Global Graphics is adding what it calls the last link to its SmartDFE with SmartMedia colour management to automate colour colour across digital presses for labels and packaging.
What the developer calls a “major upgrade to the Smart DFE” is intended to remove “complexity from the process of colour profiling to ensure the best quality and colour output from the press”.
It combines colour profiling and colour management from recent acquisition ColorLogic with the PrintFlat algorithms for managing output. It acquired ColorLogic towards the end of last year.
The Global Graphics OEM partner brings together the reference press settings for each media type and inkjet into a library of media definitions which operators can call upon to automate set up for a job using that media and inkjet.
Ultimately operator intervention will be unnecessary as the DFE will select the settings automatically from a job scheduler. It fits with the company’s long term vision for an automated manufacturing solution linking to Industry 4.0 telemetrics, to a suitable MIS and to automated manufacturing tools using the OPC UA standard for information exchange.
SmartMedia will be introduced at the upcoming Labelexpo Americas exhibition in Chicago. It is not clear whether any of the OEMs will be ready to demonstrate the capabilities of the missing link at the show.
Global Graphics VP products and services Eric Worrall says: “The rise of extended colour gamut, or seven-colour printing, has created an opportunity for SmartMedia technology, as we help manufacturers set up their presses to produce high quality results across all media types.
“Smart Media Manager enables the OEM to package their optimal settings for each media into a library. Our innovative technology enables any operator to bring the press back into a reference or golden state so that each media will give great quality and colour in the field.”
The OEMs cover inkjet and toner technologies for label printing and with an eye to the greater demands of wider web printing for flexible packaging. The SmartDFE is built around the Harlequin Direct Ripping technology able to handle the increasing demands of width, resolution and speed of digital print technologies without needing to slow the press or compromise on quality.
