Tuebingen/Nagano – GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end color management software solutions, and Mimaki, a leading manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, textile/apparel and industrial markets today announced that the GMG ColorProof proofing solution will be available shortly for the Mimaki UJF-706 inkjet printer. This new joint solution from GMG and Mimaki, enabling high-quality contone and halftone proofing applications, is being demonstrated for the first time from October 5-8 on the booth of Mimaki 5i-21 at Tokyo Pack 2010.

The strategic partnership of both companies provides highly innovative solutions for high value packaging applications. The latest combination of the Mimaki UV UJF-706 inkjet printers, supported by the GMG ColorProof contone and GMG FlexoProof/DotProof halftone proofing solutions, allow for best quality packaging proofing on original substrates, creation of color-accurate mockups and label prototypes as well as personalized short run production. White and varnish are also supported. The costs per proof or mockup produced digitally in this way are much lower than produced with analogue proofing systems.

Due to the unrivaled GMG color management technology, GMG ColorProof, FlexoProof and DotProof are able to achieve perfect color match, optimum spot and process color reproduction as well as the highest repeatability and consistency. GMG FlexoProof is highly suitable for the digital production of mockups where the visualization of final print characteristics such as substrate structures or register fluctuation is required. GMG FlexoProof and DotProof process not only industry standard data formats, but also the original 1-bit data of the imagesetter RIP. These data are color-profiled, retaining the original screen information, and output on inkjet printers in contract-proof quality.

The Mimaki UJF-706, designed for industrial digital printing applications, prints directly on flexible and rigid substrates up to 15cm thickness such as metal, tin, acrylics, glass, styrene, PET, polycarbonate, shrink film and PLA, as well as coated and uncoated papers. With the roll-to-roll option on UJF-706, it is possible to print on thin packaging film (minimum 0.025 mm) with the highest precision currently in the market.

"The close integration between the Mimaki UJF-706 printer and GMG color management technology represents a great leap forward with regard to our partnership and joint customers," says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG. "The new solution will enable users to implement highly demanding packaging applications for high-end proof and mockup production based on any original substrate. The further strengthening of our technological collaboration helps both companies to meet the steadily growing challenges in packaging printing such as very short product life cycles and therefore great pressure in time during design and approval processes."

Mikio Noguchi, Executive Vice President of Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. adds: "Compared to very expensive and time consuming press proofs or analogue proofing, we are very pleased to offer the offset, gravure and flexo packaging industry a new time and cost saving complete solution for digital proofing and short run production. Due to the advanced GMG color management we are able to guarantee maximum color accuracy, repeatability and reliability in daily production."