PressProof, which will be launched in April, uses Kodak's MatchPrint Virtual Proofing technology for accurate and consistent colour proofing on qualified LCD monitors. It allows users to select the surface for comparison with press samples.

The system integrates with Kodak's Prinergy workflow, combining pre-press and proofing management.

It can also operate as an extension to InSite software to allow online communication at each stage of the production cycle.

PressProof's arrival is timely given the concern voiced about the future of soft proofing at the Digital Ad Lab earlier this month.

Industry members were worried soft proofing would follow the same route as hard proofing, which has struggled to find standardisation across the supply chain.

Polestar group pre-press director Jack Bissett called for the introduction of soft proofing standards to avoid the "mess" in hard proofing.

"We produce more and more print with no proof at all because there is not the time or schedule for it," said Bissett.

Bissett and others at the meeting expressed concern at the incompatibility of rival vendors' soft-proofing systems and the expense of having to buy multiple systems.

Financial Times advertising production director Peter Slaughter said soft proofing, including equipment and calibration tolerances, needed to be standardised for agency, client, creative, printer, publisher and repro house.

"We do not own any print sites, so we have to be confident that our printers can faithfully reproduce what has been signed off by the client," said Slaughter.

"As a publisher we need to be confident that we have tools to measure the performance of our printers to ensure commercially acceptable levels of tolerance."