Regensdorf, Switzerland and New Windsor, NY; September 24, 2004 – GretagMacbeth, the worldwide technological leader in color measurement and management solutions has launched the Online edition of its market leading InkFormulation 4.2 Software. IFS 4.2 Online is a new web-client ink formulation solution which gives customers fast and efficient access over the Internet to a centralized ink formulation database from which they can easily obtain ink recipes. This helps customers streamline their production process for any spot color, resulting in substantial savings in time and consumables. GretagMacbeth’s Ink Formulation solution is widely acknowledged as one of the most user-friendly, straightforward and easy to use software solutions on the market. IFS 4.2 Online is built around the same powerful, high-end formulation engine and its popular, ergonomic user interface has been fully implemented in IFS 4.2 Online, ensuring users can measure a color and then obtain the ink recipe quickly, easily and accurately. IFS 4.2 Online employs a centralized, expert developed database that allows multiple physical locations with access rights to work with same data (e.g. ink recipes, assortments, target colors) thereby ensuring accuracy, consistency, and time efficiency. No local installation of databases is needed and no local dongle protection required. Now the highest quality ink recipes are available over the Internet and the IFS application can be interfaced to both balance and dispensing systems. The centralized database enables the user to achieve more efficient production processes and easy data uploads as well as automated back-ups. “The new online version of IFS 4.2 completes the IFS 4.2 line-up, which gives ink manufacturers or printers access to the solution packages they need at the best price/performance level,” says Iris Mangelschots, VP and GM of Digital Imaging at GretagMacbeth. “With IFS Online, the ability to access an expert ink formulation database over the Internet ensures they are working with the most up-to-date data.” “Furthermore, IF2 4.2 Online builds a connection between the ink lab and the printer resulting in fewer mixing iterations and less press down time. Users do not need to keep special ink mixtures in stock so inventory handling is reduced. Overall they gain fast, reproducible and consistent color mixing resulting in significant time and money savings from more streamlined production processes,” she adds. With IFS 4.2 Online, ink manufacturers and ink suppliers can now give their printer customers access to a centralized, consistent and easily updatable ink formulation database from anywhere, at any time, over the Internet. Similarly, commercial printers with multiple production plants can make their ink formulation database available to their various locations. This means that printers that don’t want to install local ink formulation software can now have flexible access to high quality, reliable ink formulation databases for mixing and matching inks. In combination with a SpectroEye measurement instrument, this solution gives the best possible flexibility with respect to measurement data handling. With IFS 4.2 Online, Ink manufacturers can access their data when they are at their customers’ sites, and can give them first class on the spot service. In addition the software can be customized to meet the functionalities required by the users. The Online Version also makes possible remote support and training.