ColorMetrix User Group 2004 Keynote presentation by Howard Nelson Ed.D ColorMetrix 4th Annual User Group Meeting August 8-10, 2004 Las Vegas, Nevada

Print Measurement as Historical Eras  Decades in which projects were initiated (and perhaps continue to evolve)  Provides us with an overview of where we came from, so we might be able to predict where technology will take us next

50 Years of Print Quality Verification  Measurement of printing through print characteristics  Print consistency control  Print quality control

LTF  Began researching lithographic technology during WW II for the US War Department  Began to research and consult for private industry after the War  Became GATF in the 1960’s

Historically Speaking  The 1950’s were the research era  Introduction of the scientific approach to problem-solving  LTF began to publish their findings in the “popular trade-press”  First densitometers became available

Historically…  1960’s were the developmental era  Web offset printing grabbed the market- share for most impressions  Densitometers became widely used  GATF pioneered print characteristic identification and calculation

Historically  1970’s were the standardization era  SNAP  SWOP  Color proofing systems introduced  Print measurement investigates ink/paper/chemistry relationships

Historically  1980’s were a consolidation era  CEPS systems improve halftone control  Color proofing systems improved  First Spectrophotometers available  Print measurement data feeds back to improve prepress accuracy

Historically  1990’s were the era of verification  No-proof editorial  Spectrophotometers become generally available  ColorMetrix Technology LLC  Press “Fingerprinting” for process control

Press Fingerprinting  Five rules of Press Fingerprinting  Simulate production  Choose a test form  Run the form  Measure the sheets and collect data  Feedback to prepress  A step beyond??

Print Control Measurements  Solid Ink Density  Dot Area Gain (at the 50% dot value)  Print Contrast  % Trap (for Wet Ink Trap)  3/C Neutral Gray Balance  Hue Error and Grayness Error

Solid Ink Density  Makeready aimpoint for color approval  Print consistency target  Basis reading for other calculations  One of the main image contrast indicators

Dot Area Gain  Image contrast indicator

Print Contrast  How well the press/ink/paper combination is able to render shadow detail by differentiating between shadow area tone values

Wet Ink Trap  Control of secondary (RGB) colors

Verification Fingerprinting  Monitoring “Sheet Contrast”  At a given Solid Ink Coverage, print contrast characteristics shouldn’t vary C=1.30, M=1.40, Y=1.05, K=1.60 DG=20%, PC=40%, Trap  Fingerprinting to verify press components are functional

Press Component Life  Like aircraft component parts, press parts are rated for useful life  Plates & blankets by # of impressions  Rollers by # of operating hours  Even cylinder bearers are rated TBOoR components

Verification Fingerprinting  Run test form under “Press New” conditions  Discover and monitor TBOoR for press parts  Re-run test form to verify need for replacement  Watch sheet contrast for clues

Scanable Press Test Form  The scanable press test form

Scanable Form Components  Two-tier standard color bar  Scanable color bar

Scanable Form Components  Scanable ICC color profile

Scanable Form Components  Scanable Tone Ramps

Scanable Form Components  Scanable Gray Balance Ramps

Scanable Form Components  Scanable Total Ink Coverage Ramps

ColorMetrix  Collects and displays graphic data  Displays Run with VOC tolerances  Process Trending  Color hexagon  Press fingerprinting  Data sharing with other programs

Historically Speaking  may be the era of SPC  Use of statistics to identify problems  Use of statistics to monitor runs  Using statistics to predict outcomes

Six Sigma Data Analysis  Specifies the amount of variation experienced compared to the specs  Greater process predictability Lowers costs by minimizing waste and rework  Isolates special cause variation from common cause variation

Descriptive Statistics  Mean  The average of the data as collected  Standard Deviation  The value of one sigma

Run Chart  Note the value of each individual point  Observe trends during the run  Runs up and down vs expected runs  Observe the P-Value  P-Value for Clustering, P <.05 = Special Cause  P-Value for Mixtures, P >.95 = Special Cause

I-MR Chart  Individual Value of each data point of the run  Mean, UNPL, LNPL  Moving Range of the differences in value during the run  Average range, UNPL, LNPL

Process Capability Analysis  The Cp index  Ratio of the spec limits to the width of the process  Cp = 2 means the process is stable  Cp ≤ 1 means the process is unstable  The Cpk index  Ratio of the process width to the spec width including centering of the spec on the process  Cpk > 1 means the process is capable of meeting spec  Cpk = 1 or less means the process is incapable of meeting spec

Differences in Process Capability

Some Words of Thanks  Colormetrix Technologies LLC  Jim Raffel, Mike Litcher, Mike Woods  E. I. DuPont de Nemours  GATF / PIA and Gretag-MacBeth  Flint Ink Corp.  Jeff Gilbert, Craig Stone