IPA Chicago declares digital proofing shootout a draw

At the internationally recognised IPA matching, there was no practical discernible difference between the systems with EFI, CGS and GMG all hitting targets within 0.2 Delta E of one another. This is a level of difference that cannot be recognised by the human eye and has no practical impact on proofing.

According to Ian Clare, managing director of DES (supplier of EFI Colorproof in Australia and New Zealand) who attended the IPA conference in Chicago last week, the results prove that not much more can be achieved by developing the algorithms. “Because it was a blind test where suppliers were asked to match a colour sheet, there was little that could be done by tweaking the systems. The results satisfied the IPA that colour matching is no longer a realistic issue for the top three systems,” he said.

He maintained that going by the numbers, the proofs were more accurate than the printed press sheets. There was also a larger difference between the measuring instruments than the different proofs.

“What is important now is to be able to reproduce the numbers in the field. In the future it will be about features and stability, making it easier for operators to keep the systems stable,” he said.

This year the IPA judged 28 hard and soft proofing systems and all but one had an average Delta E variance of well under 2.0.

Other areas for development are in spot colours and multi-channel printing, especially for the packaging market where the Kodak Approval system still holds sway.

CGS president Trevor Howarth, claimed his company's ORIS Color Tuner has the lowest cost per proof of the top digital systems.