ColorLogic

ColorLogic

ColorLogic is a company renounced for its color expertise, during the last 15 years they have developed an extensive portfolio in the field of color management technologies, as well as powerful and innovative products for demanding customers. The huge response – particularly from their technology partners – encourages them to continuously improve and search better solutions to cope with the problems in day-to-day color reproduction and stay ahead in this competitive world of Color technology.

Compose is glad to have this opportunity to work with ColorLogic as a partner, we hope to bring more solutions to the market in different sphere, whether it is Inkjet or offset, whether it is basic CMYK or Multi-color space. Compose and Color Logic is here to help.

Colorlogic has a wide spectrum of software technology, but today we like to introduce the 3 key basic tools which will help customers of all walks of life. These are the basic tools for starting your way to accurate colors.

The three key products are: ColorAnt, CoPrA, and ZePrA.

ColorLogic | ColorAnt

ColorAnt is a software solution for the measurement data processing prior to profiling. There are many situations in which measurement data are not prepared correctly causing trouble when creating the ICC profiles. There could be reading errors from the instrument, print errors or other artifacts (e.g. inhomogeneous data) resulting in a less than perfect measurement data quality. To optimize the measurement data and to intelligently average multiple data sets, ColorAnt is the perfect tool.

ColorLogic | ColorAnt

Multiple tools like optical brightener correction for papers or tone value curve adaptation for various specifications (e.g. according to G7, ISO or house standards), smoothing, error correction, white point adaptations, averaging and idealization of measurement data for standardization purposes are available in this powerful, but still easy-to-use solution. The spectral editing of primaries and automatic calculation of overprints in complete sets of measurement data, allows creation of printer profiles even without time and cost intensive printing of large test charts. Additional analyzing, comparing, reporting and viewing features assist you in figuring out potential sources of error and which tools to use to correct them. Another highlight of the new ColorAnt is that it creates custom test charts which respect your specific requirements while working with different color spaces and it also supports your profile creation in the best possible way.

Smoothing tool to fine tune measurement data

Enhanced print production reliablity

Finally, the quality of ICC profiles is always dependent on the quality of the measurement data. Analyzing and optimizing measurement data allows higher profile quality which leads to a higher reliability of the whole print production process. With this in mind, ColorAnt helps to optimize every printer profiling tool in the market, whether it is ICC-compliant or not. You will be surprised how inexpensive a dramatically improved print quality and production reliability can be!

ColorAnt is offered in two different packages

ColorAnt M is designed for standard printing processes and color spaces, whereas ColorAnt L addresses the packaging and multicolor market.

Spectral Editing of Primaries

The Edit Primaries tool allows the user to add, remove, and exchange primaries or the paper/substrate into an existing measured test chart. In typical print production, adding or swapping ink(s) requires the expense of printing a full blown test chart. The Edit Primaries tool will simply require the spectral data of the new ink(s) to be added or exchanged. Edit Primaries will not only exchange the inks but also recalculate all overprints based on intelligent spectral color models and generates new measurement data. With this extraordinary tool you are immediately able to create all required data for calculating ICC profiles for modified color combinations.

Potential efficiency gain with the Edit Primaries tool in typical production scenarios

Variance in press condition

The characterization press run is slightly deficient in solid ink density or hue on one or more colors.

Exchange of paper/substrate

The inks shall be the same but a slightly different paper shall be used.

Exchanging inks in packaging print production

Create a new profile that swaps in e.g. Blue for a Cyan or a Rhodamine Red for Magenta.

Flexibility for packaging customers

Create different color variants from a full blown 7 color press characterization data set by deleting channels to building new characterization data sets without printing a new test chart. For example, from an original 7C data set (e.g. CMYK+Orange+Green+Violet) build variants for CMYK only, CMY+Violet, CMYK+Orange+Green or other combinations.

Increasing CMYK gamut

Adding a 5th, 6th or 7th color to a CMYK printing process.

ColorLogic | CoPrA

CoPrA is your control center for any output profiling task

CoPrA will allow you to produce high-quality output profiles with simple, easy to use tools. Using CoPrA, it is very easy to create printer, DeviceLink and SaveInk profiles for typical day-to-day color management challenges including sophisticated Multicolor scenarios. In addition, it is possible to save color conversions of any kind in the form of a DeviceLink profile, including selective and global corrections. Click here to learn more about the amazing Reprofiling technology included in CoPrA. The software includes all the essential tools and functions that a professional user needs in order to create high-quality profiles.

CoPrA is offered in different packages according to your profile needs:

Easy to use Interface

From the first look you will see that ColorLogic’s CoPrA, even packed with high-end technology, has an intuitive and easy-touse user interface. By starting the application a helpful Sidebar gives you access to all tools which includes a comprehensive graphical tool tip that appears to explain their intention. To start generating ICC profiles, DeviceLink profiles, edit an existing DeviceLink profiles, or calculate SaveInk profiles, simply click on the icon and CoPrA will guide you through all necessary steps.

Advantages of CoPrA at a glance:

CoPrA stands for “Color Profiling Application” and is a standalone application for MacOSX and Windows platforms that combines:

  • first-class ICC output profile creation
  • ICC DeviceLink technology for RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, and Multicolor color spaces, as well as for switching between color spaces (e.g. RGB-2-CMYK DeviceLinks)
  • Creation of SaveInk DeviceLink profiles for print optimization and saving of inks
  • The possibility of saving color transformations of any kind, e.g. selective or global corrections, in the form of a DeviceLink profile.
  • CoPrA offers highest professional quality in an application designed for the professional user as well as for the color management novice

CoPrA – Features and Modules

CoPrA is a high quality DeviceLink and printer profiling solution based on the ICC standard. The software includes all essential tools and functions needed in order to create high-quality profiles

The software consists of five different modules that can be ordered separate or in one of our interesting bundles:

  • DeviceLink profiling
  • DeviceLink editing
  • SaveInk profiling
  • Printer profiling
  • Multicolor add-on

Printer Profiling

CoPrA provides complete color control of separation settings for CMYK and Multicolor printer profiles

Depending on the packages CoPrA will profile the following color spaces: Gray, RGB, CMY, CMYK or Multicolor.

Creating printer profiles in CoPrA involves loading measurement and reference data and selecting the settings for profile generation.

Easy creation of profiles by using profiling settings

The profiling settings are a special feature of CoPrA, and can be saved and re-used or edited. This ensures consistent profiling and increased color quality in production. Once the required profile quality is achieved and results with a particular set of settings, simply retrieve these settings to create new profiles based on new measurement data – even if you’re not a color management expert.

CoPrA includes a number of standard settings immediately after installation for all five profiling modules, in addition, to the option of creating specialized settings for particular production environments. The additional rendering intents, in particular, help the user to achieve the very best quality. The different modes for controlling the black channel permit specific control of the separation characteristics. These options are complemented by the numerous possibilities for defining exceptions.

DeviceLink Profiling

DeviceLink profiles complement the use of “normal” ICC device profiles (device profiles are printer, monitor, and scanner profiles, for example) and are applied to certain tasks in order to achieve substantially better results in terms of quality and printing when converting and adapting colors. DeviceLink profiles specifically avoid many of the weaknesses of color conversion based on ICC device profiles.

CoPrA can create DeviceLink profiles for all combinations of color spaces: Gray, RGB, CMYK, Multicolor. The most important applications are CMYK-to-CMYK, RGB-to-CMYK and CMYK-to- Multicolor. To create DeviceLink profiles, a preconfigured ICC printer profile is required. If no ICC printer profile for a printing process or an output device is available, create it in the CoPrA Printer Profiling module.

DeviceLink profiles by editing

One of the more powerful features of CoPrA is creating DeviceLink profiles with the DeviceLink Editing module. These profiles can, for example, then be applied in automated fashion in a workflow program that supports DeviceLink profiles (e.g. a color server like ZePrA).

Simply open one of the supplied CoPrA Edit Charts that are installed with CoPrA in an image editing program (e.g. Adobe Photoshop) and make all the color corrections required. It is possible to add other image data to the Edit Charts. The corrections are applied globally to the entire Edit Chart. Based on this editing, CoPrA then calculates a new DeviceLink profile. This powerful function can be put to a wide variety of uses: recurring color corrections on different sets of image data, specifically prepare RGB image data for four-color or multicolor printing, apply gradation curves in the profile rather than in the RIP, create special effects, or simply fine-tune an existing DeviceLink profile.

Saving ink – Stabilizing the printing process

By optimizing the black composition of the data, SaveInk profiles make it possible to reduce the amount of cyan, magenta and yellow used – without any loss of quality and control the amount of TAC (total area coverage) reduction. Applying this function to a moderate degree enhances the stability of the printing process, while use of a stronger level saves a lot of ink. Additionally SaveInk functionality can also be combined with the other options available in CoPrA, e.g. color space conversion + SaveInk.

Multicolor Add-on

The multicolor add-on extents the use of either the printer or the DeviceLink profiling to other color spaces beyond CMYK.

The comprehensive Multicolor add-on supports:

  • 4-color-systems using CMY without black + either Red or Green or Blue inks
  • 5-color systems: CMYK + either Red or Green or Blue or CMY + either Red+Green, Red+Blue or Green+Blue
  • 6-color systems: CMYK + either Red+Green, Red+Blue or Green+Blue or CMY + Red+Green+Blue
    7-color systems: CMYK + Red+Green+Blue
  • 6-Farbsysteme: CMY + Rot+Gr?n+Blau, ohne Schwarz
  • The CMY channels can be exchanged with other similar inks, too. For example exchange Magenta with a reddish ink or Yellow with a beige ink.

Additional Tools

The ToolBox offers helpful and intuitive tools for different purposes. Apply device profiles and DeviceLink profiles on images with the Image Conversion, organize, analyze and optimize profiles easily by using the ProfileManager and monitor the creation of several profiles at once with the Batch Overview. Additional software like ColorAnt and UPPCT makes CoPrA the most comprehensive and high-end tool for the professional user.

Image Conversion

CoPrA will convert PSD, TIFF and JPEG files with the help of ICC device profiles and DeviceLink profiles. This function is very useful for checking the profile quality on the basis of images, since typical application programs do often not support all types of DeviceLink or multicolor profiles.

Profile Manager

The Profile Manager is now integrated with CoPrA. The ProfileManager allows the user to directly view, organize, analyze, compare or even adapt profiles after creation within the CoPrA environment. As an example it is possible to change the channel name of multicolor profiles according to the desired channel names or verify and check the quality of a profile by means of a profile report or even smooth the look up tables of your profiles.

Batch profiling

Batch profiling functions are incorporated in CoPrA allowing power users to create several profiles at once. Some of the advantages of batch profiling: While the first profile is already in the process of being calculated, load new measurement data, prepare the next profile(s) and likewise have them calculated. All the profiles to be calculated are displayed in the Batch Overview and are processed one after the other. With batch profiling and calculating numerous profiles successively, it is not necessary to wait until the calculation of the current profile to be completed before preparing the next profile for calculation.

Measure test charts with UPPCT

The Printer Profiling module additionally contains the possibility of directly measuring test charts for profile creation, rather than measuring and saving them exclusively via external measuring software and then importing them into CoPrA (which works fine, too). This was made possible by creating a link to the UPPCT software of the Swiss Center of Competence for Media and Printing Technology Ugra.

ColorAnt included in CMYK printer profiling module

Prior to creating printer profiles based on measurement data ColorLogic recommends checking and optimizing the measurement data to get the best possible profile quality. ColorAnt is included as part of the CoPrA M, L, XL and XXL packages making CoPrA a comprehensive and high-end tool for the professional user.

ColorLogic | ZePrA

ZePrA is ColorLogic’s sophisticated color server for MacOSX and Windows. It allows color conversion of PDF and Pixel files with ICC or DeviceLink profiles automatically. ZePrA closes the gap between manual color conversion and the use of a complex, expensive workflow solution. It’s practical orientation and ease of use ensures immediate results and avoids long integration phases. With the integration of Multithreading in ZePrA 5 the latest version speeds up your color conversions tremendously.

Integrating ZePrA color server into an existing workflow provides immediate increase in quality and efficiency. With the Auto Setup feature and simple to use interface, ZePrA can be implemented easily into most workflows. The ability to handle multicolor files, apply DeviceLink profiles to any color space conversion, and convert spot colors on-the-fly makes ZePrA a must have for any production environment.

Advantages of ZePrA at a glance:

  • Simple, clearly structured user prompting and setup
  • Extraordinarily high speed processing of files
  • Outstanding quality of PDF processing
  • Supports all common PDF/X standards
  • Modular solution which allows starting small and adding more modules later
  • Outstanding quality of color conversion
  • Supports color management for all color spaces including Multicolor
  • Missing DeviceLink profiles can be built on-the-fly with SmartLink and the integrated CoPrA
  • Adjust printer color deviations with the integrated Update Profile functionality
  • Sophisticated spot color handling
  • Easy to integrate into Enfocus Switch

The following table corresponding to the packages and modules for ZePra

ZePrA Features and Modules

ZePrA has many features to simplify and increase the quality of PDF color management. With the addition of extremely powerful modules and our SmartLink technology ZePrA can automate your companies color management workflow.

Auto Setup Wizard

ZePrA’s Auto Setup Wizard makes it easy to set up your color management workflow ZePrA’s Auto Setup Wizard makes it easy to set up your color management workflow The easiest way to automate color conversion is to use ZePrA’s Auto Setup Wizard and the DeviceLink Profile Sets or SmartLink. Just a few clicks are necessary to choose between different typical workflow options. Combined with our DeviceLink Sets or with the SmartLink module it is so simple to create save and high quality color workflows without being a color management expert. ZePrA automatically configures all the necessary hot folders and is instantly ready to process PDF, TIFF, JPEG or PSD files for the CMYK, RGB, Grayscale. Multicolor color spaces and spot colors. By creating a queue for a PDF/X-compliant workflow, the descriptive parameters for the output condition are automatically set.

SmartLink – DeviceLink generation on-the-fly

The automatic creation of DeviceLink profiles on-the-fly with SmartLink can be fine tuned towards your printing process The ColorLogic SmartLink function permits dynamic generation of DeviceLink profiles, taking various factors into consideration, such as preservation of the separation characteristics, use of the TAC of the target profile, preservation of pure colors with simultaneous dynamic gamut mapping. Even in cases where you cannot use already existing DeviceLink profiles, this offers you to exploit automatically the advantages of DeviceLink technology for the best color conversion results. Many options are available allowing you to define how SmartLink shall create the DeviceLinks, optimized for traditional printing like Offset, Gravure or Newspaper or targeted for Digital Printing or Large Format Printing. If you would like to have your own preferences regarding color conversion, you can easily adjust SmartLink with your own DeviceLink presets, because CoPrA SP is part of the SmartLink package!

Furthermore, SmartLink enables you to compensate deviations from either your home standard or to the desired printing standard. Our innovative Reprofiler technique allows compensation for any deviations by creating high-quality printer and DeviceLink profiles based on just a few measurements. Reprofiler SP, is also a part of the SmartLink package and it’s generated profiles can be easily integrated in ZePrA.

With the comprehensive XL package you can even automatically create SaveInk profiles for your own house standards. Select either one of the three preset saving options (SaveNeutral, Strong Save or SaveMax), or use CoPA SP to make your own presets and apply them directly in ZePrA.

Check out the quality advantages with SmartLink over normal ICC device conversions here. 

Other features of ZePra

With the new navigation panel in ZePrA 4 you can easily switch between configurations, queues and settings.

Current jobs can easily be monitored in the clearly structured Overview window, which is divided into jobs in progress, pending jobs, and processed jobs. The color quality of the converted file can be verified with the help of an integrated soft proof.

Using the Auto Setup wizard is just one possible way of setting up a configuration and workflow in ZePrA. You can define and automate any color conversion in the Configurations window. Your own configurations can be saved and applied to any hot folder, or duplicated and modified for other conversions.

There are separate areas for selecting the required conversion for each color space. In addition, options are available for sharpening, image compression, flattening, for the targeted handling of spot colors and the definition of PDF-specific settings.

Spot Color conversion

The sophisticated spot color module leads to high-quality conversion of spot colors to the target color space. Our spot color solution is aimed to printers whose customers impose stringent demands on the color-accurate rendering of spot colors. The target group particularly includes packaging printers who have to deal with numerous spot colors and want to optimize their printing process by converting spot colors into CMYK or Multicolor process colors. The ColorLogic solution offers printers the secure knowledge of getting the best possible conversion of spot colors into process colors, both in terms of colorimetry and regarding best printability. ZePrA uses spectral data and spot color libraries and can even optimize colors based on custom conversions, too.

Gradation corrections

Gradation curve corrections ensure compliance with printing standards and is helpful to compensate variables in the printing process. These printing characteristics can be directly included in the data. You may apply curves on process and spot colors. Gradations allows last minute changes to data, too.
For further information about ColorLogic ColorAnt and pricing, please contact us
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