Agfa Graphics has released new software, called InkTune and PressTune, aimed at reducing production costs.
Agfa says this software forms part of its ECO³-offering and will help give print houses complete control over all printing elements, from ink use to compliance with ISO, G7 and client-specific standards, while reducing production costs. The company adds that real-time data insights into print quality drive these capabilities, independent of printing technology and press manufacturer.
In designing and creating solutions based on hardware, software and consumables, Agfa Graphics says it focuses on ecology, economy, and extra convenience (ECO³) to make prepress and printing operations cleaner, more cost-effective and easier to manage and maintain. It adds that the ECO³ solutions drive extra value to printing businesses.
Building on grey component replacement technology, InkTune substitutes CMY inks with black ink. Described as an intuitive software solution, fully integrated into the prepress workflow, InkTune uses Agfa unique technology such as Dynamic Ink Limit Control and Dynamic Device Link Generation to reduce ink use by up to 30 pre cent, while maintaining colour fidelity. The reduction of ink saves on costs and increases overall production efficiency. Agfa says quality levels increase as rosette structures disappear and colour deviations become less visible.
Erik Peeters, global marketing manager software solutions at Agfa Graphics, says, “InkTune eliminates the choice between the reduction of ink, time, and drying powder on the one hand, and high-quality prints on the other hand. Customers can achieve all these benefits through the software’s built-in intelligent adjustment of ink consumption. InkTune allows them to shorten press setup times, as well as to cut costs of all print-related resources, achieving the lowest total cost of ownership on the market. It is easily set up and requires no additional investment in training or hardware.”
As a print production tool, PressTune aims to drive consistency, productivity and the ability to print to exacting standards. Agfa claims that as the required print quality standard is reached faster by means of dynamic ink density adjustment and a data-driven scoring mechanism incorporating dry-back compensation, makeready times get reduced by up to 40 per cent – which in turn leads to less waste.
Through intelligent analytics capabilities applied to print and colour data obtained from the press, PressTune also reports in real time across printing technologies to each stakeholder, for full transparency of the print production process. It enables issue identification and optimised press maintenance scheduling, according to Agfa. An easy-to-read dashboard makes it simple to generate print quality reports for brand owners in packaging and commercial print and allows for remote quality assurance.
