Weymouth, MA – CMYK Distributors, Inc. is pleased to announce the installation of InkZone Ink-Presets and Closed Loop technology at CCG Marketing Solutions in West Caldwell, NJ.   For nearly 50 years, CCG Marketing Solutions has been providing innovative, value-driven marketing, sales and promotional programs for the automotive, retail, beauty/cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.  The InkZone solution was sold through FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division—a national direct sales partner of CMYK Distributors, Inc.  CCG Marketing Solutions added tremendous value in terms of quality control, waste reduction, and competitive advantage to their operation with the installation of InkZone technology.  

CCG Marketing Solutions is highly regarded as a market leader in project management, client services, IT development, hosting and support, letter-shop, offset printing, digital printing, large-format printing, kitting, fulfillment, and production in a tightly controlled, professional environment.  An integral part of the local business community, CCG employs 175 regular, full-time employees.  And, the company is committed to environmental stewardship, employing sustainable business practices such as using soy-based inks and proudly supporting Two Sides North America.

CCG’s in-plant print shop features a prepress department; offset print department anchored by two Heidelbergs—a six color SM-74 and a five color SM-52; digital pressroom with three Xerox iGen4’s; well-equipped bindery with a Muller Martini Presto stitcher; full-service mailing department; and an in-house fulfillment department featuring 415K square feet of warehouse space with more than 20K bin locations.  In 2007, CCG acquired Central Letter Shop and constructed a 5K square foot addition to its existing print facility in order to accommodate an increase in offset printing equipment.  A critical arm of CCG Marketing Solutions, the CCG in-plant print shopquadrupled annual output between 2009 and 2014 and projects a continued positive growth trajectory. 

“The addition of InkZone ink-presets and closed-loop technology represents a significant investment in our ability to be competitive in the marketplace.  With InkZone, our Heidelberg offset presses can keep pace with the latest technology, giving us the ability to more easily run reports for internal use and for our clients’ audit and SOP purposes,” said Michael Petrullo, Director of Print Operations for CCG Marketing Solutions.  “We also saw a significant decrease in paper waste almost immediately upon installation, making InkZone an important part of our overall environmental sustainability strategy at CCG.  Less waste means a smaller carbon footprint and that is directly in line with our company’s mission, vision, and values.”

The InkZone Ink-Presets and Closed Loop solution features an intuitive interface and the ability to preset minimum ink-key opening thresholds, color bar configurations that encompass the full-width of all sheet sizes, color bar patches that allow for G7 compatible data readings, and a dependable CIP3 iterative learning process.  With InkZone, the data being sent to the press is highly accurate enabling CCG to achieve run-to color significantly faster and with less waste. 

“InkZone is a tool in our arsenal of technology that helps us to bring the very best quality control and faster, more accurate production to our customers,” said Richard Boyce, Pressroom Manager for CCG.  “With InkZone, our pressroom team is able to view trends in a job in real time so that issues can be addressed before the naked eye is able to register them.  Having InkZone is like having radar.  It allows us to see what is going to happen before it happens and to resolve any issues expeditiously.”

With InkZone, the interface between prepress and press is both powerful and economical.  InkZone is based on JDF technology and is fully compliant with global workflows and international standards. With InkZone, the CCG prepress department now uses InkZone DI-Plot software to send ink coverage values in the form of JDF files to InkZone Perfect for conversion to calibrated machine and print-related values for presetting the ink keys and ductor rollers. The InkZone hardware components send this data via network and in the specific format required by the press console.

The InkZone solution at CCG features two X-Rite EasyTrax scanners for measuring the color bar.  By measuring a color bar, the collected data is sent directly into the InkZone Loop software to automate that process.  X-Rite’s EasyTrax allows for ease of set-up that measures in both scanning and spot modes for use anywhere on a press sheet.  With laser alignment, press operators are assured of quality measuring results, and with X-Rite’s spectral accuracy, users can have confidence in their EasyTrax measurements.  The X-Rite EasyTrax comes standard with the Pantone digital library.