Proofer of Your Dreams

[JohnM]

I run 2 epson 9880/9800 with Oris in front to color manage and very happy with it. But if you require a dot proof this would not be an option for you. I replaced an approval with these and as far as color it is a night and day difference...

[kabel]

We are dreaming here right? So cost is no object when dreaming...
So let me take this as far as I think it can go, I would love to see an actual inked proof, spot colors, varnish and all. I envision a digital re-writable "plate" that lays down the same inks the press uses. Having it gold plated would be a nice touch too.

We run a Epson 9800 with the EFI/Best RIP in-house but we are not a print facility. From a customer perspective, right now I really like the newer Fuji dye sublimation system out there, reminds me of the Match Prints we used to get.

[JohnM]

Keep dreaming... :-)

[ASM]

Hi again,
>>After the research I've done so far, I am leaning towards a GMG driven HP Z2100. <<

This combination would deliver great press-to-proof and vice-versa matches, no problem. Here in Australia Epson has the lion's share of the proof engine market but the new HPs are certainly coming on strong and the built-in spectro is nice, and it's fast too - good for demos.
If you can demo a press with an exact match to proof, the buying customer is instantly convinced and you sell the press, which I guess is your aim. GMG will do it, no question so my call is, get close to GMG America and make them your partner in supporting KBA Rapida press installs.

Ref the post from Firstproof on a 100% soft proofing solution: no doubt it's a good system but it is naiive to think we can do without hard proofs. In some cases, yes, but the proofing Rip vendors would not be selling so many copies if soft proofing was the only way. Soft proofs only are also a recipe for high litigatrion costs in the event of a dispute on colour. How are you going to prove what the customer signed off on my friend?
The answer is the two will continue live in a parallel universe.
Best regards

[Simon Landau]

Hi Rob,
The proofer of your dreams eh ! Well you have got the right RIP in GMG which is excellent in terms of 4D Color Management and Full Gamut Spot color reproduction too. However the accuracy and repeatability relies of course on regular re-calibration. I can see why then you have gone for the HPZ series with its on-board spectro for easy calibration. However HP are a way behind Epson in terms of ink properties and speed. The Epson inks are much much less affected by Metamerism, suffer no bronzing (or Gloss differential) and are a lot more scratch resistant when being handled. Also with the new Ultrachorme Vivid Magenta inks set the colour gamut is much greater than the Z2100. At the moment an off board spectrophotometer such as the X-Rite iSis would be the quickest and easiest way the re-cal this device and while this process is taking place you can still run proofs unlike the HP which has to wait for the 533 colour patches to dry before the device reads them in quite slowly. This iterative approach to re-calibration can take several goes and so time drags on with the HP and the patch sizes are huge in comparison to the Epson's iSis patches so lots more media is wasted (go for GMG's own 250gsm Proofing stock as it is super good and FOGRA cert'd).

My ideal 8Up Proofing System would be GMG Dotptoof driving a 9880 with an on-board Spectro for automated timed calibration. Now don't quote me on this but there's a strong rumour going around that my dream (conerning the Epson anyway) may not be far away !!!!

Best of luck,
Simon

[RRudeski]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It was helpful.

[bmoflaz]

PressProof in your shop running on a on a 30" Cinema Display combined with Matchprint Virtual at your customer's location is hands-down our preferred method. Save the time and money of running out inkjet proofs and mailing them all over creation. We eliminated hard-copy proofs entirely in our workflow and it was the 2nd best thing we ever did (CTP was first).

[schenkadere]

Prints opaque white(I know there's a new Epson that does this) and a metalized mylar inkjet receptive stock.

[Ian Mackenzie]

R-Rud -

Since you already have Prinergy, why wouldn't you look at Kodak's inkjet RIP?
If you feel that you want/need a third party RIP, then GMG is a great choice.

The only major downside to GMG these days is that I have recently heard that they are trying to lock users into their inkjet media. (This started when the HP 3100 came out.) Their paper is excellent but it is also the most expensive paper on the market. Any RIP that attempts to force you into one media or another should be viewed suspiciously.

(Caveat: my company sells RIPs, supports RIPs and owns and operates an inkjet media converting facility. We have most Epson , HP and Canon printers in our lab.)

In our experience, we have seen superior results (for proofing) with Epson printers. HP printers excel for POP, posters, signage and non-critical color. GMG tends to steer customers to HP for 2 major reasons:

1. To avoid the EFI/Epson bundle that makes the RIP dirt cheap. (With issues, of course.)
2. To avoid Epson's aggressive media strategy as HP does not have a high quality proofing paper line. (Nor does Epson for that matter.)

If you already have a spectro, etc., then I believe an excellent proofing system would be:

1. GMG, EFI or CGS RIP
2. Epson 9880 (the 9900s have some issues.)
3. Third party paper. (Like our Validation(tm) Media....;-)

This exact config is sold by many resellers in North America.
Good luck.
Ian

[cosnet]

Any reason you did not consider CGS ORIS? ORIS can meet your requirements plus give you soft-proofing in one package. All queues can be viewed from a simple web browser.
Regards,
Bruce
CGS