Recent content by KWilliams

In my opinion, the transition to spectral specifications for packaging has been very awkward. The old Density and TVI specs were not paperboard specific, so they were very flexible, and you know what, they worked! Unfortunately, 99% of our paperboards reside somewhere in between Paper grades...

I just bought a new set of Pantone books. I haven't bought any GOE books, and I don't plant to.

I think this is where I differ from D Ink Man. We formulate all of our inks, and are not dependent on the recipes that Pantone provides. Our biggest issues with Pantone, are not with the book itself, but with what our customers call Pantone. They have a chip, a previously printed sample, a piece...

We half trap our metallics, as they tend to spread naturally. We choke metallics (gold/silver) with everything but black. Black will be a case by case basis depending on artwork and ink rotation.

Pantone is a guide not a bible. They can call any color they want 123C and anything they want 123U. You have to do what you have to do to match it with your press conditions (press, substrate, ink). Yes, there are weaknesses, and yes, they have a monopoly. Most people have found ways to work...

Thank You, Bret! I didn't even know it could dump reflectance data. Not only that, it can tack on density and LabCH values as well. Makes the math a little easier.

The 530 converts reflectance and then sends the information to the display. Tool Crib basically intercepts the data that is sent to the display, and sends it to your computer (Excel, etc.). By then the reflectance data has been converted to either Desity or Lab, but you can't get both.

It certainly is a good option, and it's a lot prettier than our home made solution. We also have it in one location at the moment. I still would like the option to read it directly into our own database. And my apologies for hijacking your thread. It was the closest thread to what I was looking...

Thanks for the heads up on ColorPort, but ideally, I need a direct dump to my database. With 50+ different people taking a total of 5,000 readings a month, the fewer steps the better. I guess I could try to automate the import, but I would prefer to have one app and one interface for readings...

What I'm finding is that once you take Reflectance data and convert it to XYZ (or Lab, LCH, et), you can't get density out of it. The converse is true to. The problem is I'm dumping density to a Filemaker Pro spreadsheet, and I would like to capture Lab data too. Unfortunately, the XRite 530...

Some good info here. I see where you can get Dot Gain from XYZ, and where you can get Density from Reflectance, but can you get Density from XYZ (or CIEL*a*b*).

We have a supplied file that appears to be an 8-bit DCS file exported out of a Rampage RIP. This file is failing to RIP at our Prinergy Direct RIP. Has anyone had issues with Rampage DCS exports? I have never worked with a Rampage RIP - do you have full control of preference options when...