Idealliance Certifies D-Tone-G7 Press Technology from Dragon Tone as a G7 Press Control System
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — January 20, 2017 — Idealliance, the communications industry association representing all facets of the global omnichannel media value chain, has certified D-Tone-G7 Press Control Technology from Dragon Tone as a G7 Press Control System, making real-time G7 conformance a reality.
The D-Tone-G7 Process Control System with DTone1 Software from Dragon Tone is a multi-process, patented press control technology that can be used to control the G7 gray balance, tonality, and many more press conditions in lithographic printing. It is only the second press control system to gain certification since Idealliance introduced the G7 Press Control System Certification Program in January 2016.
The certification program validates a press control system’s ability to monitor and control G7 gray balance and tonality in real time. Certified G7 Press Control Systems allow print service providers to fully realize the benefits of the G7 methodology in their daily print production, not just as a one-time calibration event.
While G7 is a well-proven methodology for calibrating printing systems, most offset press control systems still rely on traditional solid ink density measurements, with no way of monitoring and controlling G7’s mid-tone gray balance or neutral density aim values. The unique approach of the D-Tone Gray Balance press control gives priority to gray tonality and gray balance versus the traditional solid ink density measurements.
"The Idealliance G7 Press Control System Certification program has confirmed that D-Tone-G7 Press Technology can monitor and control a production press run according to G7 gray balance and tonality specifications through the use of the D-Tone 5040K- G7 Control Strip," says Tim Baechle, Idealliance Director of Global Print Media Markets & Technologies. "We congratulate Dragon Tone on producing the world’s second press control system to elevate G7 from a calibration procedure to a complete process control system from prepress to pressroom." The D-Tone Control Strip consists of large unbroken sections of alternating 50% Black and Neutral Gray CMY patches, with only a small number of conventional solid ink patches. This unique design principle makes it the first press control strip to make judging gray balance and tonality visually a practical alternative to traditional instrument-based measurements. Both instrumentation and visual judgment can be used together for best results.
"Thanks to this unique design concept, the visual judgment of gray balance and tonality is, for the first time in history, a practical alternative to traditional instrument-based press control," says Don Hutcheson, of HutchColor, LLC, who directed development of the Idealliance G7 Press Control System. "When combined with instrumentation, the D-Tone strip’s visual component lets the press operator react more quickly and more confidently to small changes in tonality or gray balance."
The D-Tone gray balance press control technique was developed in 2007, innovatively adopting a visual comparison technique that is instinctive to everyone, amplified by the Mach Bands Effect. Since its conception, hundreds of millions of sheets have been printed using this D-Tone process controlling technique for managing print quality and the products were successfully delivered with great customer satisfaction.
Among its benefits: Rapid, visual press control; reduced makeready time, material consumption, and energy consumption; and economically sound and environmentally friendly. The D-Tone technology can save machine setup time and minimize waste by determining cross-sheet “balance” directly on gray patches. It can also be classified as an energy saving, low carbon emission, "green" printing technology.
