IPA Color Proofing Roundup

For the third consecutive year, major proofing vendors will put their products under a microscope at the IPA Color Proofing RoundUp, held in conjunction with the IPA Technical Conference, June 7 – 9, 2005, in Rosemont, IL

The Proofing RoundUp will include a comprehensive, independent evaluation of today's color-proofing systems. Suppliers who are participating include: Agfa, CGS, Creo, DuPont Imaging Technologies, EFI, Fuji-Enovation, GMG Americas, Heidelberg, Integrated Color Solutions, and Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG). These suppliers will produce proofs from a special characterization data set developed by the IPA Proofing RoundUp leadership team. Proofs will be judged for: colorimetric accuracy, hard- and soft-copy visual image quality, spot color and PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, and output intent.

“In addition to evaluating all major proofing systems in the market today, we also will be evaluating soft-proofing systems in a unique live test, comparing press sheets to monitor proofs,” says Dr. Abhay Sharma, RoundUp team leader and a professor at Western Michigan University. “Judges for the RoundUp will be chosen from among conference participants, ensuring practical, real-world evaluations,” he says.

This year, users may participate directly in the RoundUp by downloading RoundUp test files and producing proofs on their own devices. Attendees are encouraged to bring their proofs to the conference for a personal evaluation by the RoundUp leadership team. (Test files can be downloaded at www.ipa.org/proofing.)

“This is a unique opportunity for conference attendees to gain new insight on proofing evaluation,” says Steve Bonoff, IPA president. “It will expand their understanding of proofing requirements and knowledge of color management.” (IPA: www.ipa.org)