Many printers are finding it very hard to manage their business effectively and efficiently. Cadgraf has been helping newspaper and magazine publishers derive more mileage from their existing assets in terms of both quality improvement and cost optimization.
Correcting Mechanical Registration Errors through pure Software corrections
For many publishers a decline in print profitability means that they no longer have the budget to rebuild or replace their old presses like before. However as presses get older registration becomes more difficult to achieve – yet advertisers as well as readers demand an ever-higher color quality. Every advertiser and reader has to be satisfied with the printed product or ad revenue and circulation is likely to decline further – it can potentially become a vicious spiral.
Mis-registration on a web press is mainly a result of mechanical wear and tear, paper stretch and press calibration. By in large, the amount of registration error observed depends mainly on the paper type and many other issues related to the press. The most common solutions to the mis-registration problem on a web are tedious and lengthy calibrations and the Bustle wheel (or air pressure from nozzles). Most solutions affect the image registration on the paper in a way that minimizes the mis-registration. However, those solutions are expensive and not stable during the print run.
In today’s world there are solutions that correct all mis-registration on the printing press without the need to touch or modified the press. This is done by reading the registration deviations on the printed media (for each color) and applying the corrections to the digital files which are to be exposed on the plate. By this, the registration correction process practically covers all possible errors starting from plate cut, exposing device
(CtF or CtP), punch, bender, plate gripping system and any other mechanical alignment on the press.
Cost Optimization by saving overall ink consumption
In most printing companies, the cost of printing inks is a significant part of the total cost of printing. Additionally, color separations produced by different prepress suppliers can lead to instability in grey balance on the press when the complete job is printed. Cadgraf supports the use of Gray Component Replacement (GCR) technology. In the recent past, advanced 4D gamut mapping algorithms for color-managed, intelligent ink reduction have brought down ink consumption. Cost savings of 20% are common and the savings can be significantly greater in some cases. These software solutions typically pay for themselves in about 8 months.
One-step, automatic processes can significantly reduce the CMY components for all printed elements and optimize the black separation – while maintaining visual and colorimetric integrity. Because less total ink is used and because the image contains more of the inexpensive black ink and less of the expensive colors, ink costs are reduced. Apart from the ink cost savings, there are other benefits. Since there is less total ink coverage, there is less show-through; and the standardization resulting from converting images to optimized CMYK provides more color stability on press.
Cadgraf has a team of skilled professionals who specify, recommend and configure all aspects of media production systems. From marketing through design, development, implementation and support, we back our customers and partners in all phases of a successful experience.
