Alwan Color Expertise and PerfectProof announce a collaborative agreement to integrate Alwan’s preflighting, standardization and optimization color technology within PerfectProof’s ProofMaster software solution suite for digital proofing, printing and cutting. The agreement offers a dynamic pairing of technologies that ensure a complete solution for accuracy throughout a digital workflow, delivering time savings and reduced ink consumption.

Alwan Color Expertise, a leader in standardization and color management implementation, is renowned for its CMYK Optimizer software for colour preflighting, standardization and optimization for CMYK separations and data. CMYK Optimizer enables design and prepress companies to quickly and accurately produce documents for problem-free printing. Printers gain the capability to control and improve the printability of jobs by optimizing the separation according to the process, press and paper used. Files standardized using CMYK Optimizer generate accurate proofs, easy to reproduce on press while facilitating optimal printability.

PerfectProof’s award-winning ProofMaster v3 is an all-in-one solution for contract proofing, digital large format printing, packaging mock-ups, point-of-sale and silk screen film production. ProofMaster drives all major printing applications with ease and accuracy from a single, user-friendly platform. Users benefit from a selection of expert tools that deliver flexibility and top-level results. Under the terms of the agreement, all existing and new ProofMaster customers, working on the Intel Macintosh and Power PC platforms, can achieve state of the art colour separation, standardization and optimization throughout the entire prepress workflow.

PerfectProof will bundle two customized versions of Alwan CMYK Optimizer software for its Proofmaster solutions.

ProofMaster Color Optimizer, color optimization for the press

This module ensures files that are fully color-optimized and press-ready. Its functionalities include the use of (embedded) ICC profiles for RGB and CMYK, color conversion tables, calculations for dot gain compensations and corrections, and file format options at the input and output side. Optimization settings include ink purity preservation options, rendering tables, deltaE calculations tables & formulas. The module easily integrates into a workflow via hot folders, FTP, Samba, AFP ….

ProofMaster Color Optimizer Pro, ink saving on the press

This module delivers the same powerful functionality and includes additional features such as GCR Ink Consumption and savings Statistics.

Elie Khoury, Founder and Managing Director at Alwan Color Expertise, comments: “The ProofMaster and CMYK Optimizer bundle offers a full-featured software solution that Mac users have been waiting for. Customers gain the capability to produce optimized PDF files and proofs that are fully compliant with the international printing process standards (ISO 12647) and are guaranteed to faultlessly print on the destination printing process.”

Mark Verbist, General Manager PerfectProof Europe, elaborates: “Our industry is moving to an increased level of standardization, ProofMaster’s Certify Option already enables all proofs to be certified to international standards and checks industry compliant file integrity through embedded Enfocus technology. The integration of Alwan’s technologies enables our customers to standardize all aspects of their production including the actual printing process.”

“Alwan’s standardization and optimization solutions are the perfect addition to PerfectProof’s offerings, because we consider color accuracy and predictability as essential for high quality proof and mock-up making, be it in the commercial printing, the packaging or the signage market. ProofMaster has an excellent reputation in the market with over 5000 active installations worldwide”, states Mark Verbist.

Standardization is a key asset in a world where global branding for a complete product range requires exactly the same color, regardless of the geographical location where materials are printed. “Standardization and optimization, combined with the utmost flexibility for last minute changes, are a must,” explains Mark Verbist. “The ProofMaster Optimizer Pro bundle also reduces the ink usage, delivering significant cost savings. Reduced ink consumption also benefits the environment, an increasingly important production issue in the print industry.”

Elie Khoury of Alwan, points out that OEM partnerships are a key element in Alwan’s corporate strategy. Leading companies such as Dalim, Enfocus and Artwork Systems have endorsed Alwan’s innovative technology. “We are excited to add PerfectProof to this growing list. End users will greatly benefit from the complimentary synergy between their proofing solutions and Alwan’s CMYK Optimizer products,” states Khoury.

Mark Verbist concludes: “Our cooperation with Alwan enables our customers to gain full color management at any stage of the workflow, using just one interface. They can profit from a significant increase in user friendliness, a consistent flow, and a shorter learning curve, with the convenience of one dedicated contact person for support issues. On the strategic side, we are convinced that Alwan’s industry standard color management and standardization software will reinforce PerfectProof’s competitive positioning and product line in a market with an increasing demand for color management and standardization software.”

Alwan and PerfectProof will share a stand at FESPA, 5-9 June in Berlin, to demonstrate their solutions, including ProofMaster Optimizer (Pro). ProofMaster Color Optimizer and ProofMaster Color Optimizer Pro will become commercially available as of May 2007.