Presstek, Inc., a leading supplier of digital offset printing solutions to the printing and communications industries, today announced that it will be demonstrating the Presstek Virtuoso Print Quality System on the Presstek 75DI digital offset press at drupa 2012, scheduled to begin May 3^rd at Messe Dusseldorf. Presstek Virtuoso inspects each sheet in real time, preventing inadvertent delivery of defective sheets to the customer. Presstek will be located in Hall 4, Stand B03, at the show.

Transform your Presstek 75DI into a Virtuoso
Presstek Virtuoso is an innovative inline color management and sheet inspection system for the Presstek 75DI digital offset press. Virtuoso enhances the innate quality of the Presstek 75DI by performing a complete inspection of each sheet as it passes through the press at full speed. Continuous and automated inspection saves time and money while producing a higher quality more stable print run. Virtuoso helps ensure that a bad press sheet never leaves the pressroom.

Virtuoso consists of four modules and can be configured to fit the needs of each individual shop.

• Color Management: Virtuoso’s Compact Imaging Sensor (VCIS) is integrated into the last unit of the press. The VCIS reads the color bar on each sheet and makes any necessary adjustments to ink density on the fly. This ensures consistent color across the sheet and from sheet-to-sheet. The need to pull sheets for quality control purposes is eliminated, making the press operator more productive.

• Defect Detection: Virtuoso also checks each sheet for print defects including hickeys, marking, scumming, substrate defects, color variations, register defects, inking issues and scratching. Sheets with defects are automatically marked as they are delivered to the stacker. Feedback is then provided to the controller, ensuring consistently high quality throughout the run.
• Registration Control: The Presstek 75DI’s on-press laser imaging provides excellent registration from the first sheet to the last. To further ensure that precise registration is maintained throughout the run, Virtuoso will automatically scan the registration marks on each sheet, providing feedback to the press controller and automatically initiating any needed adjustments during the production run.

• PROOF+ Defect Detection: In addition to scanning each sheet for printing defects, each sheet is scanned and compared to an approved PDF master, allowing the detection of any errors that may have occurred during the plate imaging process as well production errors that may affect the content integrity of the job. Sheets with defects are automatically marked as they are delivered to the stacker.
  

Reporting and Data Collection
In addition to maximizing press utilization and improving operator productivity, Presstek Virtuoso offers advanced reporting and data collection. The data from each print job is captured and stored in Virtuoso’s SQL compatible database. This data can then be used to improve prepress processes and enhance service capabilities. By storing the data offline and having it easily accessible, the jobs history can be accessed and reviewed at any time. This is valuable in assessing the quality of prepress processes or in helping to address any future customer inquiries about a specific job.

“We are very excited to be bringing Presstek Virtuoso to our flagship Presstek 75DI press,” said Mark Sullivan, Group Product Director, Digital Printing. “The 75DI already delivers world-class color quality for fast turn short-run printing. With the addition of Virtuoso, we are raising the bar relative to the complete automation of the quality control process. Especially for companies who may be having difficulty finding journeyman offset press operators, the highly automated Presstek 75DI, combined with Virtuoso, will allow the use of less skilled operators while still delivering outstanding results.”