VALHALLA, N.Y. (Feb. 3, 2005) – In the graphic arts industry, nothing is more frustrating than seeing a project all the way through to the pressroom only to find that you’re unable to achieve the color you saw at the proofing stage. That was the hurdle that Ohio-based BookMasters encountered when the company began printing short-run, four-color books nearly a year ago. An exclusive black-and-white textbook manufacturer the last 15 years, BookMasters decided to add the color capability for short-run jobs about a year ago after receiving numerous requests for quotes from customers. “We were continually being bombarded with estimate requests for short-run, four-color work,” explains Ray Sevin, president of BookMasters. “Like many book manufacturers, we didn’t do that type of work and we were passing up some opportunities. So, we decided to jump into it.” While the change was a welcome one to BookMasters’ customers, it proved to be somewhat of a challenge in the company’s prepress and pressroom departments. “We introduced some different stocks that we weren’t familiar with and we encountered some difficulties with our color proofing,” he says. “The color we were able to show our customers at the proofing stage was great, but we were having difficulty matching it on press.” At that time, Sevin says, he began working closely with his reps from Enovation Graphic Systems, Inc. to determine the cause and, more importantly, the solution to this problem. Through a process that Enovation calls “color optimization,” they were able to determine that the ink that BookMasters was using wasn’t yielding the right color space and was causing the difference in color between the proof and the press sheet. “Enovation suggested that we test Flint Ink, which we did,” Sevin explains. “Their team then went through a process of fingerprinting each of our presses to determine the appropriate curve that would allow us to compensate for things such as dot gain from a particular press – and on each unit.” The plate gain curves are altered to match the ink’s color space, at specified densities, to a chosen color standard – in this case, the Fujifilm PictroProof. “Once we were able to complete this process and get everything in ‘tune’, we were finally able to bring our proofs and our press sheets in line with one another. “We’re much happier now and, overall, we’re very pleased,” insists Sevin. “We can simply run out press sheets to specified density numbers and our color just falls in line.” This is an extraordinary achievement for BookMasters, who, unlike traditional, commercial printers, doesn’t print the same sheet over and over again, for a run of several thousand. “We’re running jobs that are all very different from one another, especially in terms of content and the color that’s included, and it’s very difficult to hold color with that type of work.” But now, he says, his pressmen are able to simply “print to the numbers.” “Our pressmen are professionals at what they do and it’s a very special skill to be able to run a press and achieve just the right color,” Sevin notes. “Now, with our new process, we can print to the specified numbers that we’ve identified. If the press operators print to those numbers, then everything should match and come out fine. If it doesn’t, then we know there’s an issue somewhere else and we’re not wasting time adjusting color unnecessarily on press.” Enovation helped bring the BookMasters’ printing process under control – ensuring a predictable outcome. Since completing this process and making the change to Flint Ink, BookMasters has seen its range of work expand. In addition to trade publications, textbooks and novels, BookMasters is now printing jobs that require a more commercial quality color, including books on paintings, artwork and museum pieces. “We’re very pleased,” he reiterates. “It’s really made us a better printer.”