Comprehensive Prepress Training Solutions

We are IDEAlliance Certified Colour Management Professionals, providing the best prepress training and products to achieve Screen to Proof to Press colour accuracy/consistency.

Colour Management processes are a very misunderstood and misused function in many prepress departments, often resulting in poor output.

Where should RGB to CMYK conversion occur?
What is Grey Balance and why is it important?
What profiles should be used in the workflow?
Why are colours not converting as I expected?
How do I convert spot colours to CMYK, accurately?
How should my press be setup for best repeatabilty?
How can I conform to standards (i.e. ISO 12647, GRACol, G7) and what benefits would I gain from doing so?
What tools are out there to help facilitate such standardization?

These questions are all ones that we can explain and train your staff on - We explain best practices and take the confusion out of it for you!

to find out more about our comprehensive prepress training solutions!

Automation of Standardization: Alwan PrintStandardizer©

Your First Steps Towards ISO 12647 Standardization

Control and ISO 12647 conformity analysis of all measured sheets on press
Display of assessment results for each sheet on the press console PC
Centralized analysis and processing of all measurements coming from all presses for all different types of papers
Automatic dot gain compensation (DGC) curves generation for every press and paper
Automatic export of DGC curves to CTP RIP and/or to Alwan CMYK Optimizer if it’s installed in the printing site
Offers all standard print targets available on the market
Easy installation and use thanks to a user-friendly interface
Easy integration in any existing production workflow
Support of all other instruments that are able to generate CGATS measurement files
Automatic generation of compliance reports in PDF and xml formats hence enabling print quality and press stability trackability

Automatic Verification of Output: Alwan Print Verifier

Control and certification of any printed document ( proofs and production print)
Open to all the industry standards
Easy installation and use thanks to a user-friendly interface
Runs on MAC and PC
Easy integration in an existing Quality-Control service
Support of X-Rite’s EyeOne Pro colour measurement instruments
Imports CGATS measurement files
Ability to customize, export and import chosen settings enabling secure and reproducible quality-control operations between the print buyer and the printer
Automated generation of analysis reports in PDF document format for a production or in label size for a sheet

G7

G7 ® is IDEAlliance’s industry-leading set of best practices for achieving gray balance and is the driving force for achieving visual similarity across all print processes.

G7 ® is a method defined by the Print Properties and Colorimetrics Working Group of IDEAlliance. The application of this method enables printers to reproduce a similar visual appearance across printing types and substrates. Today, through the PPC Working Group, experts from across the spectrum of printing disciplines contribute to this important IDEAlliance Methodology. G7® specifies the components of an image that define a similar "visual appearance" to the human eye.

To do this, the G7 Method:
Defines a colourmetric definition for gray balance, and
Specifies gray balance in the midtones, image weight and image contrast from the highlights to the shadows, which are the factors that determine likeness of the visual appearance of an image.

GRACol

The mission of GRACoL is to improve communications and education in the graphic arts by developing best practices that reflect the influence and impact of new technologies in the workflow of commercial offset lithography. GRACoL is a registered trademark of IDEAlliance.

In 1996, a graphics arts task force was formed by the Graphic Communications Association (now IDEAlliance) to develop a document containing general guidelines and recommendations that could be used as a reference source across the industry for quality colour printing. Since that time, the GRACoL Working Group has developed, maintained and published printing guidelines that have since become de facto standards on many pressrooms.

By following the GRACoL guidelines and recommendations, you will benefit in the following ways:

Reduce costs, decrease turn-around times, and avoid re-makes
Develop internal guidelines for reliable process controls
Acquire print predictability: know what you'll get on press -before you get there
Demonstrate printing quality through achievable print guidelines and target goals
Build upon the education in fundamentals of printing and developing technologies
Clarification of what is reasonable to ask of print suppliers