BIRMY has shown two proofs of the same print at the APPLE EXPO in London in November 1998. One is a traditional proofing process using plain amplitude screening on coated paper, and the other is using PRESSPROOF paper on the BIRMY system. For proofing. Within the normal viewing distance, the two proofs are obviously the same, only in some shades, such as the dark areas of saturated purple and blue, blonde hair with slight color differences, but most colors, including skin tones It's almost exactly the same as a neutral background. The only real problem with this proofing system is that the details of the image appear slightly sharper than the print. If you look closely, you will find that you have not used the AM sample proofs. It is conceivable that most customers will be happy to sign contracts based on PRESSPROOF proofs.
Industry analysts: Less than a year ago, the printing industry was thrilled with the emergence of the above-mentioned professional quality proofing system CROMALIN DESIGNERPROOF of less than 10,000 US dollars. At least in many cases, BIRMY can compete with Sai Angel's IRIS REALIST proofing system. BIRMY's PRESSPROOF picking system is cheaper. Although it does not claim to be comparable to the Epson PROOFER 5000, it is indeed quite close. The PRESSPROOF print engine uses many of the same technologies as the Epson PROOFER 5000, and is similar (although slightly lower) in terms of formats and speeds. RIP uses software RIP and can run on existing MACs and PCs of customers. It does not use EFI FIERY COLOR SERVER and FEIRY hardware RIP in Epson PROOFER 5000, but both include ADOBE POSTscript interpreter and color management system. . In addition, the two types of printing paper are also different, but the appearance of the BRM Y PRESSPROOF is very suitable for proofing needs, and the price is only about 1/10 of the PROOFER 5000.
(3) Canon reported that Canon introduced its latest proofing system BJC-8500 bubble jet color printer in the low price color pre-impression proofing system market (no generic Chinese translation, original text is BUBBLE-JET COLOR PRINTER). Canon can compete with the dominant Epson printer.
The 8500 uses the BUBBLE-JET INK-JET TECHNOLOGY, which includes a so-called "MICROFINE DROPLET TECHNOLOGY"; the micro-droplet technology requires the design of a new printhead and improved ink. The formula, with its extremely fine ink droplets, ensures the maximum output resolution of the printer 1200DPI*1200DPI. This not only ensures the fine size of each droplet, but also guarantees the accuracy of the position and the high speed of printing. The 8500 print head has 1,536 nozzles, of which 256 nozzles for yellow, cyan and cyan, 512 nozzles for black, and 256 OPTIMIZER nozzles. So many nozzles allow the print head to print 2-3 lines of text in a single turn. The printhead has 2 types of standard parts and operates in 2 printing modes: In CMYK mode, the print cartridge has yellow, yellow and green colors, and is equipped with black and printing optimizer; in photo imaging mode, black and The printing optimizer (light blue, light product plus black) is replaced. In both modes, the print cartridge is supplied by a separate ink tank, and an ink tank supplies a color ink that can be replaced individually after use, without having to replace the entire print cartridge.
The key feature of the BJC-8500 printer is Canon's P-POP (Plain-Preferred Printer Optimized Printing) system, which processes a layer of liquid on the print surface of the paper before ink is ejected from the print head for several milliseconds. Solvents - ink optimizers. This feature allows plain paper to be converted into coated paper that is waterproof, enhances the finer levels of the image, and makes the image more vibrant. If it is on the existing coated paper, a wider color gamut can be obtained with the 6 color photo mode, and no ink optimizer is needed.
At the SEYBOLD exhibition, the BJC-8500 was accompanied by BDOBE's new PRESSREADY at the ADOBE booth.... The color printing effect is outstanding, indicating that the 8500 has the same color print quality for the same application.
Foreign industry insiders expect software vendors to develop good software to drive BJC-8500 and target directly to the contract proofing market.
(4) Kodak Kodak announced at the IPEX Expo in September 1998 that it continues to introduce high-end AROVAL four-shot proofers. A four-speed high-speed APPROVAL XP4 color proofer introduced by Kodak He Liguang offers a 530mm*676mm print format with color control strips and crop marks. According to reports, XP4 uses a positive pressure system to achieve super-crossing inside the machine, so that no dust proofing. It also has automatic dye density compensation to maintain the accuracy of color correction. The XP4 is priced at approximately $195,000 (around $165,000 for 8 open models), with proofing speeds of 4 proofs per hour and 2400 DPIT 2540 DPI resolution.
Kodak's previous APPROVAL PS print area is 323MM x 489MM, with a resolution of 1800DPI, Hong Kong's price is 1.4 million Hong Kong dollars.
(5)IMATION
IMATION launched the new MATCHPRINT digital mesh laser proofing system developed for the CTP workflow at the IPEX Expo in September 1998. It includes MATCHPRINT Laser Proofing Digital Mesh Media and PRESSTEK's PEARL HDP Digital Proofing System. IMATION media can also be used with Creo's TRENDSETTER SPECTRUM and PROOFSETTER SPECTRUM proofers. The MATCHPRINT Laser Proofing System provides digital contract proofs for CTP systems. (To be continued)