Premedia firm CSW, Inc. is well aware of the increasing demand from brands for improved color reproduction and more cost-efficient promotional print runs. They are also hearing how challenging it can be for printers to implement new extended gamut workflows to meet these requirements. “Some printers have already been down this road and were so frustrated by their experience, they’ve just thrown in the towel on EG printing,” says Scott Ellison, CSW VP of Sales. He continues, “We believe they’re missing out on a great opportunity to expand their client base and reduce their costs.” According to CSW, printers benefit from using an extended gamut process with less changeover and reduced ink inventory, because EG uses a fixed ink set of CMYK + orange, green and violet. Xcolor is device-independent as well as ink-independent, and there are no licensing fees, so printers maintain flexibility.
A big hurdle for some printers may be the application of tighter process controls. CMYK + Spot printing can allow for a certain amount of improvisation and on-press adjustment. EG printing, however, requires a mindset of achieving repeatability, using colorimetric standards and measurement. Xcolor is a spectro-based system, so it uses more data than what a typical profile offers. CSW has been managing color “by the numbers” since 1995, and has collaborated with dozens of narrow and wide web printers to execute thousands of successful Xcolor extended gamut print jobs.
Printers who are certified by CSW receive onsite training for Xcolor EG best practices, press-side assistance during approvals, and post-run evaluations. CSW personnel are also available for technical presentations to clients and vendors, to facilitate a better understanding of the EG process and its benefits to all stakeholders. “EG printing can be successful for both large and small printers,” notes CSW Technical Director Marek Skrzynski. “We want to bring more printers on board with our Xcolor program, because we see EG as more than just a trend – it’s the future of flexo printing.”
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