Installs InkZone Ink-Presets & Closed Loop Technology

Weymouth, MA – CMYK Distributors, Inc. today announces the installation of InkZone Ink-Presets and Closed Loop technology at Starline Printing in Albuquerque, NM.  Founded in 1957, Starline is a leader in the printing industry.  In particular, Starline has earned a reputation for excellence as the premier boutique/niche printer for the artistic community of New Mexico and the surrounding area.   They work with galleries, artists, auction houses, and photographers to produce the finest quality giclee and fine art prints, including signed and numbered pieces.   

They employ 43 professionals and operate in 60K square feet in the heart of Albuquerque.  The company has a strong tradition of embracing new technology and remaining ahead of the technological curve to be a driving force in the marketplace.  With the only heat set web press in New Mexico, three Heidelberg sheet-fed presses, and two digital presses, as well as finishing, bindery, and mailing capabilities, Starline Printing is truly a full-service commercial printing facility, in addition to serving the needs of the fine arts market.

Starline Printing Company is also a leader in environmental sustainability.  They have embraced the growing trend toward more environmentally responsible print production and they have developed a credible, well-managed, responsible, high-value program for ensuring that printed materials meet the highest environmental standards.  Building on that commitment and their need for highly accurate color consistency, Starline Printing chose Digital Information’s InkZone Ink-Presets and Closed Loop technology to enhance their pressroom automation, color consistency, and waste reduction needs.  

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 Starline Printing prepress department 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 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.  InkZone features a linearization wizard with SmartFilter for analyzing linearization jobs via Delta E and density deviation and creating filter sets (i.e. customize Delta E, density deviation, and time period).  It also features Best Match for printing toward optimized Delta E and adjusting the target density automatically.  This keeps the production run within tight limits.  Therefore, the data being sent to the press is highly accurate enabling Starline Printing to achieve run-to color significantly faster and with less waste.  

“As the leading printer for the artistic community in New Mexico and the surrounding region, color consistency is critical to our business,” said Michael Lake, Vice President of Operations for Starline Printing.  “With the installation of InkZone, we’ve seen a significant reduction in color variation from job to job.  In fact, since we started working with InkZone, we’ve nearly eliminated customer concerns related to color consistency—which is unheard of in the market we serve.  We are extremely impressed with the solution.  What’s more, we are on trend to realize a return on our investment in InkZone a lot faster than we anticipated.  We could not be more satisfied.” 

The InkZone solution at Starline Printing features an X-Rite IntelliTrax spectral scanner for measuring the color bar.  By measuring a color bar, the collected data is sent directly into the InkZone Loop software to automate the process.  This brings consistent color process control to the printed job.  The X-Rite IntelliTrax comes standard with the Pantone digital library.