What does the system do?
Developed by UK pre-press, printer and colour systems supplier Bodoni Systems, pressSign is a quality control software system for monitoring and reporting on print performance. Bodoni managing director Ian Reid says it has two main objectives: “To provide an efficient system to enable printers to hit the print standard required by their customers; and to provide extensive reporting facilities to both the print buyer and the printer.”
Over eight years, he says, it has been developed to be “a powerful solution that delivers data across the internet between printers and buyers. Printers can send data to multiple print buyers without any additional expense.”
When was it launched and what market is it aimed at?
The first copy was sold in 2006. The target market is printers, brand managers and print buyers. Reid says that pressSign is used by “all the major UK print management companies”.
How does it work?
The software drives spectrophotometers from X-Rite, Techkon, Barbieri and Konica Minolta. It can also connect to closed-loop press control systems from press manufacturers and third parties. The spectrophotometer data is interpreted by pressSign to show the operator how to adjust the density to achieve the lowest possible delta e (ie colour difference) for current press conditions.
How does it differ from previous versions?
Introduced late last year, V6 gives users two additional methods of achieving consistently accurate grey balance by adjusting the tonal curve, 4CX and NPDC (neutral print density curve). The standard TVI method for ISO 12647 is retained.
It accommodates the changes in the latest ISO 12647-2 2013 and will be updated to comply with Fogra 51 and 52 when they are released.
Scoring is added for spot colours, which Bodoni says are often more important to brand owners than process results.
The latest measurement instrument features are supported, including updates to X-Rite’s hand-held eXact reader, the latest Konica Minolta FD7 and the M1 measurement facility on the Techkon SpectroDens.
Global Print Management 6 now lets users set a custom colour library in a central server and distribute this to selected connected users.
Additions to reports include run length information, colour bar and spot colour tonal curve. Browser reports are updated too. The PRO version also shows the density and/or LAB tolerances of each ink key.
What versions are there?
There are four versions. Entry-level pressSign PrintBuyer can create print targets, measure and score readings, but only supports two spot colours (Pantone Libraries included). PressSign Standard has the additional ability to tell the printer how to make adjustments to density and tonal curves. PressSign-Pro includes pressSign Server, one measurement client, one pre-press client and a mobile client for accessing data off-site. This provides all the above plus it shows how to adjust each ink key and includes extensive reporting facilities for multiple jobs. PressSign Global Print Management has the same facilities as pressSign-Pro but allows connection with other pressSign servers. Users can compare and analyse the performance of different sites and campaigns. They can also can upload custom colour libraries to a server and distribute these to selected print sites.
What is the USP?
Reid says that the major selling points include Dynamic Density Adjustment, the ability to show the best possible density adjustment on a per-job basis; Visual Linear Targeting, to create tonal curve adjustments for spot colours; 4CX, tonal curve adjustment for accurate grey balance with any ICC profile; and powerful reporting facilities.
What support is on offer?
Training and installation is offered worldwide via dealers. Bodoni offers technical support from its office.
How much does it cost?
PrintBuyer costs £375, Standard costs £1,695, pressSign-Pro is £3,095 plus an extra £250 for each additional mobile client. A three year subscription to Global Print Management costs £3,750.
What is the sales target, how many are installed worldwide and in the UK?
Some 5,000 copies have been sold worldwide and these are growing at about 40 per month, according to Reid.
SPECIFICATIONS
Platforms Mac, Windows or browser-based for remote access
Standards supported ISO, Fogra, GRACol
Spectrophotometers supported Barbieri, Konica Minolta, Techkon, X-Rite
Versions PrintBuyer: £375; Standard: £1,695; Pro: £3,095; Global Print Management (three-year subscription): £3,750; Additional mobile clients: £250 each
Contact Bodoni 01923 220530 www.bodoni.co.uk
ALTERNATIVES
Mellow Colour PrintSpec
This helps printers work to ISO 12647 or any other colour standard. A colour strip on the print is read by a spectrophotometer and analysed by the program.
Platforms Mac, Windows
Standards supported ISO, SWOP, GRAcol, in-house
Spectrophotometers supported X-Rite
Price From £1,450
Contact Mellow Colour 01386 421534 www.mellowcolour.com
X-Rite ColorCert
X-Rite distributes an exclusive version of the German ColorCert system. This has SaaS and desktop elements and is sold by subscription. It uses a spectrophotometer to analyse print/proofs and report on print quality, press run reporting, and trends via an online score card.
Platform Mac, Windows
Standards supported Any
Spectrophotometer supported X-Rite eXact, SpectroEye
Price Desktop modules from £535 to £2,130 pa; cloud modules from £7,100 pa
Contact X-Rite UK 01625 871100 www.xrite.com
Built-in press controls
The most modern offset and digital presses have built-in colour controls, often with some degree of ‘closed-loop’ automatic self-monitoring and adjustment.
USER REVIEW
“PressSign has helped us monitor the colour quality attributes across different presses and sites. V6 has big improvements, particularly for packaging printers, such as spot colour quality trends” 4/5
Kiran Deshpande Colour & Print Management Specialist, Multi Packaging Solutions, Leicester
