Germany-based colour management software solutions provider GMG has released the latest version of its Opencolor software – Opencolor 2.4 – with enhancements to enable a seamless exchange between conventional printing machines and digital presses.

In order to avoid varying results in digital printing, particularly when reproducing brand and spot colours, efficient colour management and accurate profiling are essential. While conventional printing spot colours can be mixed especially for a job, in digital printing every colour is created with a fixed colour set: either with CMYK or, in the multicolour range, with up to seven colours – CMYK plus orange, green and violet.

Peter Schoeffler, product manager at GMG, explained: "GMG Opencolor creates both proof and separation profiles for digital printing. Our solution ensures maximum flexibility and enables a seamless exchange between conventional printing machines and digital presses. A key here is the precise spot colour reproduction for digital printing – for example Pantone colours."

Schoeffler claimed that GMG's profiling technology was "clearly superior in various studies and comparative tests, most recently at Ryerson University and Fogra.”

In addition to digital press profiling, GMG Opencolor also offers other innovations such as the X-Rite measuring device i1Pro 3 and the third generation scanning table i1iO, now supported in small aperture sizes so that test charts and patches can be measured with these new devices.

The GMG Opencolor Remoteclient is also new, enabling flexible access via web browser. "An administrator can now check from any computer on the network, whether a spot colour print job can be reproduced accurately on the digital press. It is easily determined how many colours are required to reproduce the job and print costs can be calculated on the spot," the company stated in a press note shared with PrintWeek.

"The pre-press operators can copy the colour values from the separation table into the DTP application such as Artpro or Adobe Creative Suite. This option provides pre-press with the best possible reproduction of spot colours – without incremental adjustments and numerous proof cycles," the note stated.

According to GMG, with new industry standard characterisations, additional test charts and the spot colour databases HKS K and HKS N, the new version of GMG Opencolor presents an impressive overall package that will not only delight digital printers.