is to give the participant equal instruction between theory and

hands-on activities in the area of flexo platemounting and wide web press operation.

Topics covered: Flexographic printing theory, press components and operation, ink handling and

management, print setting adjustments, register, and tension control, mounting, anilox rolls,

doctor blades and chambered blade assembly and maintenance, press set-up, run, and clean-up

and documentation. $795/person/ includes all materials, morning breaks, noon lunches & extras.

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JUNE 9 -12, | SEPT 29-OCT. 2 This 3 day seminar provides the basic information necessary for the production of quality

flexographic printing. Instruction will consist of lectures, demonstrations and operation of

machinery in the various subject areas.

Topics covered: Flexographic art and copy, line, tone, and process printing, prepress functions,

plates, press components and operation, anilox rolls, substrates, inks, solvents, inline converting

and troubleshooting. $795/person/ includes all materials, morning breaks, noon lunches & extras.

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Choose your training date

• June 16-19

• October 6-9

Register with the FTA

(631) 737-6026

www.flexography.org

This seminar deals with the concepts and tools involved in

the production of high quality, repeatable process printing.

Lectures, demonstrations, a field trip, and printing a four-

color process job on an 8-color, central impression gearless

press are included.

Topics covered: Process color theory, image assembly and

prepress proofing, densitometry and Spectrophotometry,

plate making, press operation, characterization and

documentation, process ink handling, anilox usage and

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Environmental

We’ve all heard the terms “sustain-ability” and “green printing” and

“packaging scorecards” by now, but while there’s an awareness of the buzzwords, the implications of sustainable practices on commerce and the printing/packag-ing industry are things we’re just coming to terms with. Whether we embrace these environmental challenges or run from them, these issues will have a growing influence on the way we conduct busi-ness, both now in the short-term, and far into the foreseeable future. This article is an attempt to provide an overview of the sustainability issues facing the printing/packaging industries, how it is that the issue has come before us, and some of the responses that are being made.

Sustainability is not a new concept, but it has only recently captured the public imagination in a big way. In 1992, the UN held what is commonly referred to as the “Rio Summit”, or the “Earth Summit,” to specifically address the issues of planning for a sustainable future, and published their recommendations in a document called “Agenda 21.” In that document, they define sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN, 1992). This emphasis on the future represents a fundamental depar-ture from the way we typically do things. Most of our efforts in manufacturing are oriented towards efficiencies of bringing

product to market quickly and cheaply, often with little regard to the needs of the future beyond the next quarterly earnings. Sustainable development calls for us to direct our attention to the long view—thirty, fifty, a hundred years into the future in order to ensure that we don’t dig ourselves a hole that we’ll become trapped in.

Now, sustainability, as described in Agenda 21, is more than conservation of natural resources. One commonly finds refer-ences to the three E’s of sustainability—Environmental stewardship, social Equity (meaning no exploitation of people), and, of course, Economic success. If we go out of business, we’ve not sustained ourselves.

Sustainability in Printing and Packaging By Liam O’Hara, Clemson University




At the bottom line, economic success remains the first order of business. But increasingly, to be a successful business will require us to pay more attention the Triple Bottom Line, to include the people and the planet as well as profits.

At the moment, environmental issues are at the forefront on the sustainability movement. Modern environmentalism really got its start when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962. In her book, Carson established a relationship between the use of the pesticide DDT and declining populations of the Ameri-can Bald Eagle—no less a call to arms than a threat to our national symbol (which even trumps polar bears clinging to their ice floes). The use of DDT was a classic example of a very effective short-term solution with little regard to long-term impacts. DDT was an outstanding pesti-cide, tremendously effective at eradicating crop-destroying insects. Unfortunately, the chemical was carried in the run-off from the fields into our streams and rivers, where it was consumed in very small con-centrations by countless organisms that are the basis of the food chain. The toxins in DDT bio-accumulate; they become trapped in organic tissue, and as fish and other aquatic wildlife eat the zooplankton and bugs and smaller fish, the toxins that each organism has consumed are passed along up the food chain. It’s like the pay-back on a pyramid scheme, only they gather poisons. Carson was able to dem-onstrate that bald eagles were consuming enough DDT through the fish that they ate that it caused their eggs to have very thin shells, creating a high mortality rate and endangering the species (Carson, 1962).

Another interesting milestone in water quality was the Cuyahoga river fire of 1969, in which there was so much effluent floating on the surface of the river that it

caught fire. When it was featured in Time magazine, it became a national embarrass-ment, although in fairness it had burned several times in the past, as indeed had a number of rivers throughout the country (Alder, 2004).

These are two striking examples of dra-matic incidents that captured the public imagination to the point that an environ-mental movement was initiated. The fol-lowing year, 1970, saw the first Earth Day, in which millions of Americans took part in cleaning up litter throughout the coun-try. 1970 also saw the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, which over the course of the next decade spon-sored a number of legislative acts that have had a tremendous impact on the way we do business—The Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Toxic Sub-stances Control Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Endangered Species Act, and many more have forced industry to make changes to their opera-tions in order to safeguard our environ-ment and, subsequently, ourselves.

Recently, another environmental call went out that has really resonated with the public imagination—the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth has made the sustain-ability and global warming issues being discussed in bureaucratic panels in remote places like Rio, Bali, and Kyoto suddenly become visible and real to millions of Americans, and they are beginning to look for solutions and are challenging American industries to demonstrate their concern as well. There are many issues to deal with, but the most pressing deal with sustaining our natural resources and our environment.

There is a growing and insistent demand for resources. Oil demand is dramati-cally increasing as third world countries are becoming more industrialized. Our

current global population is in excess of 6.6 billion, and the UN projects it to hit nearly 9 billion in forty years (UN, 2004). Talk about expanding markets! However, it’s a finite planet with a finite amount of resources to be distributed among more and more people. As we move increasingly towards a global economy, as money and resources move into third world econo-mies in order to capitalize on cheap labor, those economies rise. And as their pros-pects rise, the people begin to look for many of the same goods and services we enjoy, and they demand the resources to produce and power those products.

Of course, realizing a global economy means increased transportation of goods and resources, placing more energy con-sumption demands on the oil market. Energy consumption—and energy gen-eration—is really the crux of the problem on a couple of fronts. In addition to the competition to burn them, petroleum-based fuels inherently release CO2 and other greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. Alternative, renewable energy sources are in growing demand.

The other main issue for the sustainability movement is waste management. There is tremendous, renewed concern about the impact our consumer society is having on the environment. There are concerns about the prospect of global climate change, which is fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, and there are concerns regard-ing toxicity—the same issues of bioaccu-mulation that Rachel Carson articulated in Silent Spring have received renewed attention as we consider the affects of groundwater contamination from heavy metals and chemicals leaching from our landfills. Landfills also become an issue as they fill up—32 percent of municipal solid waste is packaging materials; paper and paperboard products (inclusive on non-packaging) are more than 40 percent




Environmental

(Imhoff, 2005). Our current production and consumption models involve throw-ing away materials after a single use. What had seemed an endless bounty of materi-als a few decades ago is now regarded as a limited commodity, and waste reduction is a major priority.

So what is the impact of all of this on the printing/packaging industry? As public concern over these issues grows, many of our clients (in the form of CPCs and retailers) are anxious to demonstrate that their companies are responsive to those concerns. Savvy marketers want to be seen as part of the solution, not part of the problem. Wal-Mart’s energy reduction and packaging reduction policies don’t merely save money; they are doing much to buoy public perception of the retailer’s brand. With the integrity of their brands at stake, many companies have appointed Corpo-rate Responsibility Officers to look at the long-term benefits of sustainable practices and finding avenues for increased profit-ability and positive branding.

Ultimately, what will define this move-ment is the degree to which the world embraces sustainability as a long-term or a short-term project. There is a lot of atten-tion being paid to the immediate benefits of waste reduction and energy conserva-tion. This fits our traditional focus on the economic bottom line. Many companies are realizing immediate savings in mate-rial costs (using less), waste removal costs, energy bills and fuel costs by re-examin-ing their practices and through careful investment in technologies. These repre-sent the three R’s most of us are familiar with—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—and they present a terrific “win/win” in that they can provide savings and they are boasting points for demonstrating one’s commit-ment to environmental stewardship.

Printing and packaging companies will increasingly find that their environmental credentials are being weighed by CPCs and retailers who, in order to show the public their commitment, look to their supply chain to also be green. As the “people, planet” part of the triple bottom line grows in influence, suppliers of print and packaging who can demonstrate that their products are produced with less harmful impact will be favored over other companies. Now, the skeptics looking at the sustainability movement will suggest that in the end, the economic bottom line always outweighs the other considerations. But if a company places value on the per-ception of its brand as an environmentally responsible product, chances are they will pay for that value. What is certain is that they won’t pay for products that they feel damage their brand. I recently had a con-versation with a number of commercial printers about FSC/SFI certification (an auditing process regarding using paper from sustainable sources) in which it was stated that even if the certification hadn’t necessarily brought them new business, it was necessary for them to retain many of the accounts they had. Their clients had demanded that they reach that bench-mark. So if other retailers follow the ini-tiative of Wal-Mart’s packaging scorecard, can a packaging company afford not to go green?

And if being green is a competitive advan-tage, then it becomes important to estab-lish what it really means to be green and to provide a means to credibly demonstrate that a company follows those practices. In response to this need, a diverse group of associations—PIA/GATF, the FTA, and SGIA—have pooled their resources to initiate the Sustainable Green Printers Partnership (SGP), a third-party certifica-tion process for printers with sustainable

practices. Any printing company within the United States and Canada will be able to apply for certification, whether they are members of the founding associations or not. The SGP Partnership envisions sus-tainability as encompassing three main areas: Product, which includes the design and materials to create the product; Pro-cess, which includes all manufacturing processes and byproducts (such as solid waste, wastewater, or air pollution); and Envelope, which includes the facilities, grounds, employees, etc. Certified SGP printers must have formal environmental policies and will be required to demon-strate best practices as established by the SGP Partnership. It is intended that this certification will provide printers who are committed to sustainable practices with an internationally recognized status. To learn more about this initiative, visit www.sgppartnership.org online.

In addition to client demands, there is always the concern of increased regu-lation. The environment is playing an unprecedented role in the political dia-logue this election cycle, and one can expect renewed scrutiny of what qualifies as hazardous waste and how those materi-als are handled and disposed of. Recycling requirements are a possibility as well as landfill issues become a greater concern. But while industry generally chafes at the notion of regulation, a mandate for rigor-ous environmental standards may well be something to embrace rather than avoid. Looking back to the environmental leg-islation since the 70s, it can be said that while the medicine may have tasted bad going down, it was good for us in the long run. Significant gains have been made in water and air quality that has enhanced everyone’s way of life. Given the poten-tially catastrophic consequences of global climate change, aggressive steps to slow



http://www.sgppartnership.org

http://www.sgppartnership.org


that process down are in all of our best interests. And if regulation is coming, doesn’t it make sense to be proactive in the face of change rather than reactive? The sustainability leaders will be the ones shaping the outcome of such regulation when it comes to pass.

This does not mean that it is all sacrifice, however. There are tremendous economic benefits to those who can respond to the need for change in an innovative matter. While the three “R”s largely represent the “low hanging fruit” that is readily avail-able to those who care to invest in those solutions, real gains in sustainability (and economic success) will be found through the pursuit of the fourth “R”—redesign. Innovation is required to find alternative solutions to remove toxic compounds from our production processes, or to find materials that can be reused, recycled or composted rather than throwing them away.

Beyond invention, though, the sustain-ability movement may present an oppor-tunity for enhanced competitiveness, particularly where packaging and prod-ucts are being produced overseas. Ameri-can business should be promoting public awareness of sustainability concerns. If the public can embrace the triple bottom line in their buying habits, then we can see real benefits. Again, this is the real challenge of the sustainability movement—mov-ing away from a consumer market based solely on instant gratification to one of responsible consumerism, which requires a longer view than satisfying one’s imme-diate wants. So much of our manufactur-ing is designed first and foremost to create more, faster, cheaper—can people find priorities besides the price of the prod-uct? Can we educate the public to make a distinction between price and cost? The

price of products produced overseas may be low, but what is the cost of products if they are produced in countries without environmental restrictions? What is the cost in carbon emissions if the raw mate-rials must be shipped overseas and the products be shipped back? What if the energy used to produce those products is from coal plants without emissions con-trols? A program of carbon footprinting and life cycle analysis, in which the energy requirements of obtaining materials, transportation, production, and recycling or disposal are recorded, will favor those products that are locally produced.

In the end, before making a move towards sustainability, many of us wonder how far can the sustainable drive go—will it be worth the investment? When one speaks of responsible consumerism, what does that even mean? Doesn’t “consume” by definition mean to use up, to devour or destroy? Isn’t our civilization built on com-merce stemming from satisfying people’s wants and desires? How can one possibly reconcile meeting the needs of the pres-ent without taking away something from the future? However, these questions are ultimately mere sophist arguments. What is clear is that we can do better, and if we can do better, then I think we can agree that we should do better. Making changes to waste less materials and energy is the right thing to do, and it is an investment that will be repaid in both economic sav-ings and in the long-term benefits of being of proud of our practices and being sought out for our services.

Cited Resources:Adler, Jonathon H., 2004 “Smoking out the Cuyahoga fire fable,” National Review Online, retrieved from the web at http://www.nationalreview.com/adler/ adler200406220845.asp

Carson, Rachel, 1962. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Imhoff, Daniel, 2005. Paper or Plastic: Searching for Solutions to an Over-Pack-aged World, Sierra Club Books, San Fran-cisco.

United Nations, 1992. Agenda 21. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Develop-ment. United Nations, New York.

United Nations, 2004. World Popula-tion to 2300. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. United Nations, New York.

About the Author:Liam O’Hara is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Graphic Com-munications at Clemson Uni-versity, where he currently teaches

courses emphasizing inks and substrates, color management, gravure, and sustain-ability in graphic communications.



http://www.nationalreview.com/adler/ adler200406220845.asp

http://www.nationalreview.com/adler/ adler200406220845.asp


FlexoHighlight

Producers of flexible packaging, labels, and other packaging-related products

have long relied on flexographic printing for these jobs, and the imaging of flexo plates has often been viewed as equal parts art and science. However, the process has improved dramatically over the past few years with the introduction of digital plate imaging technology. Print service provid-ers in the offset market have enjoyed the benefits of computer-to-plate (CTP) technology for 10 years or more, but the advent of CTP for flexo applications has come more recently.

At first look, the benefits of digital plate-making are obvious—faster prepress, improved makeready on press, and much higher reproduction quality. But the advantages go beyond to include reduced dot gain, enhanced screening options, and broader support for a variety of printing substrates. In short, digital flexographic platemaking has introduced many of the benefits already appreciated in the offset printing space and is poised to help flexog-raphers gain a competitive edge.

The Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexo-graphic System uses a revolutionary new method to make flexo printing plates that stretch the traditional boundaries of flexo printing and take it to a level never before

attainable with traditional flexo tech-nologies. The system integrates the Kodak Flexcel NX 830 Thermal Imaging Layer, Flexcel NX Lamina-tor, Trendsetter NX Imager, Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic Plates, SquareSpot Imaging Technology, and Prinergy Work-flow System to produce plates for higher levels of print quality and productivity, enabling stability on press and repeat-ability both on press and in prepress. The end result—offset class, gravure quality on a wide variety of substrates, including paper, flexible film, foil, label stock, and folding carton.

The Flexcel NX System is already being recognized for its high quality and consis-tent results in the field, having received a prestigious award this year from the Flexo-graphic Pre-Press Platemakers Association (FPPA), and several of Kodak’s customers captured awards from the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) for remark-able jobs they were able to produce with the Flexcel NX System. At its recent annual meeting, the FPPA presented one of three prestigious 2008 FPPA Technology Innovator of the Year awards to the Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System. This marked the third time that Kodak had been honored by the association for its offerings in the flex-

og raphic marketplace.

Nearly 600 entries were submitted for the FTA com-petition, and Kodak customers brought home four of the five awards. Recognized with a Special Achievement Award for its Nescafe© Cappucino Drinks to Go Wrapper was Corniche in the UK, while Anagram in the US won a Bronze Award for its Hannah Montana Birthday Balloon and Dunwoody Institute in the US captured a Bronze Award for Amilia’s Orchard Wine Label and Silver Award for Frog Sports Amber Ale Label.

With these achievements already in place this year, Kodak is receiving recognition from the industry for its outstanding per-formance and ability to deliver flexo plates for the most demanding applications. The success of the Flexcel NX system and related products underscores Kodak’s commitment to delivering integrated solutions that address the changing needs of today’s competitive global packaging market.

Kodak Breaks the Limits of Flexo Printing




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STandards

Color management for packaging faces special challenges as many pack-

ages require bright and bold colors that are beyond the gamut capabilities of pro-cess inks. Typically, the gamut of process CMYK inks may be expanded through the use of special colors such as red, green, or violet. Apart from gamut issues, another reason to use special colors is to provide more consistency, as a single special color is easier to control on press over a long run (as opposed to maintaining a four-color process mix). Reproducing a design in a special color keeps registration issues to a minimum. Special colors are much easier, especially when a packaging product is to be printed across all three print pro-cesses— gravure, flexo, litho.

Packaging jobs are often designed in many layers and are ultimately printed as multichannel separations. In prepress, we must seek special tools when dealing with multichannel graphics. We are faced with inadequate multichannel support in Pho-toshop, which causes many users to adopt

proprietary systems such as EskoArtwork, formed from ArtWork Systems and Esko-Graphics. Some companies are turning to solutions based on the new Pantone Goe system or an in-house palette system. In this article, we explore these solutions and ICC color-management solutions that address the needs of the packaging community. We see that an X-Rite prod-uct, ProfileMaker 5, can provide an ICC-based solution for packaging—and has a fix for Photoshop! Most of the color-man-agement systems for packaging are based on spectral data. We, therefore, define the oft talked about “spectral” issue.

It is well-known that packaging requires bright and bold colors, designed to jump off the supermarket shelf, with the mes-sage, “Buy me—I contain fresh ingredi-ents or an exciting product.” The colors of a package should not differ among dif-ferent packages on the shelf. The images should not fade as the poor appearance of the package may be construed to relate to the package content. The package will

be viewed in store lighting, but may be enjoyed in the home or outdoors, so do different inks on the package match in the store, but not at home due to metamer-ism? Finally, does the package match the color of the actual cookie, chocolate bar, or tomato soup?

Figure 1: The Pantone Digital Library (dots) is compared to the gamut of GRACoL commercial offset printing

(solid volume). Note that some Pantone colors can be recreated

using CMYK process colors, but some are out of the print gamut. Pantone inks can be used to “extend the print

gamut”.

Color Management for Packaging: Spectral Colors & Beyond

Abhay Sharma, Chair, School of Graphic Communications Management Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada




This article examines the color manage-ment challenges and solutions for the packaging printer.

Pantone Matching SystemThere are many ways to work with special colors in prepress. We may use four-color process inks —C, M, Y, K—or four-color process inks with specified colors such as Pantone, Hexachrome, or Opaltone. We may need, for example, special colors such as red, green, or violet. As shown in the 3-D gamut figure, many of the colors used in packaging can be out of gamut of pro-cess inks. Even for those colors that are in-gamut of process inks, special colors pro-vide more consistency, as they are easier to control on press over a long run, and one ink versus four process inks keeps registra-tion issues to a minimum. A special color ink is also much easier, especially when a packaging product is to be printed across different print processes.

Figure 2: The Pantone system consists of different swatch books – the basic formula guide (left), the tints book (centre) and a book that

compares Pantone to its CMYK equivalent (right).

The Pantone system consists of three main components—the swatch books (shown in the figure), the digital libraries found in the Adobe Creative Suite or RIPs, and cans of ink. The swatch books may be printed on coated (C), uncoated (U), or matte (M) substrates. There are different swatch books for different functions. One swatch book deals with the basic formulation, another set deals with Pantone tints, from 80 percent to 0percent, and yet another version of the Pantone books compares a

pure Pantone color ink with its recreation via CMYK process inks.

The Pantone system has recently been relaunched with a newer system called “Goe.” The new system contains 2058 colors (compared to 1114 colors in the existing system), and if you buy the new printing inks, they are made from 10 base colors and are supposed to behave better on press. The new inks work better with UV and water-based coatings.

Figure 3: The Pantone system is well established in prepress systems. In Photosho,p the same Pantone color

may be recreated in CMYK, the duller color, or it can exist as a separate

Pantone channel and create its own plate separation.

The Pantone system is well established in prepress systems. The Pantone Digi-tal Library exists in Photoshop, InDe-sign, and other prepress products such as QuarkXPress. Photoshop allows the same Pantone color to be recreated in CMYK,

or a Pantone color can exist as a separate Pantone channel, to ultimately create its own film or plate separation.

The Pantone system has its benefits, but also its inconveniences. The system is pro-prietary and requires that the product you are using is “Pantone compliant.” To work efficiently, everybody has to have, and refer to, a swatch book. And, the books become dirty and need replacing on a regular basis.

Let us look at some of the other solutions for managing colors in packaging that co-exist with Pantone.

Spectral DataBefore we look at the other color manage-ment solutions for packaging, we must briefly define spectral data. There are good technical reasons today to have products that are “spectral.” So, what do we mean when we say spectral?

The spectrum is the most complete mea-surement of a color sample. From spectral data, it is possible to calculate density, CIELAB, and dot percent. X-Rite (pre-viously GretagMacbeth) and other color-management products that are spectrally based are able to offer features such as metamerism predictions, swapping of colorants, swapping of substrate, predic-tions of color mixing, and compensation for UV fluorescence. Products that use

Figure 4: All these instruments are spectrophotometer— i1 Pro, 530, i1 iSis. They all measure and can report the spectrum of a sample (far right).




STandards

spectral data are able to make allowance for different lighting conditions. Light-ing is an important factor as packaging is displayed and purchased in store lighting, but may be proofed and designed in pre-press standards for D50 or D65.

Most measuring instruments today are spectrophotometers—i.e., they mea-sure and can report the spectrum of a sample. The spectrum is the most com-plete descriptor of a color and is a plot of the reflectance of the sample in all wave-lengths from blue to green to red. From spectral data, these instruments compute andreporttheL*a*b*valuesofasample.Mathematical functions are applied to the spectral data, and the full spectrum is distilledintoL*,a*,andb*valuesthatrep-resent the color of the sample. It is impor-tant to note that spectral data can be con-verted intoL*a*b*, butL*a*b* cannotbeconverted back into the spectral data. In order to offer the benefits that spectral data can offer, it is essential that a program retain and save full spectral data within their internal operations.

Spectral data is used in Heidelberg’s Prinect Profile Toolbox. The software suite com-bines the programs PrintOpen and Qual-ity Monitor. PrintOpen can adjust for changes in the white point of the substrate. This feature is used in the situation where

the customer or printer changes the sub-strate as we are getting ready to go to press. By spectral measurement of the new sub-strate type, color-matching calculations can be done to adjust the image colors to take into account the new substrate.

A new system from Sun Chemical is aimed at the brand owner. SmartColour uses spectral data from an extensive ink-on-substrate database to organize and opti-mize your brand palette. Often we find an unwieldy collection of in-house colors. The SmartColour system is designed to “organize and harmonize” these collec-tions. Spectral data is used to compute mixes for solids, tints, and overprints. The SmartColour system consists of different parts including a DigiBase (Photoshop plug-in digital library), swatch books called “DigiGuides,” and proofs called “DigiProofs.” The Sun Chemical Smart-Colour system is based on spectral mea-surements of samples.

Spectral data is useful in the analysis of UV-based fluorescence. Substrate manu-facturers use optical brightening agents (OBAs, which work by absorbing light in the UV (invisible) part of the spectrum and emitting that in the blue (visible) part of the spectrum. This boost in the blue part of the spectrum makes the substrate more appealing by making it both bluer

and brighter.

We also see the use of spectral data in the light booths. Light booths are not per-fectly D50, and a spectral measurement of the light in the booth can be used in software to make a more accurate color management ICC profile.

ICC Profiles and PackagingPackaging printers must ask special ques-tions when choosing hardware and soft-ware for press and prepress. There is a wide range of solutions available. One of the options worth considering is a stan-dardized process based on ICC profile architecture.

The ICC specification allows input, mon-itor, and printer profiles to be used with different color spaces. Profiles are most commonly used to convert data from RGBtoL*a*b*toCMYK.However,thespecification also allows profiles to con-tain more than four color channels. Thus, a six-channel ICC profile can deal with the situation of four process colors and two special colors. An ICC profile can have anywhere from 2 to 15 color chan-nels. In conversation, these are referred to as “n-channel” or “multichannel” pro-files, but in a profile, the precise number is listed—e.g., six-color, seven-color, eight-color, etc.

Figure 6: Most ICC printer profiles work in CMYK, but we may use a six-color profile in packaging to deal with process colors and two spot colors

Figure 5: The X-Rite iSis was used to measure the paper white of an inkjet paper, with and without UV. Notice how in UV light, the optical brighteners

cause a boost in the blue part of the spectrum.



Heidelberg�s Prinect Profile Toolbox

Heidelberg�s Prinect Profile Toolbox

http://www.smartcolour.com/


To build an n-channel profile, it is neces-sary to use a special test target with n-col-ors and a profiling product that supports the creation of n-channel profiles. The special colors may be local variations of CMYK process colors, such as substitut-ing process cyan with Pantone 435, or they may be in addition to CMYK colors so that we may seek a profile for a job that will be printed using process colors and some spot colors.

Conventional CMYK targets, such as the ECI 2002, are designed in CMYK and, thus, contain a good distribution of colors in CMYK coordinates. One way of dealing with special colors is to use a con-ventional target and simply replace the four process colors by special colors. This does not always provide the best solution. CMYK targets are adequate for process

inks, but the target is not designed for non-CMYK colorants. So even if the job has only four colorants, it is not optimum to simply substitute special colorants for CMYK in this test target.

If you have special colorants, you should use a specially designed test target, and if you have more than four channels, you have to use a special test target. Specially designed test targets take into account the colorants being used and generate a set of patch values that will best capture the press response. It is likely that you can get a better characterization (fingerprint) of the press with a test target that has been optimized for the colorant set. A specially designed test target may use less patches, thus reducing press sheet real estate and measuring time. X-Rite/GretagMacbeth MeasureTool will allow the user to input

the colorants and design a test target based on the actual colorant values.

X-Rite/GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker 5 PackagingOnce we have printed and measured an n-color test target, we make an ICC profile in profile-making software. We then use the n-color profile and apply it to images in Photoshop. But Photoshop is unable to correctly display the color information from n-channel profiles. Photoshop and other Creative Suite applications recog-nize and acknowledge the presence of a n-channel profile, but do not correctly use the color information stored within an ICC profile. In a Photoshop channel, the pixel values are correct and a multi-channel image will generate correct sepa-rations that will print correctly. However, the screen colors can be wrong and, thus, it is not possible to edit images on the monitor or rely on the screen image as a soft proof. Adobe has not fixed this aspect of their product over many product revi-sions as they do not think there is market demand for this functionality.

Consider an image with four channels—two Pantone colors and two process colors. In this instance, we may use a four-channel ICC profile. In Photoshop, the image colors are not displayed correctly, making it necessary to use MultiColor

Figure 7: The ECI 2002 target is designed for CMYK (left). For a six-color profile, we can use GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker to design a special printer

target (right).

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 8: This packaging job consists of two Pantone colors and two process colors. Photoshop initially displays the wrong colors (b), but with the ProfileMaker 5 MultiColor plug-in we can view accurate color (c).




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Separation, a third-party plug-in from ProfileMaker 5 Packaging, to perform the separation and soft proof the image with correct colors.

A very exciting offering from X-Rite is the ProfileMaker 5 Packaging solution that meets the color management needs of the imaging workflow in the packaging market for gravure, flexo, offset, and inkjet proofing environments. It has a number of tools that are intended to deal with the everyday issues facing packaging printers. X-Rite is able to do this through clever use of spectral data—an X-Rite ICC profile now stores full spectral data for each mea-surement of every single test chart patch. Proper use of the ProfileMaker 5 Packag-ing can increase the accuracy and reduce the time spent on preparing extended gamut work jobs in packaging printing. If you are a packaging printer, you need to look at this product.

The ICC specification allows n-channel profiles, and products such as X-Rite Pro-fileMaker Packaging and Monaco Profiler can make n-channel ICC profiles, but the rest of the imaging chain such as Pho-toshop, the OS, and the RIP must also be n-channel compliant. Unfortunately, n-channel profiles are more the exception than the norm, and we must wait as ven-dors update their products for n-channel support.

Most color management solutions today are based on spectral data. In packaging we have the need to evaluate and predict the effect of colorants and substrates on the final color - this is only possible using the full spectral description of a color. The best solutions on the market are spectral-based products.

About Ryerson University

The Heidelberg School of Graphic Com-munications Management is housed in a 30,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art press and prepress facility that was completed in 2003. The School offers the only B.Tech. in Graphic Communications Manage-ment in Canada and has an enrolment of 400 students at the undergraduate level. The reputation of the School ensures 100 percent internship placement and 100 percent employment of students upon graduation. Abhay Sharma is Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management. Ian Baitz is Associate Chair of the program and is leading the development of the flexo/packaging cur-riculum within the school. Prof Baitz will lead a team from Ryerson University at the Phoenix College Challenge, FFTA 2008 Annual Forum, April 2008, Dallas.






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Shelf Impact! Package Design Workshop - May 7, 2008Los Angeles, CAhttp://www.shelfimpact.com/pdw/

Harper Flexographic Solutions Tour - May 8, 2008Holiday Inn Select, Nashville, TNhttp://www.harperimage.com

Sell to Your Manufacturing Capabilities - May 8-9, 2008Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WIhttp://www.aiccbox.org/

SweFlex, Medlemsmöte - May 8-9, 2008Helsingborghttp://www.sweflex.com/

Clemson Seminar Series: Digital Proofing for Flexo Seminar May 13-14, & May 15-16, 2008http://graphics.clemson.edu/itc/

Packaging Summit Expo & Conference - May 13-25, 2008Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL USAhttp://www.pkgsummit.com

Seminario taller: Principios básicos de Flexografía - Mayo 14-15, 2008.Hotel Holliday Inn, Trade Center, México, D.F., MéxicoTel. (55) 5203-5203 o [email protected]

39th Annual PRIMA Conference - May 18-20, 2008Grand Hotel Oslo, Norwayhttp://prima-papernetwork.org/cms.cfm/bereich/conferences

Shelf Impact! Package Design Workshop - May 21, 2008Chicago, IL http://www.shelfimpact.com/pdw/

Lean Printing – Pathway to Success - May 21-23, 2008Cal Poly, San Luis Obisp, CAhttp://grci.calpoly.edu/workshops/lean.html

Luxe Pack New York — May 21-22, 2008Altman + Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NYhttp://www.luxepacknewyork.com/Lpny/en/index.php

O&S International Trade Fair for Surface Treatments & Coatings - June 3-5, 2008New Trade Fair Centre Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germanyhttp://www.messe-stuttgart.de/ounds/2008/english/index.htm

Fundamentals of Narrow Web Press Operation - June 9-12, 2008Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WIwww.fvtc.edu/flexo

drupa - May 29 - June 11, 2008Messe Düsseldorf GmbHhttp://www.drupa.de

Shelf Impact! Package Design Workshop - June 11, 2008New Brunswick, NJhttp://www.shelfimpact.com/pdw/

Achieving Consistency in Process Printing - June 16-19, 2008Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WI http://www.flexography.org

Flexo Bootcamp - June 17-18, 2008Cal Poly, San Luis Obisp, CAhttp://grci.calpoly.edu/workshops/flexo_bootcamp.html

Harper Flexographic Solutions Tour - June 19, 2008Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, NVhttp://www.harperimage.com

Fundamentals of Improved Flexographic Printing & Rotary Die Cutting Seminars - June 23-25, 2008Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WIhttp://www.aiccbox.org/

Rosupak - June 23-27, 2008Crocus Expo Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Russiahttp://eng.rosupak.ru/2008/eng/about/

Asia Pacific Coatings Show 2008 - June 24-26, 2008Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysiawww.coatingsgroup.com

May & June 2008 Industry EventsFor a full listing of events, visit www.flexoglobal.com To list your seminars and/or conferences on FlexoGlobal and

in e-FlexoGlobal, send your information to [email protected].



http://www.radtech.org

http://www.shelfimpact.com/pdw/



http://www.sweflex.com/

http://graphics.clemson.edu/itc/

http://www.pkgsummit.com


http://prima-papernetwork.org/cms.cfm/bereich/conferences


http://grci.calpoly.edu/workshops/lean.html

http://www.messe-stuttgart.de/ounds/2008/english/index.htm

http://www.messe-stuttgart.de/ounds/2008/english/index.htm

www.fvtc.edu/flexo

http://www.drupa.de


http://www.flexography.org

http://grci.calpoly.edu/workshops/flexo_bootcamp.html



http://eng.rosupak.ru/2008/eng/about/

www.coatingsgroup.com



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