There is nothing else like it and it is on-line now.  ICEmeta, the latest innovation from FineEye Color Solutions, is cruising the globe at cyber-speed within easy, instant reach of digital presses and inkjet printers everywhere.

Users simply log on to FineEye’s ICEmeta web portal (http://ICEmeta.com) to get a firsthand look - using their own ICC destination profiles from their own RIP workflow - at how this technology improves color output from whatever digital device resides in their shop.  All while saving ink and money - lots of money.

The latest annual survey by Digital Output magazine (August, 2011) pegs ink costs for 2012 at more than 38 percent of combined expenditures for ink, media and hardware; a total of nearly $3.8 billion globally for ink alone.  With the average cost for a single liter of ink at $210, it doesn’t take long for most print operations to chalk up thousands of dollars in CMYK expense.

FineEye Color’s ICEmeta portal gives users a fast, accurate and verifiable up-front look at just how much value this new digital optimizing product will drive in their own shop, before they spend one red cent.  When they decide to use the new, optimized ICE profile, they can put it to work just as easily.

A Sure Thing: try before you buy
“We have opened the print industry’s most unique ICC Profile Exchange (ICC-PX) service,” explains FineEye Color Solutions President Peder Nelson.  “Send us your ICC profile and swap it for a better one, an ICEmeta-optimized ICC profile.  That’s it, in a nutshell.”

It is, in truth, a simple and seamless 3-step try-before-you-buy process from the friendly confines of a would-be user’s own shop.

1. Upload an ICC profile from a workflow RIP to the ICEmeta ICC-PX portal.

(E-mail address and password are all it takes to open a free ICEmeta account.)

2. ICEmeta instantly analyzes the profile and creates an ICE’d profile in seconds,

along with projected ink savings using the ICE ICC profile, plus Delta E data

indicating the accuracy you can expect.

3. Users can download the ICE’d image, test and compare color quality versus the

original side-by-side, including printed output from their own digital device.

They can also adjust ink settings and obtain a new ICE profile for comparison.

Once the user likes what they see, then and only then should they proceed to purchase the ICE profile, a “shopping cart” type of on-line transaction requiring use of a credit card.  The new ICE ICC profile is downloaded and inserted directly into the existing RIP production workflow and immediately goes to work improving color output, saving ink and money. If that isn’t enough to demonstrate the value, every ICE profile is guaranteed.

“Many digital operations spend weeks or even months testing and evaluating ink optimizing software products to determine their worth,” Nelson observes.  “Finally they buy the product and install the software along with server hardware and an extra step in the workflow.  They also have to train their people and support the new workflow.

“Contrast this with the ICEmeta ICC-PX Profile Exchange.  It condenses the entire evaluation process into seconds, a few minutes at most.  With no software to install, no overhead or worker training, and no steps added to the workflow.  It’s fast and it’s easy, all done from the user’s own shop at any time of day and anywhere in the world.  And all without them having to pay a penny until they see for themselves the difference ICEmeta ICC profiling makes.”

Double-digit ink savings with improved color output
“Once they start running ICE profiles, they’ll see a difference they can take to the bank,” Nelson continues.  “As one user put it, ‘We saw solid results on the very first day’, including ink savings of nearly 30 percent rerunning a job just completed with non-ICE’d profiles to get a fast, real-world production comparison.

“Of course, no two jobs are alike and actual ink savings will vary with specific graphics.  But we’re hearing consistent reports of 20 percent and up.  One early user who’s been documenting jobs for more than six months reports an average of 22 percent.

“Color quality is inevitably cited, too,” Nelson says matter-of-factly.  User comments range from “cleaner, brighter colors” and observations that neutrals look better than the GRACoL 2006 profile, to more-pragmatic statements such as “no color shift” and that ICE’d output “looks every bit as good or better and we’re saving a lot of ink!”

“Comments like these point to another important ICEmeta advantage over all other ink optimization products,” he adds.  “Such independent server software requires users to turn off the color management in the digital workflow RIP, which severely limits the RIP’s ability to control color.  That’s not the case with ICE profiles.  They slide seamlessly into the RIP and work hand-in-glove together, to ensure color quality along with ink savings.”

Some users already have said that improved color output using ICE profiles has drawn attention to their work and, consequently, helped them gain new business.

Exchange up to 10 profiles at once from any digital device
Nelson points out digital operations can build business while saving on ink with ICEmeta-enhanced output from any digital device — digital press, UV or aqueous or solvent inkjet printer, laser printer, you name it.

“During this introductory period, users can upload and evaluate as many as 10 ICC profiles per session compared to ICEmeta,” he continues.  As noted earlier, they can adjust settings and access test files to compare and verify results for each profile.  “If they aren’t immediately sure of where and how to find a profile, they’ll find easy-to-follow directions at http://ICEmeta.com,” Nelson says. 

Likewise, when they download a new ICE profile, they can reference info on the site to ensure that the profile is immediately, seamlessly inserted into the proper folder, ready to go to work.

“If additional questions arise, they can chat live, on-line, with FineEye Color ICEmeta specialists from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) in the U.S., Monday through Friday,” Nelson said.

“In short, what we have here is a low-cost, seamless, speedy way for digital operations anywhere in the world to deploy advanced technology to improve their product as well as the bottom line,” Nelson sums up.  “ICEmeta and its ICC-PX portal offer digital users a first-and-only win-win opportunity.  They can take advantage of this Profile Exchange service by simply logging on to http://ICEmeta.com.”