Integrating Inkjet Printing And Colour Management

HP and X-Rite have formed a partnership that aims at integrating inkjet printing and colour management to provide what is claimed is the first colour managed inkjet system.

HP and X-Rite have formed a partnership that aims at integrating inkjet printing and colour management to provide what is claimed is the first colour managed inkjet system.

X-Rite said the system has true plug and play colour accuracy and consistency.

By incorporating an embedded spectrophotometer, based on the X-Rite Eye-One technology, and controlled from an HP Colour Centre, the new HP Designjet Z Photo Series printers are claimed to provide creative professionals colour accuracy, consistency and ease of use.

Together, HP and X-Rite believe they are providing transparent colour management, which has long been referred to as the 'holy grail' of colour management.

In X-Rite's opinion, colour management has been something that needed to be purchased and handled separately from the main task of printing.

By integrating colour management directly in to the printer, HP and X-Rite have been able to overcome those barriers, it is claimed.

Mounted on the printer carriage with completely self-contained optics and electronics, the embedded spectrophotometer is claimed to simplify accurate colour-matching, enabling automated ICC profiling and HP closed-loop colour calibration.

The user can create colour profiles in a few minutes, it is claimed, and can get accurate colour matches throughout the printing process.

The optional HP Advanced Profiling Solution software, which has also been developed within the HP and X-Rite partnership, includes X-Rite Profilemaker intelligent gamut mapping algorithms, which add the capability to calibrate monitors and create and edit CYMK profiles using X-Rite's patented built-in Small Testchart technology.

Francis Lamy, the chief technical officer at X-Rite, said: "Both HP and X-Rite have always been at the forefront of innovation and design.

The new Designjet Z printer series is the first result of our collaboration and will change the way creatives manage their workflows.

Together, HP and X-Rite have provided the industry with a new benchmark.

Creatives no longer have to think about colour management as a separate task - they just have to push the button." Stephen Nigro, senior vice president for graphics and imaging business at HP, added: "The new HP Designjet Z photo printer series reaches a broader audience, including social photographers and freelance designers, who do not necessarily have the desire to become colour management experts.

Powered by Eye-One colour technology, this system provides fully automated colour control, stunning results and breakthrough price performance.

We are delighted about the exceptional user experience which the HP Designjet Z will provide." Designjet Series Z also has extended support for its customer base.

Powered by X-Rite Colour Services, HP's colour expert support is said to offer customers a single point of contact.

The support covers colour management software and hardware, RIPS, design applications, output devices, drivers and operating systems.

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