UK specialist manufacturer of self-adhesive
label solutions Mercian Labels has invested in the Xeikon Color Control, the
latest color matching system from Xeikon. The tool enables printers to offer
their customers repeatable and predictable colors, and the best simulation of custom
spot colors all through the simplicity of a cloud-based application. As
such, Xeikon Color Control allows the
closest possible matching of colors to both the full Pantone book as well as to
hard copies of previously printed packaging and labels provided by customers.
“In today’s competitive environment, print
buyers are asking their suppliers for the highest quality and accurate reproduction
of brand colors,” explains Jeroen Van Bauwel, Director Product Management at
Xeikon. “With Xeikon Color Control, our
customers have a smart and easy way to reproduce even their most complex jobs -
the ones with the highest color requirements. With minimal time
and effort, they can profile their environment and ensure customer specific
colors can be reproduced with the closest possible match. It’s one of those
small, but powerful tools that makes our customers’ lives easier.”
Color matching made better, quicker and more
consistent
Xeikon Color Control enables printers to
profile their Xeikon presses and create color tables for specific colors. Having
printed a target, the measured values are uploaded to a central server where a
new profile is created, together with a library of named colors. This enables
printers to have much better control over their output quality and match the
output with conventional jobs that have been printed previously. Furthermore,
quality reports as well as an overview of the stability of the production
environment, can easily be made available by the press room operator for
others.
Color matching is a well acknowledged
challenge by the industry. Xeikon Color Control was developed to eliminate
human error in color matching. Furthermore, it maximizes the gamut of the
Xeikon dry toner digital printing technology. The Xeikon system can be profiled
for any substrate by uploading the color values of a printed test-chart.
Together with a new output profile for the press, the operator will be given a
color lookup table. In addition, an on the spot • E figure can be accurately
given to assess the color accuracy of the Xeikon 3300 digital press installed
at Mercian Labels.
Dr. Adrian Steele, Managing Director of the
Mercian Labels Group, commented: "This is a really useful development
enabling us to perform even better when facing color matching challenges from
our customers. Nothing will extend the physical limitations of a CMYK color
process gamut beyond its theoretical maximum, but using Xeikon Color Control we
are really pushing the barriers of color matching to the limit. In one recent case
we were asked to match an injection moulded plastic lid and a litho printed
carton to that of a color known to be tough to print on a digital engine, even
one as good as the Xeikon. Using Xeikon Color Control we quickly determined
that we could get to a • E of 3 without printing anything on press. Once
matched, that is exactly what it did – with a very impressive color accuracy!
Whilst we may have got there eventually with a lot of expensive operator and
press time undertaking iterative testing and assessment under different light conditions,
Xeikon Color Control makes color matching of digitally printed labels better,
quicker and more consistent. It’s going to make us a lot more effective at color matching which can only be good for
our customers."
