QuadTech Color Software Said to Simplify Workflow
- Published: June 28, 2016
SUSSEX, WI | QuadTech recently introduced ColorTrack with InkControl, a color management software for flexo and gravure packaging applications. Without any hardware modifications to the press, the software is said to seamlessly integrate with ink formulation software to not only simplify workflow but also reduce the number of ink corrections needed to achieve accurate, optimal color. 
Color specifications are received from the print customer in the form of data files, color books, digital formulation guides, ink samples, or printed product samples. The specifications are imported into ColorTrack’s Job Setup, and the data is immediately accessible to the ink kitchen and the pressroom. ColorTrack stores and recalls commonly-run jobs and is said to be able to seamlessly search for the best color match in the stored recipe—reducing the number of recipe creations.
The system achieves accurate color press-side by calculating the perfect recipe correction, reports company and is able to manage and correct overprints, monitor ink consumption, and calculate the correct mix for even the smallest ink volume. Press-side color measurements can be saved and exported to external systems for quality assurance and color reporting.
One of the first to test the new system is MM Graphia Bielefeld (MMG). To assess the system’s capabilities, the company ran a job for a product that has a particularly difficult color to match. Typically, the color target can be achieved in seven or eight ink recipe corrections. The ColorTrack workflow achieved accuracy below 1.5 ∆E00 in just two recipe corrections, says MMG.
MMG general manager Ulrich Hartmann says, “Our operators are impressed. The system is very easy to use and has very high reliability. After ColorTrack with InkControl was installed, our staff was trained and we achieved positive results immediately. We quickly realized that the makeready time was going down and thus waste was also reduced.
According to Stephan Doppelhammer, QuadTech marketing manager for packaging, “We know it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet quality and consistency demands of brand owners. With our partner, ColorConsulting, we have developed a ‘color expert in a box’ that automates the process of delivering absolute consistency from press-to-press, shift-to-shift, and plant-to-plant. This is the only software solution that offers this level of press-side connection between color measurement and ink management.”
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
