November 11, 2003 -- Norwalk, Connecticut, USA — PANTONE Hexachrome users can now rely on the color proofing capabilities of the industry’s leading IR thermal digital halftone method. Pantone approved the Matchprint Digital Halftone Proofing System only weeks after Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) expanded the system’s color gamut with a new HiFi Color Set — CMYKOG. “The industry is demanding unmatched color detail and fidelity from our customers,” said Jerry Willer, Worldwide Proofing Product Manager, KPG. “We introduced the HiFi Color Set to expand the capabilities of the Matchprint Digital Halftone Proofing System and give our customers the ability to meet their clients’ expectations. Pantone’s support of these new capabilities gives users the confidence to proof today’s increasingly complex color jobs.” The Matchprint Digital Halftone Proofing System, an IR thermal digital halftone system, is designed for imagers featuring a common RIP to make both plates and proofs, ensuring identical screening on the proof and the plate. Introduced in early October, the HiFi Color Set enables accurate six-color process proofing, including stochastic print jobs, and has been developed, tested and approved by KPG for use with both Creo Trendsetter Spectrum and ECRM DesertCat 88 platesetters, giving users better color management without additional investment. Pantone’s approval of the Matchprint Digital Halftone Proofing System gives KPG two Hexachrome licensed proofing solutions. The Kodak Approval XP4 Digital Halftone Proofing System earned Hexachrome qualification in 2001. Hexachrome is a high-quality, six-color process printing system developed by Pantone, Inc. Its large color gamut makes it possible to accurately reproduce a wide range of colors that can be defined and displayed on computer monitors but which previously could not be duplicated in print. In addition to producing more brilliant continuous-tone images, Hexachrome is capable of accurately reproducing more than 90 percent of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM Colors, almost twice the number obtainable using conventional four-color process printing.