Yes, I do help my clients make contract proofs for a variety of UV processes. In many circumstances it’s more affordable to make a proof on the actual machine using scrap media, since these are more affordable to run than an aqueous inkjet. In other situations, print buyers need to quickly proof a UV machine remotely on an in-house aqueous printer. Different situations here. UV Dmax and gamut can vary quite a bit and standards like GRACoL and SWOP aren’t appropriate for it. Same issue with solvent and latex printers. UV inksets can exceed press gamuts but are often weak on DMax without lamination. Therefore, I treat this like any other digital printing process without a specification like GRACoL to calibrate to. First, calibrate the printer on each important media, optimizing the ink loads for optimal chroma, and high TAC. Then profile. Use that profile as your “target” for simulation on the aqueous inkjet printer (you can choose to perform paper white simulation or not). So 1) optimizing the calibration on the printer and 2) using your custom UV profile as the simulation target are key here. As to the media, it’s more complicated than simply “coated or uncoated”. There is a common misunderstanding that UV printers print about the same on all media, but I’ve not found that to be the case. The substrate can have a fairly significant effect on DMax and gamut for example. It’s also worth pointing out that the inkset used in a given printer has a significant effect on these things as well. I worked on a Vanguard this month with a new inkset that achieved amazing gamut like I wouldn’t have thought possible on a UV machine... Are you helping a print vendor make contract proofs or a print buyer? If it’s a print buyer, goto the print vendor and make sure they are dialed in (all bets fare off if they are not). If it’s a print vendor, ask them what the most important substrates are and compare them. If they are similar, you might choose to make one hard proof for all of them. If they are quite different you’ll need to make separate proofs for each one. Make sense? Scott Martin www.on-sight.com
On Dec 6, 2017, at 7:40 AM, Mike Stewart <mstewart@embassygraphics.com> wrote:
Anyone creating contract proofs for UV sheetfed offset printing; either for coated or uncoated? If so, then what are you using for a "target"?