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GMG ColorProof simplifies match between a variety of presses – irrespective of substrates, inks or other variables – to industry standards

Hingham, MA USA (July 01, 2010) – Cosmos Communications has installed GMG ColorProof to assure that proofs are consistent, irrespective of press, substrate, or inks used. In addition, the proofing system was deemed ready when the company conducted its recent G7 certification process.

Since 1933, Cosmos Communications has been a specialist in marketing and promotional support services. Its goal is to support clients with an array of creative and unique marketing support services to optimize the effectiveness of their promotional efforts. Its Total Marketing Support delivers a wide range of services, from award-winning print, to photography, web development and beyond. All resources are in-house.

Their 50-member print and prepress departments develop everything from catalogs and brochures to one-page ad inserts. Cosmos’ fleet of presses run the gamut from a digital Heidelberg DI press to a 40″ eight color perfecting press capable of running a 16 page 8 1/2 x 11 catalog in one pass.  In between are 40″ six, four, two and one color presses that perfect and have in-line aqueous coating.

In 2006, Cosmos was using its workflow to drive an inkjet printer for proofing. Because it used ICC profiles, any change in ink, paper, or other variable meant they had to rebuild their profiles – which was a hassle to do. “It was way too time consuming. We couldn’t get good color between printers. When we created a proof fingerprint from one printer, we had to remember where it was created, and for which press,” explains Derek Lambert, Cosmos Communications director of prepress technology. “Meanwhile, our first proprietary system jammed all the time and, while our second proprietary system was much better, we were spending $45-60,000 a month on materials.”

Lambert decided to look at new proofing systems, testing just about any system he could find. “My objectives were, above all, consistency along with easy maintenance and cost-efficiency. I also needed a system that would give halftone dots, because older print buyers were raised looking at dots. The consistency between two different model printers had to be same. I wasn’t proofing to an industry standard like GRACoL, but to a house standard. I needed selective color control. The first system I tested didn’t have it.”

The second system was much better, and Lambert was able to get a match between two printers. Unfortunately, the user interface was extremely cluttered, and the dot proofs had banding.
Then Lambert was told about GMG ColorProof. “Contrary to what I thought, it was an easy system to learn, with the help of the manuals and GMG’s training class.”

Lambert was able to create perfect proofs between his inkjet printers. “We purchased GMG ColorProof and GMG DotProof for three printers – an Epson 9880, an Epson 7880 and HP 1050C for newsprint. Our material costs were cut from $45-65,000 a month to $10,000 a month. Everyone is happy. Callibration is easy and fast, and the color accuracy is great. Our proofs pass all industry standards, and GMG ProofControl validates that. With GMG ColorProof, I can even build my own profiles. And, except for some newspaper proofs, even the older print buyers don’t require dot proofs any more.“

GMG ColorProof also became the ‘go-to’ system for spot colors. Cosmos’ proprietary system did not have every spot color available in its library. “I made a proof and sent it to one of my clients. It didn’t even match the swatch,” comments Lambert. “We sent a GMG ColorProof sheet that was dead on. It was more accurate than our proprietary system, and didn’t need expensive labor to swap toners in the machine to add extra colors. GMG ColorProof does everything automatically. All the selective controls for spot colors are great. They even let me tweak spots and tints.”

GMG ColorProof is also very fast. “Complicated jobs that might take GMG ColorProof 12 seconds took another system one to three minutes to produce,” adds Lambert. “We take photos for 400-page auction catalogs. We need accurate color and can’t wait all day for proofs. With GMG ColorProof, we don’t.”
Last year, Lambert decided that Cosmos needed to operate under an industry standard. Customer-driven demand drove Cosmos to work towards G7 certification. “Our GMG ColorProof system was basically ready for our G7 certification testing. It could create SWOP3, SWOP5 and our own Cosmos standards,” explains Lambert. “We needed to migrate from our Cosmos press standard. We went through the process with some G7 experts, profiled the presses, and became standards-based. Fortunately for us, our GMG proofing system didn’t need any work.”

“GMG ColorProof is a very user-friendly, cost-effective and color-accurate system. With it, printers can expect a substantial ROI,” concludes Lambert. “I’m already looking at my next investment, GMG InkOptimizer, to deliver more control on press, and less make-readies – and all with less ink.”

Note to Editor: Image of Derek Lambert, director of prepress technology Cosmos Communications is available to download from http://tinyurl.com/32ukf33 or on request from melindaw@splashpr.co.uk

About GMG: The software company founded in 1984 and located in Tuebingen, near Stuttgart, Germany, has a worldwide distribution network with local presence in France, Spain, Benelux, Nordic, the UK, Asia and the Americas. GMG has specialized in high-end color management for the entire graphic arts industry. Today, more than 10,000 systems have been sold across the industry spectrum from ad agencies, prepress houses and offset printers to newspapers, flexo converters and international gravure printing plants. In fact, the GMG ColorProof system has become the de-facto standard of Europe’s extensive gravure printing industry.

About the GMG family of products: GMG ColorProof, a color management software system, provides the most accurate way of calibrating digital inkjet proofing engines to produce digital contract color proofs, precisely matched to the printing press. GMG DotProof® enables users to generate contract quality halftone proofs, using the original bitmap data of the output RIP. Specifically tailored to the needs of the packaging industry is GMG FlexoProof, which supports specific flexo file formats and includes a complete Pantone® spot color library, along with other functions. GMG ColorServer is a tool for automatic color conversions – CMYK-to-CMYK, RGB-to-CMYK and RGB-to-RGB – for more efficient workflows. The GMG SmartProfiler wizard allows the profiling and calibration of different output devices, such as digital presses or large format systems, easily and quickly. GMG InkOptimizer automatically reduces chromatic colors, thus providing cost savings by reducing unnecessary ink usage, along with better print stability on press. GMG ProofControl is the ideal solution for instant, color-accurate verification of proofs. GMG PrintControl is one single software for standardizing the press from start to finish. GMG Media is a range of proofing-specific papers and films for the most popular inkjet printers. They are manufactured to high tolerances for color critical applications, available in a range of sizes.

© 2010 GMG GmbH & Co. KG. The GMG product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or service marks of GMG GmbH & Co. KG and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other company, brand, product and service names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Data is subject to change without notice.
For more information see www.gmgcolor.com

Contacts:
GMG GmbH & Co. KG
Bernd Staudt                Press contact:            Americas:
Marketing                Ruth Clark            Irvin Press
Phone: + 49 (0) 7071 938 74-48        Splash!PR            Press +
Fax: + 49 (0) 7071 938 74-22            Phone: + 44 (0) 1580 2411 77        Phone: +1 508-384-3660
Email: bernd.staudt@gmgcolor.com        Email: ruth@splashpr.co.uk        Email: irv@press-plus.com

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