X-Rite Incorporated, a global
leader in color science and technology, announced the newly updated Pantone
Certified Printer Program for commercial printers and packaging converters that
addresses new industry standards. The Pantone Certified Printer Program reviews
and analyzes every aspect of color operations - from preflight, file
preparation and proofing, to ink formulation and mixing, and process control in
the pressroom. This creates total quality management based on industry best
practices and procedures that drive consistent and repeatable color.
“As a trade printer, you must be
lean to be competitive,” says Michael Clark President of Cedar Graphics, an
EarthColor company and a Pantone Certified Printer. “The more I learned about
the Pantone Certified Printer program and how it could help streamline our
processes and make them more consistent, the more interested I became.” The
outside perspective that X-Rite Pantone brings to the Pantone Certified Printer
program enabled Cedar Graphics to ensure consistent operation from department
to department and shift to shift, from ink room through prepress and the
pressroom.
“Everyone is now speaking the same
language, and we are much more efficient as a result,” Clark says. The process begins with a Pantone
Certified Printer Audit conducted by an X-Rite specialist. The audit process
isolates issues that compromise color accuracy and is the basis for the
implementation of Standards-Based Proceduresso that all operators on all shifts
can consistently produce the best color the same way.
“The Pantone Certified Printer
Program closes the gap that exists between the many other certification
programs available today which cover only part of the workflow, or simply a
press or a proofer,” explains Mark Gundlach, Training Development Manager at
X-Rite. “This program is unique in that it ties all areas of production
together, from prepress and ink formulation to the press room with a focus on
both process color and spot color reproduction. This applies to digital, flexo,
litho and even grand format print production. Good printers can produce great
color at a point in time but it may not be consistent over time. This program,
which includes a quarterly color check based on a standard set of files,
results in more consistent quality with less rework using existing investments
and people.”
“If you know you are going to be
checked by an expert on a quarterly basis,” Cedar Graphics’ Clark adds, “it’s
just another incentive to keep things up to date as opposed to doing it once
and forgetting about it. We look forward to our quarterly reviews and what we
might learn each time that will help us communicate even better.”
“Industry Standard Operating
Procedures reduce variability across shifts and over time, as well as provide
faster, more consistent staff training,” Gundlach says. “Surprises cost money,
and consistency reduces waste”. Proofing and printing to standards helps print
and converting operations set and meet customer expectations. Pantone Certified
Printers follow standard operating procedures throughout the production
operation when specifying CMYK colors based on their print standards. Pantone
colors are specified and formulated using spectral data from the PantoneLIVE
digital libraries.
Packaging converters and printers
interested in pursuing this certification to bring additional color
consistency, quality and efficiency to their operations not only benefit from
the certification process but are also able to use the Pantone Certified
Printer logo to add even more credibility to their sales and marketing efforts.
