HANOVER PARK, Ill. (August 13, 2003) – Despite the old saying, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. That was the case for Gus Gutierrez, solution architect with Darwill, when the company was selected to beta test Fujifilm’s newest product offering, FINALPROOF TPM proofing media. “We use other Fuji products, so we are aware of the quality and reliability of those products,” he said. “And, we didn’t expect the quality of this material to be any different.” Darwill just completed testing the new FINALPROOF TPM proofing material with the company’s Creo Trendsetter, giving the proofer/proofing material combination high marks. “I could’ve told you a few weeks into the testing that we were going to be keeping this material,” Gutierrez explains. “We’ve tried other material and just weren’t able to achieve the results that we got with the FINALPROOF TPM. We knew we were working with a really good product.” Integrating seamlessly into established Creo workflows, FINALPROOF TPM allows users to take advantage of the multipurpose Creo Trendsetter/Spectrum hardware while yielding the most consistent halftone proof possible on the Creo device. Featuring Fujifilm’s Thin Layer Thermal Transfer technology, FINALPROOF TPM uses the thermal energy of Creo’s square spot imaging head to enable Fujifilm’s binary technology to transfer the pigment layer, producing a precise and smooth image structure unique to this new proofing media. “The biggest benefits that we see are the color fidelity and the resolution that we’re able to achieve with this material. We’re also seeing tremendous consistency; the numbers are literally speaking for themselves,” Gutierrez adds. “We analyze the proofs everyday to assure that the proofs we’re generating are consistent and are hitting their targets. Looking back at the spreadsheets from the past three months, you see that we’re consistent day in and day out.” Darwill is a general commercial printer located in the Chicago suburb of Hillside. Darwill’s customers rely on the company to produce good, quality proofs for many color-critical jobs. “They [the customers] saw that we were getting great quality and color fidelity and that we were hitting the targets and matching it on-press, boasts Gutierrez. “This was definitely saving them time upstream and in the amount of time they were spending in the makeready stage.” The combination of the FINALPROOF TPM material and the Creo proofing devices not only offers pigment-based proofs, but also allows for both four-up and eight-up formats. In addition, users also have the advantage of proofing on actual press stock and showing clients the closest possible replica of the final printed piece.