ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH

Roger Albert becomes VP of Global Sales at ColorGATE

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 09:12:00 +0200

ColorGATE, a leading vendor of powerful software and hardware products for color critical digital printing applications, adds another well-known industry expert to its management team: Roger Albert has joined the company as VP of Global Sales and Business Development on June 1st.

Roger brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the role. Roger’s professional career includes positions with Stork, Océ, Canon, Kornit Digital and GMG Color. He will report directly to ColorGATE’s Founder and CEO Thomas Kirschner and oversee all of ColorGATE’s Sales activities relating to the direct, indirect and OEM channels. Roger’s primary objective will be building a well-structured global sales organization with a strong customer focus that will be able to handle ColorGATE’s future growth and new product offerings.

Roger is excited about the new challenge: “All of my previous roles had a connection to ColorGATE’s field of activity. I have been working in conventional and digital textile printing, sign and display, commercial and packaging printing. RIP and color management technology has always been the vital thread for my customers’ success. I am looking forward to applying my knowledge, to optimizing the potential of the Sales team and to helping even more customers and prospects to find the ColorGATE solution that is right for them.”

“ColorGATE keeps growing in both commercial and industrial printing applications, and we are planning to add more products and services to our portfolio. This requires a flexible, scalable, diversified sales team, and I am very happy to have Roger on board who will help us to put a world-class organization together”, comments Thomas Kirschner, Founder and CEO of ColorGATE.

About ColorGATE

For more than 20 years, ColorGATEs software, color and service competence has been driving the digitalization of the printing industry. The company offers a broad range of proofing and color management solutions for graphic arts and large format printing, but it is also growing strongly in the growing industrial printing market. ColorGATE offers digital expertise and solutions for printing system manufacturers, as well as print service providers and technology users in décor, ceramics, textile and packaging printing.

ColorGATE delivers an innovative, tailor-made and modular portfolio of software and hardware solutions for industrial printing and decoration applications along the entire process chain. ColorGATE puts a special focus on accurate and consistent color reproduction, combined with highest performance.

ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

Update: Version 10.33 available!

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 09:31:00 +0100

Version 10.33 is now available for download (please note that you need to be logged in in our service and support area). Here are some of the highlights of the new version:

New Drivers:

Beginning with version 10.33 our software supports the following devices: Printer:

Durst RHOTEX 325
Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro
Mimaki JFX-200-2513 EX
Roland LEF2-200
Roland SF-200

Measurement Devices:

Cruse Scanner
X-Rite i1i0 for i1Pro3 Plus
X-Rite i1Pro3 Plus

The complete list of all new drivers can be found in the release notes.

New Module: Retouch Module

ColorGATE enables you to achieve precise color reproduction, even in complex production processes. But what if last-minute changes have to be made to the print data, after color management has been completed? With the Retouch module for Industrial Productionserver, you can retouch the color-corrected ColorGATE print data in external image processing software such as Adobe Photoshop without having to recalculate it afterwards. You can also edit multichannel files in a representative color view. Advantages of the new Retouch Module:

Retouching of print files in image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop
Creates a retouch file with a special retouch profile, enabling a representative color view during image editing
Supports xCLR print data with up to eight color channels
Works perfectly in combination with the patented Fingerprint technology

More information about the Retouch module can be found here.

Improvements and Bugfixes

With version 10.33 some improvements and corrections have been implemented:

User interface now also in Japanese and Russian
Updating of the user interface in various languages, including Italian and Spanish
Improvements in the processing of e.g. certain PDF and JPEG files
Numerous extensions and bugfixes for printer and encoder drivers

All improvements and corrections can be found in the release notes.

If you have any questions about the release, please open a web support ticket or contact Customer Service at cs@colorgate.com. Our team will contact you as soon as possible.

Color Management and RIP Software in Digital Textile Printing

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 12:11:00 +0100

Software and workflow topics are often underrepresented in the machine-dominated textile industry, although they have a decisive influence on quality and cost-effectiveness. In his article in Textil Plus "RIP technology, color measurement and color management in digital textile printing" Oliver Luedtke, CMO at ColorGATE, explains why using the right RIP software is one of the crucial points in digital textile printing and points out the benefits of professional color management. You can download the article here. Have fun reading!

Christoph Herzog Becomes Manager Business Development

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 10:56:00 +0100

New team member at ColorGATE: Christoph Herzog, an industry expert, becomes the new Manager Business Development.

Christoph has more than 20 years of experience. He has held senior sales positions at leading companies such as EFI and Durst and is familiar with the digital challenges facing the industry. Christoph will focus on new and existing markets and further expand our distribution channels. His expertise will enable him to initiate exciting projects with our technology partners, and ensure that our products remain at the cutting edge of technology.

Christoph is looking forward to his new tasks: „ColorGate has long been known to me as a provider of high-quality RIP solutions for various markets. In recent years, ColorGate has succeeded in asserting itself in difficult market conditions and in achieving a leading position as an innovative company in the industrial environment. I am looking forward to the challenge of further developing the various markets and strategically aligning and strengthening the sales channels, both direct and indirect.“

InPrint 2019: ColorGATE Shows Several Innovations

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 10:35:00 +0100

ColorGATE, a leading supplier of high-performance software and hardware for color-critical digital printing applications, is presenting its broad portfolio for standardizing and automatizing of the entire process chain in inkjet printing at InPrint 2019 in Munich.

For the first time, ColorGATE is showing its current project with the Austrian IPAC: a new system for inline quality assurance and color correction in digital printing, for example in the production of furniture surfaces, laminates and floors.

Inline Color Measurement and Automatic Color Matching: IPAC The Inline Colour Measurement System (ICMS) is the latest development from IPAC, a technology leader for colorimetric quality control of decorative surfaces. The ICMS enables fully automated production monitoring tailored to the respective print image. Color drifts are detected in real time. Profiling also takes place in the production process, without targets, directly on the sample. The previously common offline workflow with the measuring of test forms is no longer necessary The multi-spectral inline scanner can be used for different materials (e.g. paper or wood) and printing processes, and supports the definition, evaluation and reproduction of the color impression of decorative surfaces.

IPAC and ColorGATE are working together on a project for Closed Loop Color Correction. The result is a joint solution for correcting measured color drifts during ongoing production.

The ICMS splits a decorative surface into spots that are spectrally measured

Spot Colors in Digital Packaging Printing Another highlight at ColorGATE’s booth will be the upcoming version of Packaging Productionserver, the modular RIP, workflow and color management solution for packaging production. The new Spectral Spot Module from ColorGATE supports the spectral characterization of spot colors based on the latest CxF/X4 standard. While conventional CIELAB-based color definitions are only binding for certain illuminants and viewing conditions, spectrally defined spot colors can be used very flexibly and with maximum color accuracy.

Starting with the upcoming major release, ColorGATE's Productionserver will also support the color palettes from PantoneLIVE and the HLC color atlas from freieFarbe e.V. With the Spectral Spot Module, users can create and communicate their own color tables and achieve color-accurate print results.

3D Surface Director: Complete surface capture with SuperScan Also on display at the ColorGATE booth will be the 3D Surface Director, a comprehensive scan-to-print solution consisting of the ultra-fast Surf 3D scanner from Metis srl. and ColorGATE's Productionserver. With the SuperScan of the Surf 3D light direction and intensity can be controlled. In addition to color, structure and gloss properties of an object can also be captured. With this data, original designs can be reproduced accurately or completely new designs can be created.

ColorGATE's color management systems enable color-accurate printing on a wide variety of output systems. In combination with a 3D printer, test prints of newly designed objects can be created directly on site.

About ColorGATE For more than 20 years, ColorGATEs software, color and service competence has been driving the digitalization of the printing industry. The company offers a broad range of proofing and color management solutions for graphic arts and large format printing, but it is also growing strongly in the growing industrial printing market. ColorGATE offers digital expertise and solutions for printing system manufacturers, as well as print service providers and technology users in décor, ceramics, textile and packaging printing. ColorGATE delivers an innovative, tailor-made and modular portfolio of software and hardware solutions for industrial printing and decoration applications along the entire process chain. ColorGATE puts a special focus on accurate and consistent color reproduction, combined with highest performance. ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

About IPAC Improve Process Analytics and Control GmbH (IPAC), based in Villach, Austria, is a member of the Fagus-GreCon Group. IPAC is a technology leader for color measurement of decorative surfaces. Our products ACMS™ - hyperspektral offline and ICMS™ - multispectral, inline support our customers in the definition, evaluation and reproduction of the color impression of decorative surfaces. The IPAC quality of colour measurement is the basis for Digital Quality Management (DQM). The visual control of the color impression of physical samples along the entire industrial value chain will be replaced by certificates generated offline with ACMS™ as well as inline with ICMS™.

www.ipac.at/en

Oliver Luedtke becomes Chief Marketing Officer at ColorGATE

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 10:34:00 +0200

ColorGATE, a leading vendor of powerful software and hardware products for color critical digital printing applications, sets the course for further growth and improves its organization once more: Oliver Luedtke, well-known marketing and communications expert in the inkjet industry, has been put in charge of managing and developing ColorGATE’s marketing organization. As Chief Marketing Officer, he is a member of the executive board. His scope of responsibility includes marketing communication, product management and technical documentation.

Oliver has been active in the digital printing industry since more than 20 years. He holds a degree in printing technology and has experienced and influenced the digitalization of the printing industry from the beginning. Before joining ColorGATE, Luedtke held senior positions with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Best GmbH, EFI and Kornit Digital.

Oliver is looking forward to his new challenge: “I have known ColorGATE since the nineties, and I have always been impressed by the way the company adjusted to the ever-changing market conditions, in a highly flexible and innovative fashion. ColorGATE has been a technology leader in digital proofing and color management and has recently been growing with its industrial printing products, be it for ceramics, packaging, textiles or décor printing. The products are technologically very advanced, but I do see an opportunity for raising ColorGATE’s profile and to make its products and services known to even more users.”

Thomas Kirschner, Founder and CEO of ColorGATE comments: “I am very happy that we got Oliver on board. We will benefit significantly from his international experience in many areas of digital printing. In our initial talks, we already agreed that industrial inkjet printing holds a huge growth opportunity for us, but also requires us to communicate our competence and strategy clearly. On top of that, Oliver brings a very pragmatic approach with him, as well as a strong sales focus.”

About ColorGATE

New video: Optimization of digital tile decoration at Deutsche Steinzeug

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 16:15:00 +0200

ColorGATE offers innovative and modularly configurable workflow and color management solutions for the entire production process of digital ceramic printing.

Deutsche Steinzeug Cremer & Breuer AG is one of the leading suppliers of ceramic covering materials. At four locations in Germany “quality ceramics made in germany” are produced.

After installing several 3D Surface Directors in combination with ColorGATE's Ceramic Productionserver, we accompanied Deutsche Steinzeug through the design and production process for a few days. Watch our User Success Story to get a unique insight into the advantages of our solution.

If you are interested in our solutions, we will be happy to inform you. Please use our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us at +49 511 94293-0

ColorGATE Productionserver 10 achieves compliancy with Ghent PDF Output Suite 5

Tue, 14 May 2019 11:40:00 +0200

The Ghent Workgroup is happy to announce that ColorGATE Productionserver 10 is now fully compliant with the Ghent PDF Output Suite 5, perfectly processing all 48 test patches, a critical test for determining quality printing of PDF documents. Read the press release here

FESPA 2019: ColorGATE and freieFarbe e.V. cooperate to provide spectral descriptions of spot colors

Thu, 09 May 2019 11:07:00 +0200

For effective brand color management, high color accuracy is required for spot colors, e.g. when creating packaging using digital printing or when creating digital inkjet proofs for conventionally produced packaging (e.g. flexible packaging, folding boxes, cardboard boxes). There is also an increasing demand for high color accuracy in the reproduction of corporate colors on textiles. However, many manufacturers have launched their own color collections for their products, so the number of color collections in use around the world is certainly in the thousands. Free color calculation is hardly possible, color comparisons must be calculated manually. Copyright law sets further limits to free use. Open color communication for consistent color output ColorGATE and freieFarbe e.V. are working together to offer a solution for that: open communication and management of spot colors based on mathematical color models and open standards. Colors that are represented in a mathematical model with a fixed step size do not enjoy copyright protection. This is beneficial, because, for example, it enables the publication of the RGB or CYMK values, as well as the comparison to other systems or the arbitrarily fine calculation of intermediate and opposing colors.

About CIELAB CIELAB and spectral data are the most important standards in industrial color practice, i.e. in the measurement and formulation of color. The device-independent and fully computable LAB color space introduced in 1976 is standardized according to ISO 17972 and is supported by numerous application programs and exchange formats used by the graphic industry such as PDF, TIFF and JPEG. It allows copyright-free definition of any color. The mathematical models CMYK and RGB, on the other hand, are limited to the underlying output situation, the so-called "gamut". In contrast to RGB and CMYK, the LAB color space is also equally spaced. This means: A certain color distance (e.g. 2) provides a color difference of approximately the same size, no matter in which color range it is detected. This allows color accuracy to be communicated very easily. For a higher intuitivity of the color values, the CIELAB polar coordinates HLC are used instead of the Lab color values. HLC stands for: • H: Hue • L: Lightness • C: Chroma DIN SPEC 16699 "Open Color Communication" describes procedures for professional communication of color from design to production. This includes in particular the production of color atlases based on the CIELAB HLC color space, the use of inkjet printing systems and the use of spectral data in the open CxF format. freieFarbe e.V. promotes license-free open color communication in order to enable consistent color results in all application areas and coloring processes. As a practical tool, freieFarbe e.V. produces color atlases based on DIN SPEC 16699 and thus provides the corresponding CIELAB and spectral data free of charge in order to develop further application areas (e.g. color recipe).

CIELAB HLC Colour Atlas by freieFarbe e.V. Spectral Spot Module: CIELAB HLC Coulor Atlas for fully digital and non-standardized printing environments The HLC Colour Atlas libraries are included in the upcoming major release of ColorGATE: in the new Spectral Spot Module. The benefits of open color communication will be brought to fully digital production environments for the first time, whilst effective brand color management has also arrived in non-standardized printing environments, such as digital packaging printing. The Spectral Spot Module enables the creation and management of extensive spot color tables. It supports spot color descriptions in CxF/X4 format according to ISO 179972-4. This improves the reproduction accuracy in both commercial and industrial printing applications, especially when using digital printing. This innovative solution improves the entire production workflow, from designer through prepress and production to finishing. "As a long-time companion for accurate and consistent color in digital production, we are pleased to support this well thought-out and easy-to-use initiative from freieFarbe e.V. and thus offer our users a cost-effective way to communicate and share colors across applications.", says Thomas Kirschner, CEO and founder of ColorGATE. "We are delighted about our partner membership and the good cooperation with ColorGATE. Free color communication in the wide range of applications of modern inkjet printing is the gateway to new, sometimes unexpected color perspectives.", says Holger Everding, chairman of freieFarbe e.V.

FESPA 2019 At FESPA 2019 in Munich, May 14- 17, ColorGATE presents the new Spectral Spot Module for the first time. Meet our trained and customer-oriented application specialists at booth K 26 in hall B4. Our team will be pleased to advise you on your personal challenges in the field of commercial and industrial printing. Jan-Peter Homann from freieFarbe e.V. will also be at ColorGATE’s booth for a while. You can inform yourself about freieFarbe e.V. and also have the possibility to check sample prints.

About ColorGATE For more than 20 years, ColorGATEs color competence has been supporting the graphic arts industry with its printing equipment manufacturers as well as producers, operators and technology users for Sign & Display, decor, ceramic, textile and packaging. The market for large format printing with its applications in LFP and Wide Format also benefits from ColorGATEs solution competence on the way from analogue to digital printing and into the future of Print 4.0. ColorGATE has been successful on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing and the revolution of inkjet technology since the beginning in 2000. ColorGATE delivers an innovative, tailor-made and modular portfolio of software and hardware solutions in the specific application areas for industrial printing and decoration processes along the entire process chain. Effective color management always ensures optimal color rendering and consistent reproduction, while standardization and automation of the production processes maximize productivity with flexible configuration, as needed. ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

About freieFarbe e.V. (free Colour Association) The non-profit association was founded in 2016 by German and Swiss color experts. It promotes digital color communication with open, mathematically defined color models and ISO standards. In cooperation with DIN, the DIN SPEC 16699 "Open Color Communication" was developed and its reference implementation, the CIELAB HLC Colour Atlas, published. This atlas includes a freely available PDF version as well as spectral color libraries and a high-precision print output for physical reference. freieFarbe is supported by various companies working in the fields of color communication and output, and anyone who wants to support the free color approach is invited to participate. freieFarbe e.V., Oldenburg, Germany www.freiefarbe.de / www.freecolour.org Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy

FESPA 2019: ColorGATE announces cooperation with X-Rite Pantone in Brand Color Management

Thu, 09 May 2019 09:49:00 +0200

Spectral characterization of spot colors is necessary for both commercial and industrial printing applications to ensure brand color consistency across the entire process chain. Without spectral data, the sharing of spot colors through the supply chain can be ambiguous leading to color inconsistencies, rework and added waste. This is especially true when producing digitally-printed packaging or digital proofs for conventionally manufactured packaging, as brand owners are demanding a higher level of color accuracy and repeatability.

ColorGATE & PantoneLIVE™: Cloud-based spot color management across substrates and printing processess

ColorGATE will support X-Rite’s PantoneLIVE cloud-based digital color standard ecosystem in its upcoming release. ColorGATE is offering the benefits of PantoneLIVE to proofing systems as well as digital production environments to help streamline color communication and improve production. With PantoneLIVE, brand owners and producers have the option to receive relevant spot color definitions for non-standardized processes and substrates on the base of spectral data descriptions. This enables brands and designers to communicate color palettes across substrates and printing processes.

By using ColorGATE´s implementation of PantoneLIVE, producers and brand owners gain access to a wide range of digital industrial print devices for label printing, direct-to-object decoration as well as digital printing presses for corrugated packaging. In addition to the wide range of derived Pantone color definitions, it is also possible for brands to create and define custom color palettes and share those with everyone involved in the production process, from the design concept to finishing, via the cloud.

With ColorGATE´s driver range, control of digital printing systems is effectively provided and brand color management has now arrived even in non-standardized printing environments, such as digital packaging printing. The entire production workflow, from the designer to prepress and production to finishing, benefits from effective color management, consistent reproduction and innovative workflow solutions.

Spectral Spot Module: Presentation @ FESPA 2019

In addition to the PantoneLIVE support, ColorGATE will release the new Spectral Spot Module that enables spectral characterization of spot colors both for commercial and industrial printing applications and thus improves reproduction accuracy, especially when reproduced using digital printing. The module supports spot color descriptions in CxF/X4 format according to ISO 179972-4.

ColorGATE’s new Spectral Spot Module will be presented for the first time at FESPA 2019, May 14 - 17 in Munich. At booth K26 in hall B4 attendees can meet ColorGATE´s application specialists, who will be pleased to consult on all challenges in the field of commercial and industrial printing.

“We are happy to present ColorGATE´s unique implementation of X-Rite’s leading cloud solution PantoneLIVE for global brand color management and help the growing number of ColorGATE users produce accurate spot colors using the numerous digital production presses that we drive with our commercial and industrial Productionserver,” says Thomas Kirschner, ColorGATE´s CEO and co-founder.

“We are excited to further expand the PantoneLIVE partner ecosystem to meet the evolving needs of digital and industrial printers,” says Iain Pike, Director of Partner Business Development at Pantone. “With ColorGATE’s support of 1600 different digital printing systems, users will appreciate the flexibility in digital production applications and direct-to-object printing when reproducing PantoneLIVE colors.”

About ColorGATE

For more than 20 years, ColorGATE’s color competence has been supporting the graphic arts industry with its printing equipment manufacturers as well as producers, operators and technology users for Sign & Display, decor, ceramic, textile and packaging. The market for large format printing with its applications in LFP and Wide Format also benefits from ColorGATE’s solution competence on the way from analogue to digital printing and into the future of Print 4.0.

Since the beginning in 2000, ColorGATE has been successful on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing and the revolution of inkjet technology.

ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

About PantoneLIVE

PantoneLIVE is a cloud-based solution that enables the Pantone color language to be communicated and targeted for accurate color production across the entire supply chain – from design concept to final color production. The PantoneLIVE family includes PantoneLIVE Design, PantoneLIVE Production – Print & Packaging and PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings, and Textile. The different offerings are tailored to meet the specific needs of designers, color material suppliers, and manufacturers working with paper, film, plastics, coatings and textiles. The PantoneLIVE family is supported by licensed hardware and software that enables each area of the packaging, plastic, coatings, and textile supply chains to access spectral data for matching Pantone Colors, in addition to specific brand palettes. This results in consistent and repeatable color across product families, regardless of material, media or print technology, providing a cohesive brand approach. For more information, please see www.pantone.com/live

About X-Rite

Founded in 1958, X-Rite Incorporated is a global leader in the science and technology of color and appearance. With Pantone, X-Rite employs more than 800 people in 11 countries. The company’s corporate headquarters are located in Grand Rapids, Mich., with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia and service centers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. X-Rite offers a full range of solutions used by manufacturers, retailers, printers, photographers and graphic design houses to achieve precise management and communi-cation of color and appearance throughout their pro-cesses. X-Rite products and services are recognized standards in the printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles and medical industries. For further information, please visit www.xrite.com

About Pantone

Pantone provides the universal language of color that enables color-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. More than 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate and control color from inspiration to realization – leveraging advanced X-Rite technology to achieve color consistency across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design. Pantone Standards feature digital and physical color specification and workflow tools. The Pantone Color Institute™ provides customized color standards, brand identity and product color consulting as well as trend forecasting inclusive of Pantone Color of the Year, Fashion Runway Color Trend Reports, color psychology and more. Pantone B2B Licensing incorporates the Pantone Color System into different products and services, enabling licensees to communicate and reproduce certified Pantone values and improve efficiencies for their users. Pantone Lifestyle brings color and design together across apparel, home, and accessories. Learn more at www.pantone.com

X-Rite is a registered trademark of X-Rite, Inc. PANTONE®, PantoneLIVE™ and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Pantone is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. Licensed under Sun Chemical Corporation. Sun Chemical’s patented technology enables the communication of a consistent, digital description of the desired appearance of a product. – U.S. Patent Nos. 7,034,960; 7,202,976; 7,268,918; 7,417,764; 7,738,149 and their foreign equivalents. © Pantone LLC, 2019. All rights reserved.

Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy

FESPA 2019: ColorGATE expands portfolio of workflow and color management solutions for wide format and industrial printing

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:24:00 +0200

Digital inkjet solutions from color standardization to print automation up to flexible mass production ColorGATE will be presenting its updated solution portfolio for commercial and industrial printing at FESPA 2019, taking place from 14 to 17 May at the Munich Exhibition Center. With the brand-new Spectral Spot Module, ColorGATE is bringing effective brand color management into fully digital and non-standardized production environments for the first time. Another innovation: the Textile PS DTG Edition. The modular and individually configurable software was specially developed for use in combination with direct-to-garment printing systems from almost all leading manufacturers.

Also discover ColorGATE’s Adobe PDF Print Engine based RIP software families Productionserver, Filmgate and Proofgate, as well as the Industrial Productionserver range for almost all application areas:

• Décor (décor paper, roll-to-roll or direct-to-board)

• Textile, ceramic, floor tiles, wallpaper, glass printing

• Packaging (Direct-to-object decoration e.g. bottles, cans or other containers)

Visit ColorGATE at booth K26 in hall B4.

Interested visitors can use this link for free entry at FESPA 2019.

RIP and Color Management solutions for standardization, automation and tailor-made workflows

Digital inkjet printing has revolutionized industrial printing. ColorGATE's expertise supports manufacturers and users of inkjet technology on their way to the future of Print 4.0. The application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions are characterized by a tailor-made workflow for achieving optimum quality standards with a high degree of automation and offer modular functionalities that can be adapted and extended at any time to specific requirements in terms of performance, area of application and type and number of devices used. For industrial applications, ColorGATE focuses on the flexible design and decoration of products in real time directly in the manufacturing process, whether in classic mass production or in production scenarios of mass customizing, in which customer-specific adjustments are made in mass production.

ColorGATE Productionserver offers optimally standardized color accuracy and, above all, color consistency for follow-ups and reprints. This is ensured by Media Device Synchronization (MDS).

Media Device Synchronization (MDS) – consistent color quality, idependent of production location Even for geographically separated production sites, ColorGATE’s Media Device Synchronization can guarantee a consistent visual output. This is achieved by characterizing a printing system as a master reference and using MDS to match the color characteristics of the desired target systems to the reference system. In this process, the individual color differences caused by printer-specific color characteristics and production-related differences are compensated. Once a reference state has been defined, the printers managed by MDS can always be recalibrated to this state. This guarantees color-accurate production, on any device, at any time.

Spectral Spot Module – Brand Color Management in cooperation with PantoneLIVE and freieFarbe e.V.

ColorGATE will be presenting the new Spectral Spot Module for the first time at FESPA. This module enables the spectral characterization of spot colors both for commercial and industrial printing applications and thus improves reproduction accuracy, especially when reproduced using digital printing. Spot color descriptions in CxF/X4 format according to ISO 179972-4 are supported. High color consistency for spot colors is required especially when producing packaging using digital printing, or when producing digital proofs for conventionally manufactured packaging such as flexible packaging, folding boxes or cardboard boxes using inkjet. There is also an increasing demand for accuracy in the color reproduction of corporate colors on textiles. With Spectral Spot, these requirements can be met by creating and managing extensive spot color tables yourself.

In addition, starting with the upcoming major release, ColorGATE will be supporting PantoneLIVE, X-Rite's cloud-based solution for the digital management and exchange of spot colors, which will also be presented at FESPA. With PantoneLIVE, designers and brand owners can access color palettes across printing processes and substrates and define and communicate these using the cloud.

In cooperation with freieFarbe e.V., ColorGATE offers a further range of products for managing spot colors.

freieFarbe e.V. promotes license-free, open color communication in order to achieve consistent color results in all application areas and coloring processes. The association has initiated DIN SPEC 16699 "Open Color Communication", which describes procedures for communicating color professionally from design to production and provides license-free HLC color libraries for this purpose. These color libraries will also be included in the upcoming major release.

ColorGATE brings the advantages of PantoneLIVE and freieFarbe e.V. to fully digital production environments for the first time (in addition to proof printing). With the direct control of digital printing systems, effective brand color management has now arrived even in non-standardized printing environments, such as digital packaging printing. The entire production workflow, from the designer to prepress and production to finishing, benefits from effective color management, consistent reproduction and innovative workflow solutions.

Measure Mount & ColorScout: automated color measurement for industrial printing

Effective color management is only possible on the basis of high-quality color measurements. Following this guiding principle, ColorGATE will be presenting two solutions at its booth that enable the use of high-quality spectrophotometers in industrial printing applications.

ColorGATE supports a number of well-known spectrophotometers, which were originally intended for single-patch measurements only, in combination with the ColorScout A+ XY table and thus enables automated color measurement of targets in conjunction with the Profiler modules. For the measurement of round bodies, ColorGATE offers the Measure Mount, the only solution that allows using X-Rite's handheld i1Basic Pro 2 for the color measurement of cylindrical and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses.

ColorGATE launches Textile PS DTG Edition

With the Textile Productionserver (TPS), ColorGATE offers performance-oriented RIP and Color Management software for all areas of application in digital textile printing. The greatest challenges in textile printing include the handling of different fabrics and the consideration of functional properties, such as haptics and color stability (wash durability of the print), while at the same time ensuring high color accuracy and color consistency for follow-ups and reprints.

ColorGATE launches the new Textile PS DTG Edition at FESPA 2019. This is a modular software, which can be configured and extended at any time, especially for use in conjunction with direct-to-garment printing systems from almost all leading manufacturers. It addresses DTG service providers and technology users who value high color quality and standardization of production processes. This software solution offers a high degree of productivity by automating otherwise time-consuming print data preparation processes, such as the generation of semi-transparent prints in which the print motif merges with the color of the fabric.

The DTG Edition also offers advantages in supporting PDF files, with the latest Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) leading to uncompromising print results and facilitating communication with customers due to the worldwide PDF standard as the document standard. In addition, ColorGATE's special APPE implementation for DTG offers unique features to remove background colors from PDFs so that the material color of the garment is used instead. In order to be able to control the color output at any time, even with drifting printing systems or varying textile qualities, it is possible to add an integrated profiling assistant to the software.

Even the preparation of print data for dark substrates is no longer a major challenge with the DTG Editon: Smart White Creation automatically calculates the exact amount of white for underprinting. Furthermore, the inherent color of black T-shirts can be used as the 'rendering' color of the print motif. Thanks to optimal ink application, this not only reduces ink costs, but also improves the haptics.

3D Surface Director: innovative complete solution for digital surface design

With the 3D Surface Director, ColorGATE presents the comprehensive scan-to-print solution that serves the entire workflow. It consists of the unique SURF 3D digitizing hardware from METIS and the ColorGATE software suite to acquire, transform and output complete surface description data.

3D Surface Director digitizes the 3 dimensions of any surface:

• Structure

• Color

• Reflectance

and, by freely combining these three, allows the design of virtual surfaces for a variety of decorative digital printing applications such as decor, ceramics, textiles or wallpaper.

ColorGATE partner booths

DP Solutions: hall B6 booth A35: Filmgate

Epson: hall B5 booth G10: Filmgate

Farben Frikell: hall A4 booth L22: PS 10

Kaut-Bullinger: hall B5 booth F65: PS 10

Kornit: hall B6 booth A10: Kornit Atlas + TPS / DTG

Ricoh: hall B4 booth K30: PS 10

Signtronic: hall A6 booth A10: PS 10 CTS Editon

ColorGATE's trained and customer-oriented application specialists will be happy to advise you on your challenges in the field of commercial and industrial printing. You can take a look at samples of various applications and find out more about our workflow and color management solutions.

Visit ColorGATE at FESPA Munich from 14 to 17 May 2019 in hall B4, booth K 26.

About ColorGATE

For more than 20 years, ColorGATEs color competence has been supporting the graphic arts industry with its printing equipment manufacturers as well as producers, operators and technology users for Sign & Display, decor, ceramic, textile and packaging. The market for large format printing with its applications in LFP and Wide Format also benefits from ColorGATEs solution competence on the way from analogue to digital printing and into the future of Print 4.0.

ColorGATE has been successful on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing and the revolution of inkjet technology since the beginning in 2000.

ColorGATE delivers an innovative, tailor-made and modular portfolio of software and hardware solutions in the specific application areas for industrial printing and decoration processes along the entire process chain. Effective color management always ensures optimal color rendering and consistent reproduction, while standardization and automation of the production processes maximize productivity with flexible configuration, as needed. Furthermore, the most complex tasks can be controlled via an intuitive workflow management to simplify the production processes and for a transparent cost overview. Thousands of digital imaging users around the globe trust ColorGATEs solution expertise in their daily work.

ColorGATE meets customers as partners on equal footing and the corporate culture is driven by an innovative spirit and trustful customer satisfaction. With a focus on Industrial Printing and its worldwide network of trained Sales Partners, ColorGATE ensures optimal support for end users. ColorGATE collaborates closely with the leading global imaging players and supports more than 50 other manufacturers of printing systems in the Industrial & Commercial Printing segment.

ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is managed by co-founder Thomas Kirschner as CEO since 1997 and is an independent subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd. since 2018.

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ColorGATE appoints industry expert to head its Sales and Business Development team

Mon, 21 Jan 2019 09:30:00 +0100

Following its acquisition by Ricoh Company Ltd. at the end of 2018, the German software company ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH further strengthens its organization and appoints an industry expert to head its sales team: effective January this year, Wilfried Kampe joins the Hanover based leader in color management and workflow solutions for industrial inkjet applications as Vice President Global Sales.

Wilfried comes with over 20 years of experience in the printing industry. He witnessed the development of the first digital printing systems in the second half of the nineties and adds in-depth experience with the hardware and software side of this industry as well as a large international network to the team.

He assumed international product management, marketing, and sales positions in several well-known companies such as Microtek International, Tektronix CPID (Color Printing & Imaging Division), Böwe Systec, Bestcolor, EFI, and Kornit, always staying very close to imaging and printing.

After accomplishing the setup of the European subsidiary operation on behalf of Kornit Digital Ltd., and nine months subsequent to the IPO of the Israel based company, he decided to take a step back and put more focus on a healthy work-life-balance, leaving behind a highly motivated and successful team.

In time for DRUPA 2016, Wilfried launched his own business, centered around industrial inkjet. He acted as strategic advisor to several private equity companies with interests in textile printing and provided management consultancy to clients, using or migrating towards industrial inkjet technology ever since.

"I have followed ColorGATE since the early 2000s when I headed Sales & Marketing at Bestcolor, a pioneer of digital inkjet proofing. Back then it was one of our competitors", says Wilfried. "Today, ColorGATE has a unique profile, thanks to the founder’s strategic vision, which led him to initiate a shift towards industrial inkjet a few years ago. Together with its new owner Ricoh, a power-house in industrial inkjet, the company enjoys an exciting perspective. I am thrilled and proud to contribute to the company’s further development and growth, together with this great team Thomas has brought together."

Thomas Kirschner, founder and CEO of ColorGATE, added: "Ever since we know each other, our dealings are borne by mutual respect. With his enormous experience and his human touch, Wilfried is a great fit to the organization, and to myself as its CEO. I am excited and confident that together we will bring ColorGATE to the next level."

About ColorGATE

For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s solutions are used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users and also deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging. ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and operates worldwide with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. Recently Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced that the company has reached an agreement to buy ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH. More Informations.

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Color instruments

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 09:57:00 +0100

As every material has its own specific surface characteristics, the newly-supported color measurement devices for the ColorGATE RIP software solutions provide sophisticated systems to measure in the most demanding digital print applications. ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for color management to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. They perfectly complement the leading Productionserver software solutions for:

Digital Packaging
Decorative Surface Production
Digital Textile Printing
Digital Container Decoration
Digital Metal Decoration

Once the required color profiles have been created, they remain stored in the software and ensure the best possible color transformation of the print jobs - from the source format to the printing system´s color space. Color variations can be detected with the suitable measuring technology and corrected by recalibration - even before they become visible to the human eye.

A specialized measurement device for example, is the sphere spectrophotometer. Sphere spectrophotometers can provide reflectance measurements in two ways: specular included (SPIN) and specular excluded (SPEX). The specular port can be opened and closed during the measurement to include or exclude specular reflection like gloss. It can be used to measure:

transparent and translucent samples
fluorescent samples
color and appearance separately

ColorGATE Productionserver supports the following new spectrophotometers: X-Rite Ci6X Series
When color reproduction errors occur, the result is costly waste and rework: whether there is confusion between customer specifications and production output or batch-to-batch color variations. The sphere spectrophotometers of the X-Rite Ci6X family reduce rejection rates and scrap and improve time to market and profitability. The Ci62 portable sphere spectrophotometer is a high-performance instrument uniquely suited for ensuring accurate color measurement on reflective surfaces, including applications with textured materials or printing on metal substrates. The Ci64, X-Rite’s most precise handheld sphere spectrophotometer, is available in three models: with simultaneous SPIN/SPEX, correlated gloss, and an UV option. Its specifications are:

handheld sphere spectrophotometer
with ball head for structured and reflective surfaces such as textiles or metal packaging
accurate measurement of reflective or uneven surfaces on a wide variety of products and packaging types

Color Sentinel Systems CSS110
The family of in line Color Sentinel modeling spectrophotometers uses a revolutionary patented technology. There is no need for field calibration of the device. This enables installation in line with the paper path after the fuser output and before the finishing stations – thus it makes measurements at full production speeds possible. Specifications:

handheld spectrophotometer
advantages: low price, self-calibrating
enables measurements at full production speed–on-the-fly

Konica Minolta FD-5 and FD-7
The fluorescent spectrodensitometers FD-5 and FD-7 are equipped with the newest technology of Konica Minolta: the VFS (Virtual Fluorescence Standard). This technology enables color evaluation considering fluorescence of paper using any illuminant, including the D50 (ISO 13655:2009 M1). The new VFS technology takes advantage of the optical, sensor and software technology cultivated through our long experience with color-measuring instruments to enable virtual measurements using a variety of illuminants while including the effect of fluorescence in the measurement. Technical details are:

handheld spectrophotometer
large spectral range, polarization filter
for high quality profiling purposes on non-structured media

Konica Minolta FD-9
The key to success for a modern professional print business is automation and accuracy. The Konica Minolta FD-9 autoscan spectrophotometer is the ideal tool for print color management, combining speed, accuracy, ease-of-use and versatility. Highlights are:

autoscan spectrophotometer
non-handheld device for quickly inserting targets
measurement of 1500 patches in just 4 minutes
automatic batch-processing

Techkon SpectroDens
As a spectrodensitometer, SpectroDens combines the qualities of a highly accurate spectrophotometer and an easy-to-use densitometer. As the measurement is done spectral, the entire color information – the spectral fingerprint of the color – is precisely registered. The data is converted into measurement data for descriptive analysis and display: Densitometric data is widely used for quality control during the printing process. Colorimetric data is used for evaluation of print proofs, the creation of color profiles in color management as well as for color matching and formulation of inks. The specifications are:

spectrodensitometer combining the qualities of a highly accurate spectrophotometer and an easy-to-use densitometer
measuring instrument that can be universally used for quality control in the printing industry and in other areas
scan measurements of up to 200 measuring patches on print control strips and media wedges possible

With a portfolio of several hundred drivers for a wide variety of printing systems, color instruments and digital printing applications, ColorGATE is one of the world's most important developers. Further details and information on drivers can be found on the ColorGATE website. About ColorGATE For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing. ColorGATE’s solutions are used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users and also deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging. ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. Recently Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced that the company has reached an agreement to buy ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH. Click here for Ricoh´s press release. More info – www.colorgate.com Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy

New DFEPM Module: Color Performance Booster for embedded RIPs

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 13:09:00 +0100

With the DFE Profiler Module (DFEPM) - an extension of the well-proven Profiler Module (PFM) - ColorGATE offers a new method for ICC-characterization of digital printing systems that have their own DFE (Digital Front End) and an integrated ICC-compatible RIP. The DFEPM generates a special ICC profile which, in addition to the usual color characterization, also contains the process color control and thus combines all the necessary information for the entire calibration workflow. In this way, not only the ink lay down but also the combination of the process colors is regulated in detail and an optimum image reproduction is made possible. This extended ICC profile can be used variably in all DFEs and RIPs that work with output ICC profiles. The created profiles can be used flexibly as input as well as output profile and also for proofing. With the DFEPM, ColorGATE thus offers the option of taking advantage of the optimized ColorGATE linearization even with alternative RIP systems and in external printing environments. To run the DFEPM, the Linearization Assistant is required as well as an OMS including a printer driver, which is capable to generate print data during profiling in a format that can be processed by the specific DFE (e.g. PDF FLAT LOW-/ HIGH-RES or TIFF LOW-/HIGH-RES). Color Performance Booster for DFE embedded RIPs

Creates extended ICC-compliant profiles ensuring sophisticated color and ink laydown control for digital presses with embedded RIPs
Resulted ICC contains the process color calibration, ink limit and linearization in addition to the usual color characterization
For flexible use in all DFEs and RIPs that support ICC based color management
Profile works as input and ouput profile, as well as for proofing
DFE Profiler technology supports CMYK, multicolor and aNy color printing systems with up to 8 color channels

More information in our DFEPM video at YouTube. Come and visit ColorGATE at InPrint Milan 20-22 November 2018 at booth 730. About ColorGATE For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing. ColorGATE’s solutions are used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users and also deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging. ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. Recently Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced that the company has reached an agreement to buy ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH. Click here for Ricoh's press release. More info – www.colorgate.com Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy

Industrial Printing solutions for Workflow & Color Management and 3D surface printing

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:23:00 +0100

At Inprint Milan, taking place from 20-22 November 2018, ColorGATE presents its comprehensive solution portfolio for digital print automation and color standardization along the entire process chain in the age of Industry 4.0 with Workflow, RIP and Color Management Solutions for Industrial Printing. In cooperation with Metis Systems srl, the global leader for high quality scanners, ColorGATE also presents a 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution. Get to know ColorGATE`s application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions: with intelligent workflow, high automation capability and modular functionality available.

“Industrial Printing has been revolutionized through digital inkjet printing technology. And as printing and production is done almost simultaneously these days, they need intelligent management of highly complex workflows. To additionally ensure accuracy and consistency of color on increasingly complex surfaces from design to product, ColorGATE delivers innovative solutions which fit to the specific needs of almost any application. This enables and secures confidence in the color output quality”, says Thomas Kirschner, CEO and Founder of ColorGATE.

During the conference several ColorGATE experts will share their knowledge: CEO Thomas Kirschner will give a talk on “Color management software for Industrial Color Printing“, other specialists will discuss the technical challenges and their solutions in the IMI Europe Inkjet Tech Talk.

Color consistency along the entire process chain
ColorGATE`s Industrial Productionserver solutions enable an individual and flexible design of the products both in mass production and in small quantities – directly in the production process in real-time. ColorGATE provides solutions to machine manufacturers and OEMs for the following applications:

Décor (décor paper roll-to-roll or direct-to-board)
Textile, ceramic, floor tiles, wallpaper, glass printing
Packaging (direct-to-object decoration (bottles, cans, other containers))

RIP and Color Management Solutions for automation, standardization and intelligent workflows
ColorGATE presents its Adobe PDF Print Engine based Industrial Productionserver range for Ceramic, Décor, Packaging-, and Textile applications. Experience some specialized solution highlights at our booth, which were tailor-made for the exact needs of the different industry segments:

Out of Gamut Module – “Weather forecast in color space”
The Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) provides an easy understandable color reproduction forecast per print job, providing meaningful information even to non-specialist operators if color deviations are expected in the print output. An intuitive visualization as a "heatmap" visualization indicates colors and areas that cannot be printed color accurately. It is particularly suitable for the use in the production of decorative surfaces and textiles, as well as for digital packaging printing.

Fingerprint Module (FPRM) - Patented technology for a “digital color twin” of a physical digital print product
This revolutionary concept is for efficient and high-quality reproduction and reprints. It generates a fingerprint production file, which includes a colorimetric specification of the initial print. This digital master provides a reliable reference so that future reprints can be reproduced exactly and color consistently. The procedure allows to standardize and ensure optimal reproduction results of digitally decorated objects, such as wood and plastic surfaces, laminates, ceramic floor and wall tiles as well as decorative textiles.

BRAND-NEW: DFE Profiler Module (DFEPM)

With the DFE Profiler Module (DFEPM) - an extension of the well-proven Profiler Module (PFM) - ColorGATE offers a new profiler for ICC-characterization of digital printing systems that have their own DFE (Digital Front End) and an integrated ICC-compatible RIP. The DFEPM generates a special ICC profile which combines all the necessary information for the entire calibration workflow. Not only the ink lay down, but also the combination of the process colors is regulated in detail and an optimum image reproduction is made possible.

Innovative 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution
ColorGATE presents a complete scan-to-print workflow on the base of the Metis Surf 3D Scanner in a unique ColorGATE Edition. In combination with ColorGATE's RIP and Color Management Software for a variety of decorative digital printing applications such as Décor, Ceramics, Textile or Wallpaper, this will be the first complete workflow solution from scan via design to print production. This brand-new turn-key solution is to acquire, transform and output complete surface description data. This offers an aligned solutions from image and surface acquisition - including embossing, glossiness and color - to output rendition for digital inkjet printing solutions.

Measure Mount – Apparatus for color measurement of cylindrical container
The Direct-to-Object Segment within Digital Packaging is rapidly developing, and more and more high-productive inkjet systems equipped with ColorGATE Packaging Productionserver solutions are being installed around the globe.
Measure Mount has become the only solution for color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses. Color quality can easily be verified, and systems can be re-calibrated quickly.

Come and visit ColorGATE at InPrint Milan 20-22 November 2018 at booth 730. If you are interested in arranging an appointment with one of our specialists (Thomas Kirschner, Jan Seguda, Andrea Panizzut, Gerrit Andre) at the InPrint, our Customer Service Team is looking forward to receiving your email.

ColorGATE’s experts talk:

Tuesday, 20th November, 12:05pm - Thomas Kirschner, CEO
“Color management software for industrial color printing”

Thursday, 22nd November, 12:10pm - Gerrit Andre, Trainer & Product Specialist
Technical presentation as a teaser for the IMI Winter workshop: “Calibrating and profiling industrial print engines.”

About ColorGATE
For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s solutions are used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users and also delivers solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging. ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (former CTO) and operates worldwide with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. Recently Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced that the company has reached an agreement to buy ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH. Click here for Ricoh's press release.

More info – www.colorgate.com

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Ricoh to acquire ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH, an industrial printing software company

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:20:00 +0100

TOKYO, November 12, 2018 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. today announced that the company has reached an agreement to buy ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH (hereafter “ColorGATE”), a leading software provider in the printing industry with a specific competence in color management. This acquisition is designed to strengthen Ricoh's growing industrial printing business. The transfer of shares is scheduled to complete on November 30, 2018. Read the full official press release of Ricoh Company here

Tecnargilla 2018: Intelligent Workflow & Color Management Solutions for the ceramic industry

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 08:39:00 +0200

At Tecnargilla 2018, which takes place from September 24th - 28th in Rimini, Expo Centre, Italy, ColorGATE will present its comprehensive solution portfolio for the ceramic industry at the booths of Durst and Metis Systems. At Durst's stand, Hall D1 at Stand 155, the joint dedicated solution for the ceramics industry will be demonstrated. In cooperation with Metis Systems srl, the world market leader for high-quality scanners, ColorGATE presents the 3D Surface Director, a complete solution for digital surface design, at Metis Systems stand in Hall D1, Booth 152.
ColorGATE & Durst – Dedicated ceramic solution

Manufacturers of ceramic tiles can now not only benefit from the proven quality of the Durst Gamma series, but thanks to the integration of ColorGATE's Ceramic Productionserver (CPS) also from an optimized workflow, accurate color rendering and highly efficient and color-consistent reproduction of existing wall or floor tile designs. The cooperation with Durst Phototechnik AG ensures not only the continuous further development of the CPS, but also that it meets practical requirements.

RSC - Ultrafast color measurement and profiling for all industrial digital printing applications

The Rapid Spectro Cube represents another revolution in the digital printing process. The RSC is a colorimetric scanning and measuring system using a high-resolution CCD sensor and is connected to ColorGATE´s Ceramic Productionserver (CPS). This combination acts as an extremely fast and highly accurate color capture system, providing color profiles for printer calibration and color characterization as well as separation profiles to automatically separate individual designs or design series into the required color channels of the respective production process or a particular production line configuration. ColorGATE & Metis – 3D Surface Director A brand new turn-key solution targeting designers and manufactures of surface products that consists of the unique SURF 3D digitization hardware and a complete software suite to acquire, transform and output complete surface description data. More information under https://www.colorgate.com/3d-surface-director/ Ceramic Productionserver (CPS) - Central print data management system

ColorGATE´s CPS functions as a central print data management system and accomplishes by that the highest process efficiency from design to the final ceramic product. The digital end-to-end workflow offers a secure import and conversion (n-Color) of designs and color data as well as the creation of separations with 3-8 channels.

Additional turnkey solution for digital ceramic decoration: Fingerprint (FPRM) and Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC)

Specific color management tools include, for example, the turnkey solutions FPRM (patented Fingerprint technology) and RSC (Rapid Spectro Cube – the only and fasted Hi-Res measuring and scanning device which can perform colorimetric scans and read targets printed on structured and flat tile surfaces). Up to now, ICC profiling has only been used for device-specific color characterization in order to achieve the best possible reproduction of any originals on profiled devices. Fingerprint technology extends this conventional approach of the graphic arts industry and uses a new method for synchronous design specification and print process characterization in industrial surface decoration. ColorGATE contact persons present at partner stands ColorGATE experts Andrea Panizzut and Jan Seguda, Product Manager Industrial Printing, will be present at both Durst and Metis booths throughout the trade show and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about ColorGATE solutions.
About ColorGATE For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.
ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China.

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ColorGATE and Durst Phototechnik AG announce exclusive distribution partnership

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 10:37:00 +0200

ColorGATE and Durst Phototechnik AG, one of the world's leading manufacturers of future-oriented digital production technologies, are pleased to announce their exclusive distribution partnership for the ceramic industry. A perfect symbiosis of software and hardware for further development, sales and service of the first complete solution for digital tile decoration. Manufacturers of ceramic tiles can now not only benefit from the proven quality of the Durst Gamma series, but thanks to the integration of ColorGATE's Ceramic Productionserver (CPS) also from an optimized workflow, accurate color rendering and highly efficient and color-consistent reproduction of existing wall or floor tile designs. The close cooperation with Durst Phototechnik AG ensures not only the continuous further development of the CPS, but also that it meets practical requirements.

ColorGATE and Durst: A strong partnership
The first jointly achieved results of the cooperation, which has now lasted for almost two years, can be found in version 10.30 recently released by ColorGATE. Numerous functions and work processes have been optimized and specifically developed for the needs and conditions in ceramic tile production. Thus, the CPS meets the specific requirements in tile decoration even better and also allows an easy and efficient use of the professional color management tools.

Combination of automated workflows and modern technology
By providing drivers for all devices of the Durst Gamma series for direct communication between CPS and printer, all relevant settings such as resolution or line speed for each job can be automatically transmitted with the print job. This not only provides the customer with outstanding print quality, but also an optimized and secure workflow experience. Of course, the Universal Ceramic Inkjet driver can also be used with all other Non-Durst ceramic digital printers available on the market. Durst is responsible for the technical support and training, ColorGATE will concentrate on 2nd-level support.

"After we presented our range of solutions for color consistency in digital tile decoration, consisting of the RSC colour measurement solution and the Ceramic Productionserver, at the last Tecnargilla, the technical discussion with the specialists of Durst Phototechnik AG as pioneer and technology leader led to an enormous further development of this complete solution. With Durst, we are pleased to announce an exclusive distribution partner that gives customers and interested parties worldwide access to this innovative range of solutions," says Thomas Kirschner, founder and CEO of ColorGATE.

Norbert von Aufschnaiter, Head of the Ceramics Printing Division at Durst, adds:
ColorGATE's range of solutions with the innovative and patented RSC color measuring system is the first "True Ceramics" color management solution developed and optimized especially for ceramic colors and process conditions in tile production. For the first time, this enables fast, simple and precise color matching in tile production with just a few steps, rapid production repetition with greatly reduced test runs and thus ensures minimum downtimes and an efficient workflow for various printers (Durst and Non-Durst printers) and production facilities.

CPS: Advantages at a glance

Design:

RGB or CMYK working space profiles provide a unique approach to represent multi-channel colour spaces. These can be used for separation retouching purposes in Adobe Photoshop, ensuring correct color preview
Paper proof printing on all leading proof printers

Color Management:

Full range of functions to convert every color design requirement to the best possible target quality of the end product in the shortest possible time
Easy-to-use profiling assistant with automatic error correction to minimize color errors that can lead to spoilage

Production:

Supports all Durst Gamma Series printers
Integrated Ink Saver function to reduce ink quantities without visible effect
Simple design-to-line conversion to reproduce previously produced designs on different lines with
different color sets and/or glazes without color differences
Unique method for creating color specifications of individual decors and their color reproduction without the effort of countless adjustments

Service:

Competent installation service and training improve the efficiency of the production team in a few days
Comprehensive know-how in the field of digital tile decoration from the technology leaders in ce-ramic digital printing

Additional turnkey solution for digital ceramic decoration: Fingerprint (FPRM) and Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC)

Specific color management tools include, for example, the turnkey solutions FPRM (patented Fingerprint technology) and RSC (Rapid Spectro Cube – the only and fasted Hi-Res measuring device which can read targets printed on structured and flat tile surfaces). Up to now, ICC profiling has only been used for device-specific color characterization in order to achieve the best possible reproduction of any originals on profiled devices. Fingerprint technology extends this conventional approach of the graphic arts industry and uses a new method for synchronous design specification and print process characterization in industrial surface decoration.

It creates a fingerprint production file (.fpf) which includes a colorimetric specification of the initial print run, which later provides a reliable starting point as a digital master sample. This means that future subsequent runs can be reproduced with consistent color.

First dedicated and complete solution for digital ceramic decoration

The colorimetric marking clearly defines all color values contained in the design, such as a colored fingerprint. This enables interpolation errors during color transformation into the individual output color space of any digital printing system to be minimized for future print runs. A new consistent color printing can thus be ensured on any alternative production system or production line, provided that the alternative color space covers the specific color space of the colorimetric specification.

RSC - Ultrafast color measurement and profiling for all industrial digital printing applications

The Rapid Spectro Cube represents another revolution in the digital printing process. The RSC is a colorimetric scanning and measuring system using a high-resolution CCD sensor and is connected to ColorGATE´s Ceramic Productionserver (CPS). This combination acts as an extremely fast and highly accurate color capture system, providing color profiles for printer calibration and color characterization as well as separation profiles to automatically separate individual designs or design series into the required color channels of the respective production process or a particular production line configuration.
Furthermore, the system is able to deliver high quality scans in seconds, which can be processed with standard image processing programs. Or it clones original materials such as marble, wood or existing tile surfaces accurately in colour and directly in multi-channel file format for precise reproduction on a digital ceramic printer.

More about ColorGATE's Ceramic Productionserver can be found on our website under https://www.colorgate.com/ceramic-productionserver/ The press release is also available in spanish or italian. Please contact marcom@colorgate.com for more information.

About ColorGATE

For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.

ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China.
Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy About Durst Phototechnik AG Durst Phototechnik AG is a global player in the manufacture of high-quality digital printing systems for the decoration and functionalization of surfaces, and a leading global manufacturer of advanced digital printing and production technologies and first choice in the implementation and transformation of digital, industrial production processes. The focus here is on efficient and environmentally friendly production technologies made possible by digital change. With the new 8-colour Gamma XD Printer series Durst has reinvented the decoration of ceramic tiles and opened up new dimensions for a special and creative tile design as well as unprecedented production efficiency.The Gamma XD Series combines the highest quality inkjet technology with a unique printing unit - for higher quality and speed while maintaining the required amount of ink per square meter.Durst is a family company with an 80-year history, where values are focused on innovation, customer orientation, sustainability, and quality. Further information about the Durst Group can be found on the website www.durst-group.com. Company Press Contact: press@durst-group.com

ColorGATE announces Release Version 10.30

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 12:44:00 +0200

Direct link to Release Notes 10.30: Find here the Release Notes for Version 10.30 [login required] Release Version 10.30 News:

New Printer drivers: FUJIFILM Acuity LED 1600R, FUJIFILM Acuity Ultra 3200 and 5000; new certification for HP-DesignJet-Z6610, HP-DesignJet-Z6810 42" and HP-DesignJet-Z6810 60", HP-PageWide-XL5100, HP-PageWide-XL6000; Mimaki UCJV150, Mimaki UCJV300; Océ Colorado 1640; Ricoh Pro T7210
New measuring device drivers: Barbieri Spectro LFP qb, Color Sentinel CSS110, Konica Minolta FD-5, 7 und 9, Metis Scanner, X-Rite Ci6X Series und X-Rite eXact Series
Improvements and bugfixes: Multiple enhancements were added to Flexa cut marks. The option to print a vertical cut mark on the right edge of the job and the option to print border marks on the top and/or bottom of the job. The length of marks is the distance of the horizontal marks to the border (value "Border (c)").
Update APPE: The Adobe® PDF Print Engine was updated to version 4.8.

Further printer related changes Changes and news for example with regard to AGFA-, Mutoh-, and Kornit printer models. Further information can be found here. New DFE Profiler Module (DFEPM) available With the DFE Profiler Module (DFEPM) - an extension of the well-proven Profiler Module (PFM) - ColorGATE offers a new profiler for ICC-characterization of digital printing systems that have their own DFE (Digital Front End) and an integrated ICC-compatible RIP.

ColorGATE launches 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 08:31:00 +0200

To address the growing interest of businesses that are demanding industrial grade solutions for digital surface creation ColorGATE is announcing a new collaboration with Italian high-tech scanner manufacturer Metis Systems srl with the scope to offer aligned solutions from image and surface acquisition to output rendition for digital inkjet printing solutions. “We are excited to collaborate with Metis a leader in their field that shares a similar business philosophy as we do which puts the customer’s objectives results in the center of the activities. Jointly we can now close the gap between digital Input and Output and provide workflows that produce the expected “, says Thomas Kirschner, CEO and founder of ColorGATE. At FESPA, taking place from 15th-18th May in Berlin, ColorGATE will be presenting a complete Scan-to-Print solution on the base of the Metis SURF 3D Scanner in a unique ColorGATE Edition in combination with the firms RIP and Color Management Software for a variety of decorative digital printing applications such as ColorGATEs Décor, Ceramics, Textile or Wallpaper in hall 1.1-A.40. In addition to this offering for industrial digital surface decoration ColorGATE launches a complete solution targeting designers and manufacturers of small run and lower volume surface products that want to digitally produce this on commonly available UV flatbed or hybrid printers from printer manufacturers such as Fujifilm, HP Scitex, Inca Digital, Mimaki, Mutoh, Océ, Ricoh, Roland, SwissQPrint etc. The new solution makes it possible, for example, to capture natural surface objects such as weathered woods or leather including color, glossiness and surface depth information and to transform those in a new combination to produce exquisite veneers for furniture, tactile phone cases or any other decorative surface. Metis SURF 3D ColorGATE Edition hardware is a revolutionary new high-speed surface digitization technology to acquire surface properties in 3D including color, glossiness and depth information of materials like wood planks, leather, stone, textile and wallpaper as well as fine art. The scanner generates a color accurate, high-resolution color image including embossing data and a reflectivity map representing the surfaces reflection properties. The system comes with sophisticated design and manipulation software to easily edit and model the acquired surface description data. ColorGATEs range of digital printing software solutions covering a wide range of commercial and industrial printing applications ensure that the acquired surface data can be output on any of the firms supported digital printing systems. With printing systems that support multilayer or multi-pass ink-laydown of special fluids such as white, varnish or glossy ink, the previously generated and if required post-processed 3D depth map produces detailed 3D surface reconstructions with a color accurate image representation on top. Another highlight that may be of interest to the large user base of Metis scanner users is the new option to use Metis color scanners as color profiling device in conjunction with ColorGATE RIP Software. Similar to ColorGATEs proven Rapid Spectro Cube technology Metis scanners can be extended with a ColorGATE software for generating ICC Profiles for digital print system characterization.
With these new joint offerings designers and manufacturers of decorative surface applications will be enabled to setup and complete digital creation and production workflows from Scan, via design through to digital print production. “We find this cooperation with ColorGATE a great opportunity as we have a lot in common with them. ColorGATE is a company with a tremendous and unique technological background. We also have technology in our DNA and both our companies have been always looking for the future. Therefore, it was very natural for both of us to share ideas and then combining the efforts to address common issues that positively affect our customers”, Silvia Colagrande, President and co-owner of Metis. About ColorGATE
For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.

ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China. More info – www.colorgate.com
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About Metis
Metis Systems is the leading designer and manufacturer of high quality RGB Color and Surface scanners. The exclusive performances of METIS scanners are the result of a sophisticated integration of advanced design, high precision mechanics, state of the art electronic and powerful software. All these knowledge has been gained by Metis in over 40 year of experience in digital imaging.

ColorGATE @ FESPA – Automation, Standardization and intelligent Workflows

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 15:43:00 +0200

At FESPA Berlin, taking place from 15th-18th May in Berlin in hall 1.1-A.40, ColorGATE presents its comprehensive solution portfolio for digital print automation, color standardization along the entire process chain in the age of Industry 4.0 with Workflow, RIP and Color Management Solutions for Commercial and Industrial Printing. In cooperation with Metis Systems srl, the global leader for high quality scanners, ColorGATE presents a brand new 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution. Interested visitors can use the FESPA Promo Code FESB810 for free entry at FESPA. RIP- and Color Management Solutions for automation, standardization and intelligent workflows
ColorGATE presents its Adobe PDF Print Engine based RIP Software families Productionserver, Filmgate and Proofgate as well as the Industrial Productionserver range for Ceramic, Décor-, Packaging-, and Textile applications.

Color consistency along the entire process chain
ColorGATE offers color management solutions (color accuracy and color consistency) for automation and standardization along the entire process chain from design over prepress, print production to finishing.

ColorGATE solutions profile a system and create a reference state, which is used by Media Device Synchronization (MDS). Then it can be verified with the Quality Assurance Module (QAM):

Media Device Synchronization – ColorGATEs relieable recalibration technology
Applying ColorGATEs reliable recalibration technology Media Device Synchronization a printer can be reverted to a reference state. In addition, MDS allows fine adjustment of identical printers in the event of system - or environment-related deviations. Beyond that, multiple identical systems can be matched in a way that identical results can be achieved when printing on the same material. Fine adjustment is based on an ICC-profile, for consistent color results at any time.

Quality Assurance Module (QAM) - Integrated Quality Assurance
The QAM is a fully into ColorGATE RIP software integrated quality assurance system for the digital imaging market, which allows control, documentation of color consistency and to archive the results. Based on the proven color wedge technology, applying QAM, users can save costs and reduce production time. In addition, QAM ensures high customer loyalty due to constant high quality of printing results. QAM already controls quality of the printing result during production workflow. The user dialog of QAM provides predefined and measured values of color control wedge in a clearly structured table. Industrial Productionserver & New Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) Digital inkjet printing has revolutionized industrial printing! Get to know ColorGATEs application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions: with intelligent workflow, high automation capability and modular functionality available. The solutions are convincing for the digital decoration of flexible packaging, cardboard and containers for industrial use and for surface decoration: let it be printing for wood or flooring, textiles or ceramic products. ColorGATEs Industrial Productionserver solutions enable an individual and flexible design of the products both in mass production and in small quantities – directly in the production process in real-time. ColorGATE provides solutions to machine manufacturers and OEMs for the following applications:

Décor (décor paper roll-to-roll or direct-to-board)
Textile, ceramic, floor tiles, wallpaper, glass printing
Packaging (Direct-to-object decoration (bottles, cans, other containers))

New Out of Gamut Module available – “Weather forecast in color space” With the Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) areas will be highlighted that are out of gamut of the chosen printing workflow (output profile, MIM). A "heatmap" visualization indicates colors and areas that cannot be printed color accurately. It is particularly suitable for the use in the production of decorative surfaces and textiles, as well as for digital packaging printing. More information in our tutorial under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pwxhu1w-HA CG launches innovative 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution To address the growing interest of businesses that are demanding industrial grade solutions for digital surface creation ColorGATE is announcing a new collaboration with Italian high-tech scanner manufacturer Metis Systems srl with the scope to offer aligned solutions from image and surface acquisition to output rendition for digital inkjet printing solutions. At FESPA ColorGATE will be presenting a complete Scan-to-Print solution on the base of the Metis Surf 3D Scanner in a unique ColorGATE Edition in combination with the firms RIP and Color Management Software for a variety of decorative digital printing application such as ColorGATEs Décor, Ceramics, Textile or Wallpaper. Measure Mount – Apparatus for color measurement of cylindrical container Meanwhile the Direct to Object Segment within Digital Packaging is rapidly developing and more and more high-productive inkjet systems equipped with ColorGATE Packaging Productionserver solutions are being installed around the globe. Therefore also on display at FESPA is ColorGATEs Measure Mount. It has become the only solution that serves to use of the i1Basic Pro 2 hand-held measuring device from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses. The manually adjustable device can be adapted to circular bodies with diameters from 2 cm to 20 cm in just a few steps so that the scanning lineal supplied with the measuring instrument is optimally positioned above the shaped body to be measured. With this process high-quality output profiles can be generated. Color quality can be verified and systems can be re-calibrated quickly.

Come and visit ColorGATE at FESPA Berlin 15th-18th May 2018 in hall 1.1 – A.40 to get more information about ColorGATE Commercial and Industrial Printing Software, Color Management solutions and the new Out of Gamut Module (OOGM). You will also receive more information about the collaboration with Metis.

ColorGATE partner stands: DP Solutions 1.2-C26 - Filmgate

Igepa Group 1.2-D40 - PS10 with Epson SureColor SC-S80600 Kornit 1.1-A20 – More about the cooperation with Kornit in our press release under http://typo3.p456492.mittwaldserver.info/de/news/kornit-digital-und-colorgate-streben-gemeinsame-workflow-komplettloesung-fuer-textildirektdruck-an-310/ Polychromal 1.1-B45 => ColorGATE/Polychromal RIP, version 10 and ColorGATE PS10 Select. Ricoh 3.1-A50 => ColorGATE Rip with new Pro T7210 SwissQprint 3.2-C50 => Productionserver
About ColorGATE
For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.

ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China.

ColorGATE presents Workflow & Color Management Solutions

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:31:00 +0200

At the Inkjet Conference Chicago (IJC), taking place from 12th-13th April in Chicago, ColorGATE presents Industrial Printing solutions, the new Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) as well as Color Management Solutions for industrial digital printing at tabletop C6, Hotel The Westin O’Hare, Chicago. ColorGATE product specialist Gerrit Andre will talk about brand color communication in digital printing workflows in his presentation at IJC. More under http://usa.theijc.com/event-program. Industrial Productionserver & New Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) Digital inkjet printing has revolutionized industrial printing! Get to know our application-specific Industrial Productionserver solutions: with intelligent workflow, high automation capability and modular functionality available. Our solutions are convincing for the digital decoration of flexible packaging, cardboard and containers for industrial use and for surface decoration: let it be printing for wood or flooring, textiles or ceramic products. With our know-how, we enable an individual and flexible design of the products both in mass production and in small quantities – directly in the production process in real-time. ColorGATE provides solutions to machine manufacturers and OEMs for the following applications:

Décor (décor paper roll-to-roll or direct-to-board)
Textile, ceramic, floor tiles, wallpaper, glass printing
Packaging (Direct-to-object decoration (bottles, cans, other containers))

Packaging Productionserver (PPS): the future-proof solution by ColorGATE PPS is a highly flexible printing solution for a wide field of applications – with a reliable and complete workflow, RIP and Color Management Solution dedicated to digital packaging printing. ColorGATE offers a modular and adaptive software architecture – optionally to be extended or scaled on demand for higher processing speeds. New Out of Gamut Module available – Weather forecast in color space With an intuitive printout forecast, the Out of Gamut Module (OOGM) visualizes how accurate in color a print job can be realized.

Exact and reliable identification of expected deviations of print output
Intuitive visualization as “heatmap”
Minimizes the time and cost of proofs and misprints
Extends Color Preflighting capabilities when managing spot and brand colors in PDF documents
User defined DeltaE limit values
Supports use of any common PDF and raster data format

More information in our tutorial under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pwxhu1w-HA Fingerprint Module (FPRM) - Patented technology for a “digital color twin”
This unique software module generates a fingerprint production file, which includes a colorimetric specification of the initial print, which represents a digital master that provides a reliable reference so that future reprints can be reproduced exactly and color consistently. The procedure allows to standardize and ensure optimal reproduction results of digitally decorated objects, such as wood - and plastic surfaces, laminates, ceramic floor - and wall tiles as well as decorative textiles.

Revolutionary concept for efficient and high-quality reproduction and reprints
Available for Ceramic and Décor Productionserver and optional all Industrial Productionserver variants
Creates a digital master including all colors of master design with the exact same color properties of a master design
Fingerprint production file can be produced on any ICC-profiled production line and evaluated in terms of color quality beforehand

More information in our tutorial under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdqnLJrAU7I
Measure Mount – Apparatus for color measurement of cylindrical container

The Measure Mount is a device for the use of the i1Basic Pro 2 hand-held measuring device from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses. The manually adjustable device can be adapted to circular bodies with diameters from 2 cm to 20 cm in just a few steps so that the scanning lineal supplied with the measuring instrument is optimally positioned above the shaped body to be measured.

Come and visit ColorGATE at IJC Chicago at tabletop C6, Hotel The Westin O’Hare, Chicago to inform yourself about ColorGATE Industrial Printing Software, Color Management solutions and the new Out of Gamut Module (OOGM).

About ColorGATE
For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.

ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China.

More info – www.colorgate.com
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Webinar: HD Technology Revealed: Inside Secrets of DTG Printing

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 13:10:00 +0100

WEBINAR with ColorGATE and Kornit-Digital - HD Technology Revealed: Inside Secrets of DTG Printing - March 13th. About the webinar: January of this year marked the unveiling of Kornit Digital’s new flagship system, the Avalanche HD6. It launched major advancements for the direct-to-garment industry: increasing productivity, decreasing ink consumption, and the most refined hand-feel in the industry, without sacrificing color vibrancy or a higher price tag. A panel of presenters from Hirsch Solutions, SanMar, and ColorGATE will join representatives from Kornit Digital to discuss the new HD technology, including its implications for apparel, system preference, color-matching, and production and quality. More information can be found here. Watch our presentation video ColorGATE Textile Productionserver Kornit Edition on YouTube.

Jan Seguda becomes new “Product Manager IP” at ColorGATE

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 14:50:00 +0100

ColorGATE welcomes Jan Seguda as new “Product Manager Industrial Printing” in the business development (BD) team. With Jan Seguda joining the team ColorGATE will extend its business expertise in Industrial Printing. Industrial Printing expert
After Jan Seguda was able to gain professional experience in several agencies, his path finally led him as a tile designer to the reputable German tile producers, Villeroy & Boch. In the "Ceramic Development Digital Printing" team, he was responsible for the conversion of Rotocolor and the production of existing digital print series. Since the beginning of digital ceramic tile decoration Jan is familiar with the subject matter. Fascinated by the back then still young printing technology and encouraged by the challenges of fluctuating production processes and changing raw materials to a consistent color reproduction, Jan adopted the possibilities of Color Management to solve problems.

To adjust customized designs to true colors, ensure consistent color reproduction and thereby constantly optimize the process, quickly became a mission for him. When ZSCHIMMER & SCHWARZ, a chemical industry company, strengthened its digital printing sector in the tile sector with him, he gained interesting insights into ink development and the chemistry behind ceramic production. Another component was the "Digital Printing Assistance" division: the definition, development and expansion of quality assurance standards became part of Jan's portfolio. For numerous Color Management assistants abroad, Jan was confronted with the most diverse requirements for a suitable workflow and known as a carefully pragmatic problem solver in digital printing.

From communication design to tile production to a chemical industry company - the way into software development at ColorGATE is the next logical step for Jan Seguda. During his assistants, he was constantly researching the best solution providers to define the Color Management process for customers as efficiently and accurately as possible.

"From the beginning, ColorGATE was the door opener to a Color Management for me, which I have always been looking for. Especially in the daily business of the industry, it is important to be able to rely on its tools. Even if challenges emerge that have not been asked before, good software will be able to react to them," says Jan Seguda.

Jan is looking forward to bringing his experience to the ColorGATE team. Through his professional expertise in design, the knowledge of the requirements of industrial production processes and his experience in the most diverse production sites worldwide, he is the interface between the user-specific needs and the product-specific solutions.

"With the commitment of Jan Seguda as PM IP, we are taking account of the growth in Industrial Printing. With Jan Seguda, we have gained a Color Management expert for digital surface decoration and an IP experienced employee who is further expanding the field as a technology-oriented expert and supporter of the management", said ColorGATE CEO Thomas Kirschner. About ColorGATE

For over 20 years, ColorGATE has been supporting the printing industry with its color competence on its way from analogue to digital printing and the future of Print 4.0. Customers rely on innovative software solutions, RIP Software and printer driver technology for Commercial and Industrial Printing.

ColorGATE’s core product Productionserver, a performance-optimized, modular RIP, workflow, and color management software, is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users. Furthermore, the Industrial Productionserver solutions deliver tailor-made, modular software solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile, and packaging.

ColorGATE was founded in 1997 by Thomas Kirschner (CEO) and Norbert Steinhauer (CTO) and operates worldwide as an independent, private company with 40 employees in 7 expert teams. The headquarters are in Hannover (Germany) with foreign offices in UK, Italy, Singapore and Foshan / China.

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ColorGATE and IPAC announce cooperation in the area of inline color measurement

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 10:26:00 +0200

Inkjet-based digital printing systems with the latest print head technology are becoming more powerful. With printing resolutions of over 1000 dpi and printing speeds of over 100 m per minute, these systems are now also used in volume-oriented application areas such as surface decoration and packaging printing.

ColorGATE and IPAC: A strong cooperation
The goal of the cooperation between ColorGATE and IPAC is the development of inline color measurement solutions with "Closed-Loop Color Correction", in order to assure continuous color accuracy and color-consistent print results on modern single-pass digital printing systems. Manufacturers and users of industrial digital printing systems are addressed as potential project partners who realize or operate systems for color-critical production and who value the great importance to color consistency.

Specialized in digital printing software and color management, ColorGATE ensures the color-correct print data preparation for industrial digital printing applications such as the production of ceramic wall and floor tiles, surface decoration of wood-based materials and floor coverings, as well as in the production of digitally printed cartons, containers and other packaging.

The IPAC ACMS ™ (Advanced Color Measurement System) offline color measurement system measures decorative surfaces and compares a reference pattern with a current production. The quality assessment is carried out using a patented similarity index. The measuring information is used both for the color matching in the printing as well as for the evaluation of the final color impression in quality management along the entire value chain of the wood-based material industry. The aim to replace the visual evaluation has been achieved. Quality defined by ACMS ™ results in lower process fluctuations, savings in sample time and paper waste and increases process reliability in both the printer and the woodworking industry, while significantly reducing costs.
With the development of the inline color measuring system iCMS, IPAC aims to translate the experiences from the offline measurement with ACMS ™ into the inline world. Goals for the iCMS are a drift measurement and thus the control of the fluctuations in the printing process, the certification of the print quality as well as the provision of color information for the "Closed-Loop Color Correction" used in single-pass digital printing
systems.

„Offline-Workflow“ presentation at InPrint
At InPrint 2017 in Munich the companies demonstrate an "offline workflow". Color prints are measured by the IPAC ACMS ™ system and the measurement data are further processed by ColorGATE software for color characterization, color correction and recalibration.

Visit ColorGATE at InPrint Munich from November 14th to 16th 2017 at booth A6-344, Messe Munich, to get more information about inline color measurement and Closed-Loop Color Management.

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About ColorGATE
ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging,
ColorGATE supplies modular software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems.
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and color management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

About IPAC
IPAC GmbH located in Villach in Austria and since September 2016 member of the Fagus-GreCon Group is technology leader for color measurement of decorative surfaces.

The hyperspectral color measuring system ACMS ™ allows multi-colored decorative
surfaces to be evaluated in the quality of the trained human eye and compare it with standards. ACMS ™ provides the technical requirements for the introduction of digital quality management (DQM) and thus to replace the subjective color assessment with an objective measurement. The ACMS ™ certificate has been successfully used by leading companies in the décor printing and the wood-based materials industry and has become an industry standard. Further application possibilities for ACMS ™ are constantly being tested.

Kornit Digital and ColorGATE team up to offer complete direct-to-garment workflow solution

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 08:18:00 +0200

Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in digital textile printing, and ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH will be collaborating to take their high-end industrial and professional solutions to the next level. Direct-to-garment printers can now profit from the trusted Kornit Digital quality, enhanced by the ColorGATE RIP performance optimization features. The collaboration marks another important step in Kornit’s efforts to surround its textile printing systems with an ecosystem of workflow and job management solutions. The complete solution will be available as of Q4 2017. Pairing workflow with technology
The ColorGATE Textile Productionserver (TPS) will be tailored to the Kornit settings and subsequently added to the Kornit offering. This way customers will gain both an outstanding print output and an optimized workflow experience. Technical support and training will be delivered by Kornit, with the ColorGATE support available at the back end. A winning combination
Enhancing the workflow will improve print quality while making the process easier and more efficient – a necessity for high-end customers, who deal with a highly demanding market. ColorGATE has a solid reputation in commercial and industrial print and was researching how to further expand into the direct-to-garment market. Simultaneously, technology market leader Kornit Digital was seeking a technical partnership to optimize the RIP branch of its solution. Thomas Kirschner, owner of ColorGATE, elaborates: “Kornit Digital knows direct-to-garment and we know RIP. The combination of our fortes will provide both our customers with the perfect high-end direct-to-garment print solutions they were craving.” Omer Kulka, Kornit Digital’s Vice President of Marketing & Product Strategy, concludes: “We’re always looking for new and better ways to optimize our customer offering. Partnering up with industry leaders is part of our strategy to further expand and diversify our eco-system. When researching the market for RIP solutions, we quickly discovered ColorGATE made the perfect fit. The solutions match completely and the company is a leading-class vendor. Together, we can both strengthen our offering and truly establish a full and diverse eco-system for the complete solutions to both customer bases. It’s a win-win on all fronts.” More about ColorGATE Textile Productionserver can be found here. About ColorGATE ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging, ColorGATE supplies industrial-tailored software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems. Textile Productionserver is a RIP and Color Management solution dedicated to to digital textile printing based on the approved user interface and core technology that have led to the success of over ten thousand digital print operators.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

About Kornit Digital Kornit Digital (NASDAQ:KRNT) develops, manufactures and markets industrial digital printing technologies for the garment, apparel and textile industries. Kornit delivers complete solutions, including digital printing systems, inks, consumables, software and after-sales support. Leading the digital direct-to-garment printing market with its exclusive eco-friendly NeoPigment printing process, Kornit caters directly to the changing needs of the textile printing value chain. Kornit’s technology enables innovative business models based on web-to-print, on-demand and mass customization concepts. With its immense experience in the direct-to-garment market, Kornit also offers a revolutionary approach to the roll-to-roll textile printing industry: Digitally printing with a single ink set onto multiple types of fabric with no additional finishing processes. Founded in 2003, Kornit Digital is a global company, headquartered in Israel with offices in the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific, and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit Kornit Digital at
www.kornit.com.

Industrial Inkjet Reality Showroom: RIP & Printing Software, Color Management and Industrial Printing Solutions

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 09:59:00 +0200

At Fespa 2017, taking place from 08th – 12th May 2017 in Hamburg, ColorGATE will present its comprehensive solution portfolio for Commercial and Industrial Printing as well as selected Color Management Solutions at booth B1U-B40, Hamburg Messe, Messeplatz 1.
ColorGATE solutions can be experienced at FESPA 2017. Thanks to the support of partners, there will be a dedicated Industrial Inkjet Reality Showroom.

ColorGATE will present Version 10 of the RIP Software families Productionserver, Filmgate and Proofgate as well as the Industrial Productionserver range Ceramic-, Décor-, Packaging-, and Textile Productionserver. The focus is on RIP and color management software solutions for the color preparation of print data as well as the intelligent control of more than 1,300 and thus almost all common digital printing systems from established manufacturers. The ColorGATE Industrial Productionserver Lab Edition software is intended for manufacturers and developers of digital printing systems for all applications. In Industrial Printing, ColorGATE supports a variety of controller and print head manufacturers.

In addition, ColorGATE will showcase Colorrizer, a coloration software, and Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC), an extremely fast color measurement system, which, together with the Industrial Productionserver variants, cover the entire digital production workflow from the creation of the design to color matching using soft and hardcopy proofing right on up to final printing. As a result, matching and production processes can be optimized and finetuned to perform even better.

High Speed Ripping: Increased RIP speed with ColorGATE RIP software
With the latest optimization Productionserver 10 further increases productivity. Contemporary industrial high-performance printing systems are capable of printing hundreds or even thousands of square meters per hour. It is vital, that the frontend solution is capable of keeping up with these speed requirements, which includes PDF or raster formats, such as TIFF. Even in Commercial Printing the performance requirements are increasing steadily, especially since often print data has to be served to multiple printers at once. Due to these requirements the processing architecture of all Version 10 products has been optimized to substitute sequential processing steps with parallel task processing.

Ink Saver technology saves money – Less Ink Same Quality
Ink Saver is an exclusive ColorGATE innovation for output management and can reduce ink costs by up to 30 percent without any visual losses in quality. Ink Saver technology uses special Device Link profiles to optimize color composition; this technology reduces the CMY portions in the motif and replaces them with a greater proportion of black; this significantly reduces the overall quantity of ink used, which also reduces the costs.

VDP Creator - Variable Data Printing for Large Format Printing
With VDP Creator (VDP, Variable Data Printing) ColorGATE offers for just 99,- €* per license for 5000 prints (VDP Creator Starter Kit) a very inexpensive and extremely easy to use software solution for Variable Data Printing via digital printing systems, ideally suited for print service providers in large and wide format printing (LFP) with small and medium sized print runs.

ColorGATE Industrial Productionserver range – Variety of Industrial Printing Software
The Industrial Productionsserver range for the various industrial inkjet applications is based on the same software architecture, scalable in its performance and can be configured modularly to meet individual requirements. In Industrial Printing, ColorGATE supports a variety of controller and printhead manufacturers for Industrial Inkjet.

The Industrial Productionserver Lab Edition software is dedicated to manufacturers and developers of industrial digital printing systems for all application areas. They receive a universal, fully-equipped RIP and Color Management solution, which can be used for all machine concepts and application areas in conjunction with service, support and consulting services that meet the needs. The software contains all the necessary functions to generate optimal print data for all system configurations in high quality and performance from all common graphic data formats.

Flexible Packaging: Brand Color Management (BCM) in digital packaging printing
ColorGATE offers with Packaging Productionserver a performance optimized RIP and Color Management Software for direct decoration of containers, flexible packaging and cardboard packaging in an industrial scale. Applications are: Direct-to-object-decoration (Bottles, glasses, cans, tins, tubes, container), flexible packaging (labels, shrink wraps, bags & pouches, blister packs) and cardboard packaging (carton, corrugated). This comprehensive and automatable solution ensures cost-efficient digital print production with optimal color reproduction and easy-to-use functions for all requirements in high-quality packaging printing. The main focus is the color-accurate printing of non-standard materials as well as the precise special color reproduction taking into account the control of special inks such as primers, white, metallic and varnish. Packaging Productionserver is of modular design and can be extended per demand or scaled in terms of processing speed.

The area of application packaging brings the following benefits:

Accurate Brand Color Management: Presentation of sport colors and brand communication in digital printing, Color Preflighting
Color consistent packaging of primary and secondary packaging
Color consistent “shelf ready packaging” (carton matches label)
Digital Color Matching for Packaging & Labels

With the Packaging Productionserver ColorGATE ensures the best possible spot color representation in digital printing. ColorGATE also provides solution concepts for color communication between producers and brand owners in packaging printing.

Combined package: Ceramic Productionserver & Rapid Spectro Cube HD (RSC HD SP)
ColorGATE´s Ceramic Productionserver functions as a central print data management
system and accomplishes by that the highest process efficiency from design to the final
ceramic product. The digital end-to-end workflow offers a secure import and conversion (n-Color) of designs and color data as well as the creation of separations with 3-8 channels. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

Décor Productionserver is a modular workflow and Color Management solution aligned to digital décor printing with industrial digital printing systems of all leading manufacturers.
Applications include composite wood (LDF / MDF / HDF, laminated plywood, HPL), décor films and laminates, LVT-flooring and vinyl parquetry and edge bands for boards and furniture. Décor Productionserver has been developed especially for the industrial décor reproduction printing. The new Décor Productionserver is equipped with all necessary functions for the use with single-pass and multi-pass printing systems for the direct printing of plates and sheets, as well as for the roll-to-roll production of films and papers. The licensing model also allows the processing performance to be scaled to meet all performance requirements.

Textile Productionserver is a modular RIP and Color Management solution, especially for direct-to-textile printing, which, in conjunction with the software Colorrizer, can take over a complete workflow from the creation of colorways to automated digital printing.
Applications include apparel & fabrics, interior textiles, homeware, technical textiles, outdoor textiles (awnings, sunshades, and garden furniture).
Supported are all leading printing systems for sublimation processes, as well as digital direct printing systems for natural, artificial and mixed fabrics, using reactive or pigment inks.

Filmgate 10 – Perfect synergy between ColorGATE RIP Software and CG Media film media
Filmgate is the worldwide leading RIP Software for chemical-free film production using inkjet printers for flexo-, offset- and screen printing in high-end quality. Filmgate is available for Productionserver as the Film and Plate Module (FPM). Productionserver in combination with FPM, Computer to Screen Module (CTSM), In-RIP-Trapping Module (TRAPM) and Proof Standard Digital Module (PSDM) covers CTSApplications or digital proofing in terms of the creation of color or screen binding.

Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC) – Ultrafast Color Measurement, scanning and profiling for all industrial digital printing applications

Furthermore ColorGATE presents the Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC), an all-in-one Color Management solution for the creation of ICC profiles especially in industrial digital printing applications. It contains an ultrafast color measurement system and software for ICC profiling. RSC can take substrates right up to a size of 600x600 mm with a maximum substrate thickness of 80 mm while processing as many as 10,000 patches per target. Even color measurements of complex substrate surfaces such as ceramics, glass, textiles or metal are possible due to special optimizations. Additionally, the RSC takes measurements of very small objects, for instance from business card sized labels, from which the RSC can measure up to 1000 color patches in just a few seconds, which will be processed into high-quality ICC profiles.

The RSC is available in different variants:

RSC Flightcase (RSC FC)

The main advantage of RSC FC is its mobility and low weight which makes it very easy to transport (32 kg weight). The measurement unit´s flightcase has a build in trolley and is setup in less than 5 minutes, which is also interesting for Color Management service provides, because the RSC can be used for on-site jobs. The scope of delivery includes a software for target generation and ICC profiling as well as a Value Pack 365 software maintenance and support contract.
RSC Heavy Duty (RSC HD)

The RSC HD is characterized by its stable construction and is therefore suitable for the use in industrial production environments. It also has its own drawer which makes it very comfortable to load heavy weight materials.

Depending on your needs ColorGATE can offer different options of RSC HD and RSC FC.

ColorGATE Measure Mount - Apparatus for color measurement of cylindrical container
The Measure Mount is a device for the use of the i1Basic Pro 2 hand-held measuring device from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses.

The manually adjustable device can be adapted to circular bodies with diameters from 2 cm to 20 cm in just a few steps so that the scanning lineal supplied with the measuring instrument is optimally positioned above the shaped body to be measured.

With ColorGATE’s profiler modules, available for all RIP software solutions from ColorGATE, individual target geometries can be specified for the color characterization of cylindrical objects. The target generator makes it possible to define the number, size and arrangement of the measuring fields. If necessary, multipage targets can also be distributed to several objects. The subsequently printed measuring field targets can be fitted in the Measure Mount with any X-Rite i1Basic Pro 2 measuring device from the ColorGATE Profiler software in scan or patch mode and then processed to ICC profiles. With the Measure Mount, ColorGATE offers an apparatus for the comfortable and fast color control of round objects, also for offline quality control.

We are looking forward to seeing you at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg at stand B1U-B40. More information can be found on our website under https://www.colorgate.com/de/events-termine/2017/.

ColorGATE solutions can be experienced live at FESPA.

The following ColorGATE partner will be at FESPA 2017 as well:

ColorGATE stand B1U-B40: Industrial Inkjet Reality – Thanks to our partners we can show a great variety of applications
DP Solutions Halle A1, Stand A45, FG auf Epson SC-P6000
Epson A1-D45, CG Filmgate und CG Film HD auf Epson SC-P20000
Ricoh B4L-C10, Ricoh B4L-C10, PS10 on Ricoh L4160
Ser. Tec. A4-B50, UP FJ printer with PS10
Sign Tronic A4-B2, PS 10 CTS Edition

Further information about ColorGATE solutions can be found on our website

Productionserver Version 10 RIP-Software for Large Format Printing
Industrial Productionserver Range
Color Measurement Solutions

Press images are available under https://www.colorgate.com/downloads/press-images/
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About ColorGATE ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging,
ColorGATE supplies modular software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems.
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and color management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

Inaugural InPrint USA Event – ColorGATE presents Industrial Printing Software and Color Management Solutions

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 09:48:00 +0200

At the InPrint Industrial Print Show, taking place for the first time in the USA from April 25th - April 27th 2017, ColorGATE presents Industrial Printing Software and Color Management Solutions for Industrial Digital Printing at booth 1635, Orange County Convention Center Orlando. Since 20 years, ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH is one of the leading RIP
software producers in Europe for inkjet based digital printing in the area of wide and large format printing. The core product Productionserver, a modular RIP and Color Management software, is used daily by thousands of digital imaging end users.
In the emerging market of Industrial Printing, ColorGATE is successfully operating in
Europe and is now presenting itself to the growing American market at InPrint USA in order to further expand its presence, strengthen partnerships and win new ones.
The solutions are aimed at OEMs and manufacturers of digital printing systems for almost every application from digital decor, ceramic, textile, to the varied printing of individualized products and packaging. As a leading European solution provider, ColorGATE has extensive experience in digital printing and offers high performance processing for ripping and color management.
Recognized print head and controller manufacturers rely on ColorGATE solutions convincing through an established and proven service and support system. ColorGATE has been providing solutions for industrial printing applications over 10 years and can therefore rely on a wide range of know-how.

ColorGATE is looking forward to presenting Mary Schilling, owner of Schilling Inkjet
Consulting, as new local ColorGATE contact person in the USA at InPrint.

Mary Schilling works with all the elements of the digital process from conventional and inkjet technologies to fluids and substrates and provides technical support to print providers on optimizing print quality while lowering total print cost. Understanding the dynamics of the digital marketplace, the incredible growth by advancements in inkjet technology, Mary provides customers with color gamut, fluid consumption, machine and print quality as well as production workflow analysis. She also works with inkjet fluid and machine developers to align paper development of new, innovative inkjet substrates. As the owner of Schilling Inkjet Consulting, she consults with fluid and inkjet machinery suppliers and end users on how to improve color and print quality for paper, plastics, metal, fabric and glass with UV, solvent and aqueous inkjet fluids. Mary received Innovator of the Year awards from the Flexographic Technical Association and from Xplor International for her efforts in closing the gap between document printing and digital packaging. "With Mary Schilling, we are pleased to have found an ideal representative for our steadily growing activities in the industrial printing sector for the US market, which is approaching the various tasks of industrial digital printing with the same enthusiasm as our experts. She has been trained in all products since the end of last year and has already realized several projects with well-known US companies and ColorGATE solutions in the first months of the cooperation," said Thomas Kirschner, CEO and company founder of ColorGATE.

ColorGATE Industrial Productionserver – Variety of Industrial Printing Software
The Industrial Productionserver Lab Edition software is dedicated to manufacturers and developers of industrial digital printing systems for all application areas. They receive a universal, fully equipped RIP and Color Management solution, which can be used for all machine concepts and application areas in conjunction with service, support and consulting services that meet the needs.

The software includes all required functions to process all common graphic file formats into optimal print data for arbitrary device configurations in high quality and performance. Alongside with the Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) as leading rendering engine for PDF documents all typical layout tools as well as color management modules for ICC-profiling and color standardization and optimization are contained. Extensive tools for spot color handling and an industry standard compliant JDF interface is part of the product configuration.
The Industrial Inkjet Lab driver can optionally be equipped with ColorGATE´s Ink Saver technology for automatic total ink reduction to achieve optimal drying and post processing properties of the print result with no compromises on image quality.
Included is a Value Pack, which provides access to updates and upgrades of the software, as well as covering the support during the runtime.
All Industrial Productionserver variants for the different application areas are based on the same software architecture, are scalable in their performance and can be assembled modularly for individual requirements.

Combined package: Ceramic Productionserver & Rapid Spectro Cube HD (RSC HD SP)
ColorGATE´s Ceramic Productionserver functions as a central print data management
system and accomplishes by that the highest process efficiency from design to the final
ceramic product. The digital end-to-end workflow offers a secure import and conversion (n-Color) of designs and color data as well as the creation of separations with 3-8 channels. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

Décor Productionserver is a modular workflow and Color Management solution aligned to digital décor printing with industrial digital printing systems of all leading manufacturers.
Applications include composite wood (LDF / MDF / HDF, laminated plywood, HPL), décor films and laminates, LVT-flooring and vinyl parquetry and edge bands for boards and furniture. Décor Productionserver has been developed especially for the industrial décor reproduction printing. The new Décor Productionserver is equipped with all necessary functions for the use with single-pass and multi-pass printing systems for the direct printing of plates and sheets, as well as for the roll-to-roll production of films and papers. The licensing model also allows the processing performance to be scaled to meet all performance requirements.

Flexible Packaging: Brand Color Management (BCM) in digital packaging printing
ColorGATE offers with Packaging Productionserver a performance optimized RIP and Color Management Software for direct decoration of containers, flexible packaging and cardboard packaging in an industrial scale.
Applications are: Direct-to-object-decoration (Bottles, glasses, cans, tins, tubes, container), flexible packaging (labels, shrink wraps, bags & pouches, blister packs) and card-board packaging (carton, corrugated).
This comprehensive and automatable solution ensures cost-efficient digital print production with optimal color reproduction and easy-to-use functions for all requirements in high-quality packaging printing. The main focus is the color-accurate printing of non-standard materials as well as the precise special color reproduction taking into account the control of special inks such as primers, white, metallic and varnish. Packaging
Productionserver is of modular design and can be extended per demand or scaled in terms of processing speed.

The area of application packaging brings the following benefits:

Accurate Brand Color Management: Presentation of sport colors and brand communication in digital printing, Color Preflighting
Color consistent packaging of primary and secondary packaging
Color consistent “shelf ready packaging” (carton matches label)
Digital Color Matching for Packaging & Labels

With the Packaging Productionserver ColorGATE ensures the best possible spot color representation in digital printing. ColorGATE also provides solution concepts for color communication between producers and brand owners in packaging printing.

Textile Productionserver is a modular RIP and Color Management solution, especially for direct-to-textile printing, which, in conjunction with the software Colorrizer, can take over a complete workflow from the creation of colorways to automated digital printing.
Applications include apparel & fabrics, interior textiles, homeware, technical textiles, outdoor textiles (awnings, sunshades, and garden furniture).
Supported are all leading printing systems for sublimation processes, as well as digital direct printing systems for natural, artificial and mixed fabrics, using reactive or pigment inks.

Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC) – Ultrafast Color Measurement, scanning and profiling for all industrial digital printing applications Furthermore ColorGATE presents the Rapid Spectro Cube (RSC), an all-in-one Color Management solution for the creation of ICC profiles especially in industrial digital printing applications. It contains an ultrafast color measurement system and software for ICC profiling. RSC can take substrates right up to a size of 600x600 mm with a maximum substrate thickness of 80 mm while processing as many as 10,000 patches per target. Even color measurements of complex substrate surfaces such as ceramics, glass, textiles or metal are possible due to special optimizations. Additionally, the RSC takes measurements of very small objects, for instance from business card sized labels, from which the RSC can measure up to 1000 color patches in just a few seconds, which will be processed into high-quality ICC profiles.

The RSC is available in different variants:
RSC Flightcase (RSC FC) The main advantage of RSC FC is its mobility and low weight which makes it very easy to transport (32 kg weight). The measurement unit´s flightcase has a build in trolley and is setup in less than 5 minutes, which is also interesting for Color Management service provides, because the RSC can be used for on-site jobs. The scope of delivery includes a software for target generation and ICC profiling as well as a Value Pack 365 software maintenance and support contract.
RSC Heavy Duty (RSC HD) RSC Heavy Duty (RSC HD) The RSC HD is characterized by its stable construction and is therefore suitable for the use in industrial production environments. It also has its own drawer which makes it very comfortable to load heavy weight materials. Depending on your needs ColorGATE can offer different options of RSC HD and RSC FC. Measure Mount – Color Measurement of cylindrical container and hollow-ware The new development ColorGATE Measure Mount allows the color measurement of cylindrical container and hollow-ware with the help of X-Rite i1 Pro2. The Measure Mount is a device for the use of the i1 Pro2 hand-held measuring device from X-Rite for the color measurement of cylindrical shaped and hollow bodies such as cans, bottles, tubes and glasses. The manually adjustable device can be adapted to circular bodies with diameters from 2cm to 20cm in just a few steps. As a result, the measuring device is optimally positioned above the shaped body to be measured. With ColorGATE's profiler modules, available for all RIP software solutions from ColorGATE, individual target geometries can be specified for the color characterization of cylindrical objects. The target generator makes it possible to define the number, size and arrangement of the measuring fields. If necessary, multipage targets can also be distributed to several objects. The subsequently printed measuring field targets can be fitted in the Measure Mount with any X-Rite i1 Pro2 measuring device from the ColorGATE Profiler software in scan or patch mode and then processed to ICC profiles. With the Mount, ColorGATE finally offers an apparatus for the comfortable and fast color control of round objects, also for offline quality control.

SmartControl - Industrial Printing Operating System
ColorGATE brings with SmartControl its RIP Software and Color Management know-how to the industrial printing production, by facilitating a connection between an industrial inkjet printer and a RIP Sofware like Productionserver. This is benefical for various Industrial Printing applications.
The SmartControl Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) comprises the control center of your printing system. The control of all the components, starting with the print heads, to the controllers, and right on up to the transport systems, is intelligent and easy with the SmartControl IP OS.

Register here for free and get your own ticket to visit ColorGATE at InPrint:
https://l.feathr.co/inprint-usa-2017-colorgate-digital-output-solutions-gmbh-t
We are looking forward to seeing you in Orlando!
Booth 1635, Orange County Convention Center Orlando.
12.824 characters, Reprint free of charge, please provide voucher copy
About ColorGATE
ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging,
ColorGATE supplies modular software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems.
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and color management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

Recertification of Digital Print Experts

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:03:00 +0100

In January 2017, ColorGATE employees Gerrit Andre, André Fontana, Randall Lee Garland, Thorsten Meyer, Heiko Pieper and Swen Zeiter successfully completed the recertification of Digital Print Experts.
What is a DigitalPrint Expert?
A DigitalPrint Expert (DPE) is able to analyze color and print related issues and take corrective action to bring systems and processes in control to a set ISO standards with predictable and repeatable results. A DPE knows about color in the facets of measurement, ICC-color transformations, communication and standardization.
The recertification of Digital Experts testifies that ColorGATE employees have acquired comprehensive knowledge and practical qualifications. With six certified employees, ColorGATE demonstrates its claim in the development and implementation of relevant international standards for the graphic arts industry.
Here is a little sum-up of ProcessStandard Digital (PSD) advantages:

Technical benefits of the PSD

The PSD constitutes criteria to make digital prints comparable in order to reduce the complexity of digital printing, no matter what digital printing system or substrate was used
Consistent colors through reference color spaces: the PSD offers a set of rules to compare prints on differently colored substrates: the medial relative evaluation
Permanent predictable printing results through sustainable quality assurance methods

Commercial benefits of the PSD

Standardized production workflows minimizes the risk of unnecessary production stops
The reduction of produced wastage

Corporate benefits of the PSD

Faster and simpler approval process with the customers
The PSD quality seal offers the opportunity to stand out from the competition in a positive way. Like the ProcessStandard Offset (PSO), the PSD will become a well-recognized international standard for the digital printing sector
Subsequent claims for compensation with respect to the print quality can now be decided on the basis of the PSD – no more decisions based only on the subjective color perception of the customers, but on the quality inspection according to the PSD

Through intensive consulting, trainings and an introduction to the production process, ColorGATE will prepare customers in an optimum way for the PSD-certification. PSD-certified companies can show their competence in color management, quality control and workflow management. Furthermore a consequent implementation of the PSD reduces wastage and saves precious time through a consistent workflow. Hence the PSD increases competitiveness and improves internal processes.

“With the in industry highly regarded DPE certification, ColorGATE experts once again proved their excellent knowledge in the areas of digital printing and standardization. All ColorGATE digital printing experts are authorized to perform process standard digital printing audits, as well as submit proof (CPC) Validation Print (VPC) certification to their customers. The certification for the Digital Print Expert is an ideal addition to the Fogra certified products from ColorGATE, which have already been certified several times”, Berthold Oberhollezer, Fogra Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V., Department Prepress technology.
Are you interested in more information about PSD? Do not hesitate to contact us.
About ColorGATE
ColorGATE has been successfully developing software solutions, RIP software and printer driver technology for Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing since 1997.

ColorGATE’s core product, Productionserver, a modular RIP, workflow and color management software is used daily around the globe by thousands of digital imaging users.
ColorGATE has been successfully active on the up-and-coming market of Industrial Printing since the beginning in 2000. With the Industrial Productionserver solutions for specific application areas of industrial production of decor, ceramic, textile and packaging,
ColorGATE supplies modular software solutions since 2016.

In addition ColorGATE distributes color measuring devices and accessories for professional color management purposes to create color profiles for digital imaging, prepress and digital printing. Since 2010 ColorGATE provides SmartControl, an approved Industrial Printing Operating System (IP OS) for operation in industrial grade digital printing systems.
Ceramic Productionserver is a complete workflow and color management solution dedicated to digital ceramic printing and typical ceramic production environments. In conjunction with the new Rapid Spectro Cube HD SP it serves as a turn-key solution that takes care of all color related aspects within the digital ceramics tile decoration process.

As experts for applied color management and developers of intelligent device drivers for digital printing systems of all kinds, ColorGATE´s team continuously provides it’s know-how to users and partners to offer high performing, and reliable solutions to the diversity of different requirements and areas of application.

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Season's Greetings from ColorGATE

Fri, 16 Dec 2016 09:21:00 +0100

We would like to thank you for your partnership and we look forward to increase our cooperation in the year 2017. Season's Greetings and our best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! We would like to inform you that we will be on winter holiday and therefore not reachable from December 27th 2016 until January 6th 2017. During this time no orders will be processed. The last day of delivery is Wednesday December 21th 2016. For urgent matters please contact cs@colorgate.com. Also we would like to present you all ColorGATE highlights from the last months.

Version 10 highlights: ColorGATE expands further with 10th generation the areas flexibility, performance and Color Management. Do you already know all highlights of Version 10? You can find more information here

ColorGATE at InPrint 2016: From 15th-17th of November the ColorGATE team has been at InPrint 2016. You can read all relevant information in our press release

Certification for HP Latex 300 series: Productionserver has successfully passed RIP Certification Program by HP. More informationen on our website

New turn-key solution for digital ceramics tile decoration: At Tecnargilla 2016, September 26th – 30th, in Rimini/Italy ColorGATE presented a new turn-key solution targeting ceramics tile producers with digital ceramic printing systems. The solution focuses on all important work steps that influence or are related to colors within the ceramic tile decoration process. You can read the press release here

We have prepared another highlight for you. Visit our YouTube channel!