ss of migrating to a new way of working isn’t always as smooth as it could be and tools are needed to help the transition. The need for reliable PDF files led to the development of specifications, such as PDF/X and Pass4Press, and the uptake of pre-flight tools, such as Enfocus PitStop and Markzware, that can flag up, and sometimes solve, problems with PDF and application files. Software that provides a similar solution to the colour issues is now available.
　　Pureprint’s Archer is looking at the available tools, which include products such as Alwan CMYK Optimizer and GMG ColorServer. “If you’re applying ICC profiles and are pushing them up the chain, then you don’t need them,” he says. “But you’ve got data coming in that might not be right, so you need tools for colour pre-flight and normalisation.”
　　Sherfield sees another application for these tools in repurposing archived jobs to make sure that they run efficiently once you’ve moved to process standard offset, without having to break off from your nicely set up standard conditions. That repurposing can be quite radical, according to Archer, with the possibility of taking a job set up for coated paper and automatically converting its separation settings for uncoated or vice-versa. This process of adjusting the separations is nothing new. It is something currently done manually in pre-press, but the ability to automatically adjust jobs either to re-purpose them or to correct something supplied out of spec is a new and powerful tool.
　　It is paper where Archer feels there are still shortcomings in the ISO specification and from paper suppliers’ response to ISO 12647. The new version of 12647 is promised to better address the paper issues. Archer also wants the mills and merchants to label their stocks in accordance with the ISO 12647 specification to simplify their selection.
　　Inks are easier as the requirements for a suitable ink are set out in ISO 2846, and firms including Sun Chemical and Stehlin Hostag have developed suitable products.
　　With the increased uptake and interest from buyers, the time has come to embrace Process Standard Offset if you don’t want to be left outside in the cold like one of those unlucky delegates at the colour conference.

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