Color Management - "Military" in Color Printing

Good front-end processing is equal to half the success. Improper pre-press processing can not get the ideal print. “Whether it is in the traditional printing process or in the digital printing process, such a phrase is popular, in fact, this is also an indisputable fact. And color management as a key part of the front-end processing, naturally the whole process It is important that with the ever-changing digital technology, the functions of color management software are also becoming increasingly powerful, so as to better promote the perfect and accurate reproduction of printing colors and create more exquisite printing products. Of course, this also benefits from numerous professional activities. Suppliers of color management are constantly pursuing innovation to satisfy the needs of the market and users as much as possible, among which, GMG is a typical representative company.

GMG, a leader in high-end color management processes, started the formal launch of the global market in 2003 and established a representative office in China that year to serve the Chinese market. After more than a year of market development and channel development, GMG has received attention and recognition from the industry. Its products are gradually being praised by more users and professionals, and successfully applied in the actual production of some users, playing a direct or indirect role for the development of users. However, the company has not stopped innovation and R&D. According to a leader of GMG, “In the past year, GMG has invested a great deal of effort in product development to ensure that the return to customers is the most competitive and high Quality products.” If not, in the first half of this year, GMG released an upgraded version 4.1. So what features are added to new products? What does this mean for users? How does GMG act to better promote the development of color management in the printing process? With regard to these issues, the reporter interviewed Mr. Yan Jianhai, general manager of the China GMG company in Germany.

"International Printing": GMG recently released version 4.1 of the upgrade product. What is its main innovation? Which market is targeted?

Mr. Yan: There are many new features in the 4.1 release, including some very small details and improvements. Currently, version 4.1 supports Epson's new printer 4800, as well as the upcoming 7800 and 9800 printers. Version 4.1 supports laser printer OKI C9500 and Epson AcuLaser C8500. It is very important that the proofing speed of the outlets in the 4.1 version has been accelerated by 30% on the original faster basis. In this way, the dot proofing speed of the GMG products far exceeds the proofing speed of the outlets of similar products. From the perspective of the various new features of the 4.1 release, the markets targeted are the digital proofing market and the laser printing market. The release of version 4.1 has given us a greater advantage in the digital proofing market.

"International Printing": What does the release of version 4.1 mean for GMG? What does it mean for its users in China? What about the entire printing industry?

Mr. Yan: For a long time, GMG R&D personnel are constantly upgrading products based on the market demand, constantly perfecting various functions of the products, and actively developing new products to meet customer requirements to the maximum extent possible. The 4.1 version is a more important upgrade of the GMG product. It is another perfection of the product function for the GMG. The added features, such as support for new Epson models, the perfection of the RIP Server 1-Bit creator and the acceleration of dot proofing speeds, have fully met the needs of the market. Users' requirements for proofing speed and quality are constantly increasing. Chinese customers are also the same. Therefore, version 4.1 also allows Chinese users to further experience the joy of GMG's color management.

"International Printing": Through two years of close contact with GMG and its products, what do you think are the advantages of GMG? In the future, we will continue to maintain and strengthen GMG’s industry strengths to better meet user needs and promote the development of the Chinese printing industry.

Mr. Yan: I personally think that the advantages of GMG's color management products are mainly manifested in the following aspects:

The first aspect is color quality.

Using GMG products for color management, such as digital proofing color control, and the back-end color docking is very good. For example, we can control the average color difference between proofs and prints below 1.0, and even around 0.5, which is a very pleasant surprise in the industry.

The second aspect is equipment stability.

Another unique advantage of GMG products is the printer's closed-loop correction technology. Some other digital proofing products are basically based on ICC color management technology. There is no function of printer calibration. In this way, when performing color management, it is impossible to stabilize a single or multiple printers at a time, and the printed sample color will follow. Change with time, or you cannot control the color difference between multiple printers. The GMG's self-developed printer closed-loop correction technology not only can stabilize a single printer for a long time, but also can control the color difference between multiple printers of the same type in a very small range. The color difference is basically below 0.7, and the naked eye cannot Identify it.

The third aspect is remote proofing.

Since the GMG has a printer calibration function, two off-site printers can fully control the color difference between the two printers within a very small range as long as the printer calibration is performed regularly. Therefore, GMG products have unparalleled advantages in realizing the remote proofing process.

"International Printing": How do you understand the importance of color management in digital proofing and printing, after realizing the practical application of more products?

Mr. Yan: In the actual production process, proofs are the most contacted by customers. Therefore, the quality of proofs directly affects the customer's trust, while the color of proofs and proofs must maintain good docking with the back-end printing colors in order to improve customer satisfaction. Therefore, color management is very important for digital proofing and directly determines the degree of customer trust and satisfaction. Color is the life of color printing. To improve color printing quality, we must first improve color quality. In the actual production process, the color problem of customers is also the most concern and most important issue for many companies. At present, many companies are also working hard to establish their own digital workflow. The only thing that goes through this process is color management. Therefore, I believe that color management is an important project that runs through the entire printing workflow, whether it is a traditional printing process or a digital process.

"International Printing": In order to better help users succeed and create more value, what are your suggestions for users to purchase color management software? In actual work, what is GMG doing?

Mr. Yan: When customers purchase color management software, I suggest that customers first know what kind of color management software they need; second is to examine what type of software is most suitable for their actual production needs; the last thing to consider is whether the software can truly Solving the problems in the actual production, rather than just will be enough; Finally, it is also very important that the software has a perfect after-sales service system.

In practical work, GMG always wins customers and wins market with high quality products and excellent services. In sales, we rely on excellent product quality. We allow customers to give customers a certain amount of time to test in the early stages. Through testing customers, we can truly appreciate the powerful functions and unique advantages of GMG products. In terms of after-sales service, we will continue to organize GMG's dealers to participate in sales and technical training activities, so that they can provide customers with more sophisticated technical services, and constantly improve GMG's service quality in China, establish a high-end brand

Reprinted from: Color Science