Spot color tracking technology announced

A new software tool for flexo and packaging printers to track Pantone® and custom spot colors in print production has been has been announced by Portland, Oregon, based SpotOn! Press LLC.

SpotOn! Spot Is an easy-to-use software module that ensures spot colors match customer tolerances. It provides an on-screen comparison to customer reference colors and displays deviation of the printed color from the pre-defined reference points, yet it enables custom tolerances to be set for individual colors and customer requirements.

‘The software is engineered to improve the consistency of printing spot colors, as well as reduce make-ready time,’ notes SpotOn! Press president Bruce Bayne. ‘And of course better color is central to increased customer satisfaction and is what differentiates one printing plant from another.

‘Flexo and packaging printers will find SpotOn!™ Spot improves quality control for spot colors. The software will enable them to define the optimum density and clearly demonstrate how close that color is to the desired reference color. And, if a change in density will not achieve a match within tolerance, it indicates the color formula needs to be adjusted to achieve a closer match.’

The software tool provides printable information for job jackets or end-customers on the print performance, identifies issues with ink supplies and removes guess work by supplying optimum density points to meet target tolerances. It also stores measurements in a database that can be filtered and searched, so recorded data can be recalled as needed.

Compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems, SpotOn! Spot will be available in early 2011 as a stand-alone solution or added as a module to the SpotOn! base solution. When added to the base package, the software can also perform detailed trend analysis of collected data. Trend reports help ensure the colors being monitored stays within defined tolerances.