Digital Information - DI-Plot, InkZone, Preproofer

Grafimedia AG • Theissen Druck • Imprimerie LVRI • Stern Druck
Lagoprint GmbH • Ancient House Press Plc. • De Vries Com. Centre
Conzett + Walter • Bruhin AG • Schellenberg Druck • Acorn Press Koprint AG

Koprint AG.
Alpnach Dorf, Switzerland.
Online Preset and Preproofer, Komori and Ryobi sheetfed.

With Digital Information’s Preproofer 740, double-sided formproof production at Koprint AG is efficient and economical. The output process is controlled by the DI-Plot software package. Linked with InkZone Perfect, DI-Plot also delivers JDF files for presetting ink-zones automatically on two printing machines of different manufacture.

Preproofer 740 runs at up to
16 double-sided printed formproofs per hour

Koprint AG has been working with DI-Plot from Zurich-based software developer Digital Information Ltd. since 1998. Located in Alpnach Dorf, the family-owned company is one of the early users of this versatile proof software, which can be integrated into any prepress environment. The company continues to work with a delta workflow, with DI-Plot sampling the ripped bitmaps down to the required resolution to produce a formproof that is absolutely accurate as far as layout and content are concerned.

After nearly ten years and with more than 2000 licences granted worldwide, DI-Plot is still holding its own as a future-proofed solution that can keep pace with the latest developments in the different prepress workflow solutions. Which is why Koprint has recently gone over to double-sided proof outputting with a Preproofer 740 from Digital Information. In a further efficiency measure with InkZone Perfect, the company has now made the connection for presetting the ink zones on two offset machines from Komori (52 x 72 cm) and Ryobi (52 x 36 cm), each equipped with five printing units. DI-Plot is used as the data source and control platform for proof outputting on Preproofer 740, and also for InkZone Perfect. For Managing Director Jochen Konrath, who is in charge of operations, the value of the proof software is confirmed over the long term because it can continue in use with Koprint’s upcoming investment in a new workflow system.
Lower costs, higher performance

DI-Plot is the control platform and data source for Preproofer 740 and at the same time calculates the
JDF data for ink zone presetting via InkZone Perfect

In Alpnach Dorf, the annual consumption of print plates is around 13,200. Then there are 6,500 plates for Gersag Druck AG in Emmenbrücke, which was acquired by Koprint AG in 1989. At Gersag Druck, production runs on a convertible Speedmaster 74 with five printing units.

With the installation of the Preproofer 740 four-page system, Jochen Konrath can confirm that expenditure on proof production is down by almost a half: “Thanks to Digital Information and Preproofer, we achieve clear savings from several points of view. Compared to earlier methods where we could only output single-sided proofs, we now use both sides of the sheet and consume correspondingly less paper. Also, by dispensing with gluing, we are much faster and more accurate. We gain time, make considerable savings in the cost of materials, and attain a very appealing proof quality that comes close to the actual printing result.” And that’s not all. With the CMS capability of DI-Plot, when it delivers the formproof Koprint is at the same time giving customers an ”OK-to-Print“ that goes a long way to resembling the final print result from the colour point of view, as well.

Quality with Piezo technology
Preproofer 740 is based on two Epson Stylus Pro 7400 printers – currently the fastest inkjet system on the market. Depending on the chosen resolution, speeds reach up to 16 double-sided proofs per hour, while a new screening method allows excellent reproduction quality down to even the finest details and with low resolutions, too. Micro Piezo technology functions on the drop-on-demand principle and enables precision control of the ink droplets as far as size, shape and positioning on the substrate is concerned. In addition to brilliant printing results, the outputting process can be accelerated while saving on ink consumption by varying the droplet size according to the subject.

Front and back without turning
Double-sided formproofs can be produced in one pass without turning the paper thanks to the offset configuration of the vertically displaced printers. Preproofer works on the roll-sheet print principle where output of the front is off the roll and output of the back is on the cut sheet. For outputting the back, the sheet is moved by gravity alone and scanned for precision register printing by the system before DI-Plot releases the data. With no mechanism required for turning the sheet, the result is reduced maintenance and fewer spare parts.

At Koprint, ink zones on a Komori and a Ryobi are automatically preset using InkZone Perfect

With JDF
to the ink-zone preset
Print shop production at Koprint is in a heterogeneous environment. A five-colour from Komori in 52 x 72 cm format, a five-colour from Ryobi in 36 x 52 cm format, plus two A3 Ryobi models, each equipped with two units, add up to a total of 14 printing units.

The installation of InkZone Perfect for online ink-zone presetting on the five-colour machines makes for an economical solution with a high streamlining effect. With InkZone Perfect, both systems can be supplied with presetting data, thus avoiding the need for relatively expensive proprietary CIP3/4 connections for printing machines from two different manufacturers. DI-Plot calculates the JDF files with the zone values from the bitmap data delivered by the imager RIP and then transfers them to InkZone Perfect. The software is not dependent on the type of printing machine and offers functions like linearization to individual printing conditions, the display of ink-zone values, visualisation of the printing job with the separate imposed composite forms, and ductor control. Thanks to a simple drag-and-drop function, the press-man can allocate the individual separations with the preset values for CMYK and special colours to the printing units.

With a simple drag-and-drop function, the press-man assigns
the preset values to the separate
ink zones on the printing machine

”One thing is clear: the preset solution from Digital Information makes things much simpler and speeds up the process“, says Jochen Konrath. “Previously, we needed between 30 and 45 minutes per printing job for setting the ink zones manually. Thanks to InZone Perfect, we are ready for the production run after fifteen minutes. Also, the software allows us to adapt the calculated preset data to the effective ink-zone values and thus further optimise set-up times. A further productivity bonus comes from the option to save job data for repeat jobs.”

Buoyant growth
Koprint AG was founded in 1984 when Austrian Werner Konrath acquired former book printers Ehrli Druck AG in Sarnen. Eleven years later came the move into modern premises in Alpnach Dorf, the present-day location, and the change of name to Koprint AG. Since 1989, Emmenbrücke-based Gersag Druck AG, a company that is well established in the region, has also been owned by Koprint AG. Recently, Kneuss Print AG of Lenzburg was taken over by the service provider, which has now grown to employ more than 40 staff. The customer base is mainly manufacturing companies, banks, insurance organisations and firms

The satisfaction shows
(from left to right):
Gregor Keiser, Manager PrepressJochen Konrath,
Managing Director Koprint AG, Michael Haenni,
Digital Information Ltd.

in the IT sector. Because Koprint remains largely independent from agencies, the services are not restricted to tasks relating to printwork production but range from the development of graphic design concepts through artwork production and printing to the finished product.