Earlier this week I attended two days of meetings focused around graphic communications industry specifications, standards and best practices. There is nothing glamorous about this work. Almost 30 of us crammed into a small conference room. Not at a fancy hotel but graciously offered at no cost by … [Read more...]
Feature Post: Printing (on paper) vs. Google
Authors Note: If you do not work in the printing industry, read this post from the perspective of accepting change in your industry and recognizing who your real competitors are. Your competition is not the printer down the street. Your competition is Google. Right now, they are kicking your … [Read more...]
Hard Work: A Year In the Making
Tomorrow morning a press release will announce that ColorMetrix and SpotOn! Press have agreed to work together on a project to provide enhanced interoperability between our two products. There will be lots of flowery prose and 50 cent words in the release so I will spare you the sales talk here. … [Read more...]
#68: Sustainable Green Printing
What is this new and latest buzzword sustainability? If I have offended you by calling it a buzzword I am not apologizing. Please do not misunderstand me; I think sustainability is a good thing. Smart printing businesses have been engaging in most if not all of the components of sustainability … [Read more...]
#58: I Still Love the Smell of Ink in the Morning
I have been so immersed in virtual proofing over the last several posts, that I had almost forgotten how much I still love the smell of ink in the morning. Last week I had the privilege of spending two days assisting a customer in the set-up of our software primarily for use as a pressroom … [Read more...]
#51: Proper Press Fingerprinting takes Commitment
In this installment we will address the third question Dale raised in #47. Dale's first two questions got answered in #48 and #49 which can be reviewed at JimRaffel.com. Now, onto Dale's third question: 3. In fingerprinting our presses, we've run up against the dreaded "Hurry up and do it, but … [Read more...]
#48: Make Proofs That Match Your Press
Since #45 in December we have been discussing resolutions to improve the quality of your proofs. In order to gain the full benefit of this installment one should have read and implemented the suggestions in #46 & #47. Proceeding forward it does not matter if you are utilizing a methodology like … [Read more...]
#44: Why process control works
Earlier this month I was visiting a customer who utilizes multiple ColorMetrix licenses to monitor and control; plate making; proofing; and pressroom. Several years ago this customer used ColorMetrix in his plate making operation to uncover a processor replenishment problem that not even the plate … [Read more...]
#37: Monitoring Digital Presses
At ColorMetrix we have some new and potential new customers who will be using our products (both ColorMetrix and ProofPass.com) to monitor and control digital presses like the HP Indigo, Xerox 8000, and NexPress. During our sales presentations most of these folks have expressed concern that the … [Read more...]
#32: Tales from the Press Trial (Part 2)
This week I will be providing more information about the MacDermid Printing Solutions Stabil-X press trial April 17th and 18th . This week I will review the variation data from two of the trial conditions: STX opt – Stabil-X blanket run at optimum packing level Press std – The set-up … [Read more...]