LIA gives the hard facts of soft proofing

Soft proofing is still a hard concept for many printers to get their head around. Last night's LIA seminar, led by Peter Skarpetis of Serendipity Software, helped to clear things up.

Skarpetis, CEO of the Australian-owned software company, believes that the on-press commercial print market is where soft proofing has found the greatest acceptance. He pointed to Australia's largest printer, PMP, which use it. "On-press newsprint has also taken it up: newspapers are very last-minute and there is not a lot of time for hard-copy proofs," he said, pointing to a number of newspapers in Holland which also use the software.

One of the most important things for anyone wanting to embark on the process is having the correct monitor, something which Matthew Bauer, Eizo's Oceania territory manager reinforced during his presentation later in the evening. According to Skarpetis, spectroradiometres are the ideal choice, though also the most expensive. "The spectophotometre is a good compromise," he added.

Pictured: Peter Skarpetis (left) with Kayell colour specialist Luke Wooldridge.

Andreas Johanson, director of Kayell, which presented the event, sees a day when soft proofing will eventually replace hard proofing. "But the time frame for that can be argued till the cows come home," he told Print21. "The interest is there, especially in newspapers. In Australia, we are still coming to terms with where it fits in with the workflow."