IFRA, Geneva, Switzerland – 15 October 2001 – Agfa introduced a complete digital contract proofing solution for newspaper printing with the Agfa Sherpa six-colour digital inkjet proofing system. A series of tools designed to improve the accuracy of newspaper proofing assures reliable contract proofs with the Agfa Sherpa system. In the latest version of its colour-management software, ColorTune Pro 4.01, Agfa has improved the method of creating profiles for a more accurate portrayal of process colour on newsprint stock. Agfa’s latest QMS software uses gamut-mapping calculations and ink bleeding characteristics of users’ specific newspaper stocks to provide total quality management of the Agfa Sherpa system. "We have a dedicated 20-person R&D staff for our proofing software who are always examining new ways to improve colour accuracy," said Willy Van Dromme, director of marketing for Agfa proofing systems. "We see contract proofing as a critical capability for newspapers as they strive to increase advertising revenues." The Agfa Sherpa six-colour inkjet proofer offers high-resolution contract proofing. ColorTune Pro 4.01 colour-management software and QMS 1.1 quality-management software address specific newspaper issues such as ink limitations on newsprint, calibration, gamut mapping, and remote quality control to deliver a complete contract proofing system designed specifically for newspaper proofing. ColorTune Pro 4.01. Based on the industry-standard IT8.7/3 colour characterisation target, Agfa has designed a new target that improves its printability, thus improving the accuracy of the resulting press profile. Improper readings occur most often with the yellow ink. Because the colours are "scrambled" on the new print target there is better distribution of the yellow ink on the press. Another benefit of the improvements to ColorTune Pro 4.01 is more accurate reproduction of difficult colours such as blues in both newsprint and proofing profiles. By improving both the proofer and press profiles, softproofing is also significantly more accurate. Because ColorTune Pro 4.01 is integrated with Agfa’s IntelliTune image-processing software, IntelliTune users will be able to take advantage of this new upgrade to achieve even greater colour-matching accuracy. Quality Mangement Software (QMS) version 1.1. Agfa’s Quality Management Software was designed to assure identical tonal behaviour on multiple Agfa Sherpa 6-colour inkjet proofing systems and to verify ongoing accuracy of output from any Sherpa at any time and at any location. In the latest version of the software, Agfa has included support for newspaper proofing on customers’ newspaper stock. In addition to calibrating Agfa’s newsprint proofing media, ANPP, users can create a custom calibration set-up for specific newsprint stocks. By printing and measuring a special colour target, the software calculates the bleeding or absorption characteristics of the paper. QMS then creates an on-screen visualisation of the level of bleeding on that specific paper using a special Agfa bleeding target containing fonts in various sizes. This visualisation not only shows the amount of bleeding but also provides a reference for selecting the best typeface relative to gamut capabilities. New paper calibration set-up can be created and saved whenever a new stock is introduced for a print run. The user can then select the specific newspaper media when calibrating the Sherpa for contract proofing. For remote proofing applications, set-up files can be exported so that remote sites can use the same reference set-up (media selection) for newspaper proofing.