Approval proofer

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Within the printing industry, the Approval proofer, also known as the Approval Digital Imaging System or Kodak Approval System, [1] was designed for use in Prepress proofing, especially for the highest quality contract proofs. [2]

Contents

The Approval is a laminate based system where up to 6 color donors can transfer images to a receiver sheet by a high-powered laser. Once imaging is complete the image can be transfer to a wide variety of substrates including papers, boards, shrink wrap, plastics, metals, etc.

The system comes in two sizes: The 3-page model images a proof 13.3 × 20.9 in. (338 × 530 mm); the 4-page model images a proof 26.6 × 20.9 in. (676 × 530 mm)

The Approval is similar to the Fuji Finalproof [3] product. Another similar lamination device is the Creo Spectrum [4] (now supported by Kodak) which is unique in that proofs are created on the actual plate-setting device (the Creo/Kodak Trendsetter).

History

The Approval was introduced to the market by Kodak in 1991, and continues to be sold and used in printing shops as of 2010. The Approval Classic (original) version quickly became the market standard for contract proofs. That was quickly followed in 1995 by Approval PS. In 1998 there was a major redesign which is the basis for the contemporary product. The Approval NX released in 2004 decreased the printing time of spot colors giving users significant productivity improvements. There is continued research and development aimed at improving the quality and usefulness of Approval output.

Prepress Applications

The Approval was designed to mimic the quality of Printing presses using high resolution imaging (2,400 or 2,540 DPI similar to the printing plate) and halftone screening to accurately reflect what would be seen on press. Stochastic screening (or FM screening) can also be used to proof print runs with this screening technique. Being able to simulate screening effects with high fidelity makes it possible to detect undesirable screening artifacts (i.e. Moiré patterns) before going to press, consequently saving customers time and money.

The Approval system allows control over screen angles, screen ruling, density control per color, dot gain adjustment and dot shapes.

The wide range of color donors makes it possible to simulate accurately process, corporate, brand, spot and special colors. Process donors include cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Additional donors, orange, green and blue, extend the color gamut. There are 2 opaque donors: white and metallic. The metallic donor combined with the other color donors allows for the creation of a wide range of metallic colors such as gold, copper, bronze, etc. This produces special effects not possible via inkjet printers but commonly used in today’s packaging.

The Approval is especially useful in packaging applications because it is possible to transfer the images to so many of the different substrates used in the packaging industry. The white donor is a critical tool in replicating packaging printing that will be applied to clear packaging. The adjustable laydown order allow exact representation of the prepress shops most difficult print jobs such as package labels and lottery cards were white or silver is required on the top and bottom. Often customers want three-dimensional mock-ups of the actual package. This could be cardboard, metal (i.e. aluminum pop can), glass, plastic, shrink wrap, etc. Approval proofs are highly effective for these applications.

As of 2010 the Approval supports several certified workflows: Kodak Proofing Software (KPS), Prinergy, Kodak (HQ-1), Brisque, EskoArtwork FlexRIP and Nexus, and Rampage RIPS / workflows with direct connections through the Open Front End (OFE) interface. Nexus, MetaDimensions, and Screen Trueflow all interface through the Approval Interface Toolkit software (AIT).

Related Research Articles

CMYK color model Subtractive color model, used in color printing

The CMYK color model is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. CMYK refers to the four ink plates used in some color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).

Halftone Printing process

Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect. "Halftone" can also be used to refer specifically to the image that is produced by this process.

Job Definition Format (JDF) is a technical standard being developed by the graphic arts industry to facilitate cross-vendor workflow implementations of the application domain. It is an XML format about job ticket, message description, and message interchange. JDF is managed by CIP4, the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress Organization. JDF was initiated by Adobe Systems, Agfa, Heidelberg and MAN Roland in 1999 but handed over to CIP3 at Drupa 2000. CIP3 then renamed itself CIP4.

Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing. The prepress procedure includes the manufacture of a printing plate, image carrier or form, ready for mounting on a printing press, as well as the adjustment of images and texts or the creation of a high-quality print file. In today's prepress shop, the form of delivery from the customer is usually electronic, either a PDF or application files created from programs such as Scribus, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, or QuarkXPress.

Spot color Type of ink or pigment used in printing

In offset printing, a spot color or solid color is any color generated by an ink that is printed using a single run, whereas a process color is produced by printing a series of dots of different colors.

Creo, now part of Eastman Kodak Company, was a Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada-based company, involved in imaging and software technology for computer to plate and digital printing. The name derives from the Latin creo, "I create."

Color printing or colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color. Any natural scene or color photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into three primary colors, red, green and blue, roughly equal amounts of which give rise to the perception of white, and different proportions of which give rise to the visual sensations of all other colors. The additive combination of any two primary colors in roughly equal proportion gives rise to the perception of a secondary color. For example, red and green yields yellow, red and blue yields magenta, and green and blue yield cyan. Only yellow is counter-intuitive. Yellow, cyan and magenta are merely the "basic" secondary colors: unequal mixtures of the primaries give rise to perception of many other colors all of which may be considered "tertiary."

Dot gain, or tonal value increase, is a phenomenon in offset lithography and some other forms of printing which causes printed material to look darker than intended. It is caused by halftone dots growing in area between the original printing film and the final printed result. In practice, this means that an image that has not been adjusted to account for dot gain will appear too dark when it is printed. Dot gain calculations are often an important part of a CMYK color model.

Trap (printing)

In printing, trap expresses the degree to which ink already printed on a substrate accepts another layer printed on top of it compared to how well the substrate accepts that ink.

An Iris printer is a large-format color inkjet printer introduced in 1985 by Iris Graphics, originally of Stoneham, Massachusetts and currently manufactured by the Graphic Communications Group of Eastman Kodak, designed for prepress proofing. It is also used in the fine art reproduction market as a final output digital printing press, as in Giclée.

Barco Creator

Barco Creator was an image manipulation program targeted at the repro and print shop markets. It was developed by Barco Creative Systems a division of the Barco Group and first shown as a prototype at Parigraph in April 1988, then later at Ipex 88). Barco Creative Systems together with D.I.S.C. and Aesthedes merged into Barco Graphics. It ran on several generations of Silicon Graphics computers till the late 1990s. Barco Graphics ColorTone for Windows NT is considered its successor.

Inkjet paper Paper designed for use with inkjet printers

Inkjet paper is a special fine paper designed for inkjet printers, typically classified by its weight, brightness and smoothness, and sometimes by its opacity.

Prinergy is a prepress workflow system created by Creo in 1999 and maintained and sold through Kodak. It is a client/server system that integrates PDF creation, job proofing, imposition, and a raster image processor (RIP) into one unified workflow.

In color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Profiles describe the color attributes of a particular device or viewing requirement by defining a mapping between the device source or target color space and a profile connection space (PCS). This PCS is either CIELAB (L*a*b*) or CIEXYZ. Mappings may be specified using tables, to which interpolation is applied, or through a series of parameters for transformations.

A contract proof usually serves as an agreement between customer and printer and as a color reference guide for adjusting the press before the final press run. Most contract proofs are a prepress proof.

The Veris printer is a medium format 1500 DPI color inkjet printer manufactured by the Graphic Communications Group of Eastman Kodak, which is used for digital Prepress proofing. A refinement of the Iris printer, the Veris also uses a continuous flow ink system to produce continuous-tone output on specially designed media. Unlike most inkjet printers which fire drops only when needed, the Veris uses eight 10 micrometer glass jets that operate continuously under high pressure, vibrated by a piezoelectric crystal to produce drops at a 1 MHz rate, or 8 million drops per second in total. Drops that are not needed to form the image are deflected electrostatically into a waste collection system, and individual drops can be directed to a specific position on the media. The Veris prints with the same quality of the Iris, only faster because of the larger number of jets.

Kodak Proofing Software is an application from Eastman Kodak for managing and controlling the process of Prepress proofing. It supports the Veris printer, Kodak Approval and various inkjet printers from Epson and Hewlett Packard.

The Harlequin RIP is a raster image processor first released in 1990 under the name "ScriptWorks" running as a command-line application to render PostScript language files under Unix. It was developed by Harlequin, a software company based in Cambridge, England.

Cold foil printing, also known as cold foil stamping, is a modern method of printing metallic foil on a substrate in order to enhance the aesthetic of the final product. Cold foil printing can be done two ways: the older dry lamination process common in the offset printing industry, or the newer, more versatile wet lamination process, which is dominant in the flexo label industry.

The European Color Initiative (ECI) is an expert group that is concerned with media-neutral reproduction of color data in digital publication systems. It was formed in June 1996 by German publishers Bauer, Burda, Gruner + Jahr and Springer in Hamburg.

References

  1. "Kodak Approval System". Archived from the original on 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  2. Contract Proof
  3. FINALPROOF Archived March 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Digital Halftone Proofing (Spectrum) Option Archived October 17, 2002, at the Wayback Machine