HUDSON, OHIO - SpotOn! Press LLC, a process control software company, today announced the installation of SpotOn! at Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., the nations largest specialty retailer of fabrics and one of the largest specialty retailers of crafts. SpotOn! is a software tool that provides a visual dashboard of press conditions, enabling printers to fully realize the benefits of standardization and process control in the press room, in accordance with GRACoL and SWOP specifications. Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. uses SpotOn! to track press conditions, allowing them to continuously fine-tune their printing process, improving efficiency and color accuracy of their print. For more information, go to www.spotonpress.com.
 
Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. Quote: Gregg Seifert
 
We had been struggling for some time trying to profile our presses, and we knew there was a problem but we couldnt put our finger on it. We [typically] are printing 160 to 230 different versions of materials at varying quantities and colors. We used SpotOn! and immediately could tell which press unit was the problem. After further inspection of the press we found some mechanical issues and were able to correct them. If the only thing SpotOn! did was help us profile the presses, it has already paid for itself. The great thing is, SpotOn! does more.
 
SpotOn! Quote: Bruce Bayne
 
For a company that has multiple crews and does a great deal of reprints, SpotOn! considerably improves color accuracy between shifts, between presses and over time. SpotOn! helps Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., obtain business goals by improving color consistency which improves store image and makes them look more appealing to their customers. SpotOn! helps pressmen to hit gray balance on press and meet G7 specifications, whether they have a strong color background or not.
 
The Technology
 
SpotOn! displays how a press or proofer performs to the ISO 12647-2 standard for inks and overprints, along with the G7 Neutral Print Density Curve and gray balance. Users run an i1 scanning spectrophotometer over the color control strip and SpotOn! automatically generates easy-to-read graphs and tables arranged in a dashboard style layout. The technology filters jobs by job number, job name, customer, press, operator, paper name, paper grade, paper finish, run length and even custom data.
 
Using this filtered data, trend charts are generated showing variance from the ISO standard, Neutral Print Density Curve deviation, gray balance deviation, Density to DeltaE trends, and Density to NPDC and TVI trends. The Density to DeltaE trend graphs indicate how close to the ISO 12647-2 standard the press is performing and what solid ink density is necessary to keep the inks and overprints within specification.