Mutoh will release the ColorVerify Calibrator software package later this year. It is developed to automate printer calibration and process control using Mutoh’s SpectroVue VM-10 spectrophotometer.
The Calibrator is designed to calibrate a large format printer to a common visual appearance, using a printer-independent grayscale specification called ANSI/CGATS TR015, better known as G7®. Calibrator supports this, as well as other common grayscale aims. The software replaces the traditional linearisation step in your colour workflow, creating instead a set of CMYK curves that calibrate the printer to a known good condition, one to which any four-colour process device can be calibrated.
These curves take into account both media colour and primary ink hues to produce a grayscale that is visually neutral regardless of ink or media selected, and without constraining the colour gamut of the printer. While linearisation only calibrates the printer to itself, Calibrator calibrates it to a common visual appearance. When Calibrator is used prior to building an ICC profile, its calibration curves act as a foundation for the profile. Should colour drift during production, due to ink or media changes, environment or mechanical wear, the Calibrator curves can be quickly reiterated to recapture the original visual appearance upon which the ICC profile was based.
In most cases this will avoid the need for re-profiling, saving time and money. When combined with ColorVerify, Mutoh’s cloud-based large format process control solution, production processes can be monitored and colour tolerances can be tightly maintained over time, ensuring consist colour reproduction.
