Color Communication in the Digital Age

Contributor:  Brian Ashe, Solutions Architect, Pantone Digital Business Unit

Accurate color communication starts with a good color specification. Traditionally this has been done using a physical standard. This physical standard is compared to production color visually. The subjectivity of this method does not always lead to satisfactory results.

However, advances in measurement technology and software now allow brand owners and designers to specify digital color standards.

How do you tap into the creativity of a designer, and still be able to communicate accurate color to others involved in the production process? If a color is specified in a digital format,  it can be passed down the supply chain (e.g., ink supplier, prepress, press process control, or post production quality control) and used around the world with no change, keeping the integrity of the original design. The CxF (Color eXchange Format) allows global communication with unmatched accuracy across various instruments and software applications.

The main characters that need to communicate color are typically:

• Brand Owner – overall responsibility for the brand color and wants to protect that brand while keeping costs under control and meeting deadlines.
• Designer – colors are specified via a pallet (e.g., Pantone) or perhaps a previous printed sample. If a CxF color is specified, color communication is greatly enhanced.
• Prepress – needs to be able to interpret the designer's creation and produce a digital file that can be printed. If a CxF color is specified, it can easily be incorporated in the most popular page layout applications.
• Ink Supplier – needs to mix exact colors, not just CMYK screen combinations, but also many spot colors (Brand Colors). CxF is compatible with advanced ink formulation software.
• Press Process Control – consistency is paramount, even more so if color management is to be employed, CxF can be used as reference files for inline press measurement.
• Post Production Quality Control – needs an objective measure, not subjective judgment. CxF can be used as a reference file for hand-held measurement devices.
• Archive – requires long-term reliable storage, able to reproduce at a later date, and electronically transportable. CxF meets these requirements very nicely.

Attention New York City-area marketers and graphic designers: Join experts from X-Rite Pantone and Esko and explore Color Communications in-depth at Consolidated Graphics' exclusive "Lunch 'n Learn NYC" event on January 30 in Manhattan. Presentations begin at 10am, and include lunch. For more information and to register, go to http://goto.cgx.com/lunchnlearn.

And Then There Was White

For years, the color “white” in printed materials was primarily handled by designers: when something needed to be white, it was designed with an absence of color and printed on white substrate. But advances in technology have led to a new generation of white ink which is being successfully applied to dark substrates, often with stunning effects.

White ink isn’t exactly new. However, the traditional white inks used in offset printing have been too translucent to get a true, bright, solid white without several passes through the press, which posed a challenge to maintain image registration during production. With the emergence of digital printing, providers have responded with all-new white inks specifically designed with the operating characteristics of digital presses in mind.

HP, for example, formulated ElectroInk White specifically for its Indigo line of digital presses. (Consolidated Graphics maintains the world’s largest installation of HP Indigo presses.) ElectroInk White was developed to print as a true white on colored paper and can be used as a primary color, as a base upon which to layer other colors, or to make colors pop off of rich-colored papers.

White ink is now being used in a wide variety of commercial applications including invitations, direct mail, photo greeting cards, labels and business cards, among others. It’s also being used for packaging applications such as POS displays and storefront signage. The ability to effectively print white presents designers and marketers with a wider range of creative possibilities on colored and metalized papers, and transparent substrates. 

Use White Ink as…

A spot color

A highlight on an existing design

A cool effect by adding on top of white paper or clear substrate

An undercoat on dark substrates and non-white surfaces

An overprint on see-through substrates to achieve full color saturation

A diffusion layer on clear substrates while reverse-printing the back side

A combination of any of the above

And Then There Was White also appears in the current issue of Consolidated Graphics’ emerge magazine.  To view emerge magazine online and to subscribe, click here.

Web2Print: Empowering Organizations to Accomplish More, with Less

Contributor: Doug Stemet, Manager, Technology Sales Support, TSSG^TM

Web2Print can be the answer for companies grappling with an environment that demands higher productivity, to be accomplished with fewer resources. As a result, marketers in organizations across diverse market segments are stretching their staffs and budgets to meet their business goals. Web2Print provides tools that can help Marketing departments and just about every part of a company.

For Marketing, Web2Print provides relief for recurring production needs. By creating templates for collateral and sales materials and putting them in a Web2Print solution, Marketing departments can “design once” and allow approved field staff to customize content while maintaining corporate branding standards. This frees marketers up to spend more time on strategy, messaging and pure creative, rather than recreating multitudes of pieces on-demand.

Procurement saves two-fold. The biggest savings comes from reduced obsolescence. By utilizing Web2Print, only the quantity required is actually produced. Tracking and reporting tools also enable procurement managers to analyze usage and plan the right quantities for large runs, and determine which pieces should be printed on-demand. Whether driven by time-sensitive content or overall usage trends, obsolescence is minimized with Web2Print.

Legal and Compliance departments have been hugely impacted by a changing and increasingly complex regulatory environment. Having the right documents available for field staff, containing the most up-to-date information, is critical in almost every industry. Web2Print allows for only the most current and approved material to be available in the field and printed on-demand, eliminating the risk of stockpiled, obsolete materials.

And, finally, Sales may benefit more than any other department from Web2Print. It’s pretty well established that the more relevant the content, the more effective the sale. Web2Print, with rich content customization tools, allows for field staff to make each collateral piece relevant to their immediate and specific need. Whether for a brochure for a particular client or market, or a personalized data-driven mailer, Web2Print enables content customization to increase sales effectiveness.

The impact of Web2Print is real. Used effectively, it can touch and benefit every department in an organization.

Doug Stemet
Manager, Technology
Sales Support, TSSG

Consolidated Graphics, Inc. offers a Web2Print solution named Streamline. For more information about Streamline, go to http://www.cgx.com/Our-Services/WorkSmart-Suite/Streamline-77.html. Contact Doug Stemet at dstemet@tssg-cgx.com.

Making an Impact in Nothing Flat: The Kodak Prosper 5000XL

Contributor: Katie Kriemelmeyer, President, AGS

One of the investments Consolidated Graphics made this past year was the purchase of a Kodak Prosper 5000XL digital inkjet web press, which was installed at AGS’ print facility in Maryland.  Among many benefits, this cutting edge digital printing technology delivers high-quality color and runs at speeds in excess of 650 feet per minute.


Kodak Prosper 5000XL

What does this mean?

With the Prosper, we finally have a way to achieve 4 color digital printing more cost-effectively for runs of up to several thousand impressions (think 25,000 to 1,000,000,000). We have customers printing books in color that they used to do in black and white – only now, with the Prosper, we’re making a better product while keeping the unit rates affordable.

Why should you care?

This speed really matters if you are trying to get millions of pages produced in an extremely short time frame (less than a day).  The best part?  The Prosper 5000XL can even do this in variable color. To date we’ve had enormous success with taking data to pages on matte and dull coated stocks, and getting it out the door (gloss coming soon).

So, what’s the big deal?

The Prosper gives us the ability to do true 1:1 digital printing at near offset rates for products such as booklets and catalogs customized for the recipient. We are also doing this for healthcare benefit confirmation statements, coupon mailers, association member mailings and invoices. Most of the time, the pieces go out the door within 24 hours of receiving the data.

Watch a video of how it all works now!




Katie Kriemelmeyer
President, AGS

AGS is a Consolidated Graphics, Inc. company in White Plains, MD. For more about AGS, visit www.ags.com. Contact Katie Kriemelmeyer at katiek@ags.com.

Veritas Celebrates Investment in Customers

There was quite a buzz on Thursday at Veritas Document Solutions, a CGX company in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, located just outside of Chicago. The main attraction was a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the recent installation of an HP T200 Color Inkjet Web press. You can read more details about the benefits of this cutting-edge technology here, but what is really special about this particular technology is that it's the first inkjet web press designed with the direct marketing needs of commercial markets in mind. At Veritas, prime customers will come from verticals such as healthcare, finance, insurance and gaming/casinos. The possibilities of what can be accomplished with the T200 are limitless, considering it provides high-volume, variable data print capabilities at a competitive price point and at very fast speeds. For example, a single HP T200 can produce 872 four-color pages per minute. Now the only limitation that Veritas and Consolidated Graphics customers will face is the creativity of their campaigns. 

The open house event included customers, suppliers, print executives and prospects interested in learning more about HP’s latest development. Veritas President Michelle Steinberg welcomed guests and reiterated the company's commitment to provide customers with the latest technology to support their businesses. "We clearly state our commitment to technology in our contracts with customers," Steinberg said, "and the HP T200 is evidence of that commitment. Our focus is now on educating them on the possibilities of this technology and showcasing the relevant communications they can create for their target audiences." Veritas and HP hosted breakout sessions that detailed the possibilities of the new equipment, and follow-up meetings will be hosted at Veritas in the weeks ahead. 

"The inkjet web press is a disruptive technology that is enabling companies to communicate more personally with their customers." - Ric Davis, Executive Vice President, Purchasing and Operations, Consolidated Graphics

"It's exciting to have such powerful technology and capabilities behind your platform. Consolidated Graphics can offer any service offering to their customers." - Tom Brooker, President, GPA

"Hewlett-Packard is pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and is responding to the needs of Consolidated Graphics' customers." - Aurelio Maruggi, Vice President and General Manager, Inkjet High-Speed Production Solutions Division, Hewlett-Packard

"We clearly state our commitment to technology in our contracts with customers, and the HP T200 is evidence of that commitment." - Michelle Steinberg, President, Veritas Document Solutions

Guest Blog from InfoPrint Solutions: Why Frederic Printing is the Dream Partner

At CGX, we work closely with our suppliers to keep the print industry moving forward and to continue to better serve our customers. Today, I'm happy to introduce George Promis,VP, CF Production Solutions and Technology Alliances, InfoPrint Solutions, as he shares his thoughts on Frederic Printing's installation of the InfoPrint5000:

Here at InfoPrint Solutions, we’ve realized that building strong relationships with our clients, partners and suppliers is important and we consider it as a staple in the success of our brand. As such, you can imagine how excited we were to work with Consolidated Graphics’ Frederic Printing because they share the same high standards and carry this philosophy over to their relationships with their partners and suppliers.

Upon first hearing Frederic Printing’s needs for a new printing solution and examining their workload, clients and output we knew an InfoPrint 5000 would be a great fit – specifically to address their demands for a flexible, reliable and versatile solution and to enable the creation of unique, future applications. Customized college textbooks, direct mail marketing pieces and election ballots were a few output types Frederic Printing produced and looked to InfoPrint Solutions to optimize.

What was most impressive throughout the selection and vetting process was the openness and mutually-beneficial relationship we immediately felt when working with the Frederic Printing team. Right off the bat, we could tell this would be a growing and rewarding partnership with ongoing work into the future. Coincidentally, Frederic’s facility is located nearby our headquarters which enables us to work closely together to jointly test new applications on very short runs – a capability not often supported by other inkjet offerings. By doing this, Frederic has the ability to report back to its parent company the innovative approach they are exploring in the field of short run, high quality output.

Once the implementation began, Frederic Printing had a smooth transition integrating their workload onto the InfoPrint 5000. The flexibility of the InfoPrint 5000 quickly fulfilled the company’s short run digital color printing needs. This, along with the quick, seamless installation, minimal staff training and ease of use was praised by the Frederic Printing team. The solution immediately met the demands of their clients for high quality while meeting critical print windows.

Sustainability is another important factor for Frederic Printing, as it is for InfoPrint Solutions. Hence implementing the InfoPrint 5000 was a perfect solution as it supports sustainability and cost-effective printing practices. Specifically, it is one of the industry’s lowest power consuming high speed inkjet models and also delivers exceptional operational efficiency and uses water-based inks.

We, at InfoPrint Solutions, measure our success on the outcome and satisfaction our products provide. In this particular case, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to realize that Frederic Printing shared our fundamental beliefs. Since then, we’ve garnered a strong and supportive relationship that continues to meet the needs and demands of their customers.

Want to read more? Check out InfoPrint Insights blog for a post by Chris Greene, President of Frederic Printing, where he gives everyday examples of how his company is using the InfoPrint 5000.

Thank you,
George Promis
VP, CF Production Solutions and Technology Alliances
InfoPrint Solutions

Frederic Printing's InfoPrint 5000

Part of what makes CGX such a strong company is the relationships we hold with our suppliers. Our customers tell us what they need, we translate that need to our suppliers, and they provide us with the appropriate technology. This gives us the ability to package this technology into a complete solution that makes our customers' lives easier and their marketing efforts more effective.

Frederic Printing, a CGX company in Aurora, Colorado, recently partnered with InfoPrint to install the InfoPrint 5000, which improves our ability to create print-on-demand textbooks, direct mail pieces, election ballots, and other high-volume variably-printed collateral. For more info on the InfoPrint, check out Chris Greene's guest post on the InfoPrint blog.

CGX Flex Mailer Saves Postage

Last week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) proposed an across-the-board rate increase for its services. Consolidated Graphics is countering that effort with support from the government agency through its patent-pending CGX Flex Mailer.

The CGX Flex Mailer is a unique, eco-friendly packaging solution that saves money by taking items that are non-machinable and allows them to be mailed as automated flats. “The Flex Mailer has enabled our clients to save millions of dollars in shipping costs, shifting mailings to automated mail through the U.S. Postal Service,” said Craig Reynolds, President of Tucker Printers, a Consolidated Graphics company. “We’ve received an overwhelming response from companies that were contemplating giving up promotional mail items due to the cost limitations, that are now able to continue that aspect of their marketing strategy.”

The CGX Flex Mailer was developed as a custom solution for a premiums and fulfillment customer that needed a cost-effective mailing solution. After hours of brainstorming and testing of various design concepts, Consolidated Graphics arrived at the perfect solution: a highly flexible outer “skin” coupled with a unique inner tray design. The outer skin is tight enough to allow flexibility on both vertical and horizontal axes, while maintaining sufficient surface tension variations less than ¼ of an inch. All of this means that anything mailed within the Flex Mailer is classified as an automated machinable flat, which equals major cost savings to distributors.

The USPS has given the Flex Mailer its blessing, and one Consolidated Graphics client is already anticipated to save over two million dollars annually. The packages can be tracked by the USPS through the Intelligent Mail Barcode that can be printed directly on the piece.

Couple the cost savings with the fact that the packages are produced using wind energy and soy-based inks, making it an environmentally-friendly packaging solution that is green in more ways than one.

HP Inkjet Web Press

CGX was featured in this Hewlett-Packerd video during Print '09. Check it out on YouTube, or embedded below:

HP's Jan Riecher Talks About CGX

HP VP and General Manager Jan Riecher talks about digital printing trends and the role CGX plays in pushing the industry forward with What They Think's Pat Henry. Of the partnership between HP and CGX, Riecher said, "CGX is a great partner because they are really driving new applications and they have the broadest distributed network. They have great breadth of application and the...web press will provide an even better offering to their customers."

Chris Greene Interview With What They Think

Chris Greene, President of Frederic Printing, a Consolidated Graphics company, shares his thoughts on how the new HP Inkjet Web Press will affect his business and the industry as a whole during this interview with What They Think.

CGX's Frederic Printing Launches 2nd Ever HP Inkjet Web Press

In a moment of print history, CGX's Frederic Printing in Denver, Colorado unveiled the second HP Inkjet Web Press ever during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, August 20th. This revolutionary technology is intended to lower the total cost of ownership and increase digital printing capabilities. The HP Inkjet Web Press offers output up to 30 inches wide, which allows for fast, four-color double-sided printing at 600 dpi with speeds up to 400 feet per minute. This enables up to 70 million impressions per month.

Frederic Printing President Chris Greene said, "This is a milestone in digital printing. Frederic now has the capability to offer our customers more cost effective printing, and is another example of the trend from analog to digital."

The installation of the press is yet another example of the strong partnership between CGX and HP. Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Aaron Grohs said, "CGX has always been committed to technology, and thanks to our partnership with HP we have the opportunity to go above and beyond where the industry is."

For more information on the HP Inkjet Web Press, visit www.hp.com/go/inkjetwebpress.