NEWS • AUGUST 28, 2000
Imaging Technologies Announces Proofing System
RealProof 8500 integrates with ColorBlind

by David Nagel
Executive Producer
dnagel@digitalmedianet.com

Imaging Technologies today announced development of RealProof 8500, a color proofing system for design firms, advertising agencies and prepress service bureaus. The new product will be on display at the Seybold San Francisco 2000 this week.

RealProof 8500 consists of three primary components integrated into one system: A color inkjet printer that can print full-bleed tabloid size images plus printing marks on almost any printing stock, a Raster Image Processing (RIP) station and a ColorBlind color management system.

RealProof 8500 includes a 6-color, 1,200 x 1,200 DPI inkjet printer based on MicroFine Droplet Technology from Canon. It will print on almost any stock and handles virtually any size, according to ITEC. The system includes ColorBlind MatchBox color management software for ICC profiling. The software allows profiling of users' input devices, monitors and the specific media being printed.

The image processing station includes an Adobe PostScript 3 interpreter that allows scaling, rotation and other transformations, as well as user-specified media.

ITEC will also be displaying its latest versions of ColorBlind, which have been released for Mac OS users. These offer improved speed, enhanced device profiling and support for a range of new measuring devices.

ColorBlind MatchBox 4.0 features improvements for Macintosh G4 running OS 9 and enhancements to the interface. In addition, a new "Profiler Plus" version is being introduced that allows existing MatchBox users to update the application so they can use other measuring instruments. An upgrade with a dongle will also be available for the user wishing to use the serial port where the ColorMouse is installed. MatchBox offers the following features:

• Scanner Profiling: ColorBlind Matchbox Profiler makes a profile of the input device with a provided target that is scanned or shot with a digital camera. After capturing the target, a click of the "Measure" button automatically builds ICC profiles for the input device. A device folder is created to contain the RGB and CIE data, along with a report file to provide statistical information on the input device.
• Monitor Profiling: ColorBlind Matchbox Profiler displays a target on the monitor for an X-Rite DTP92, Light Source Colortron II, Gretag Spectrolino, Minolta or Sequel to measure for creating a profile. It sets a user-defined gamma and calibrates the monitor for all applications.
• Printer Profiling: ColorBlind Matchbox Profiler supports only the provided colorimeter or any scanner calibrated with a ColorBlind application to measure the target patch by patch. The information measured is related to the original target to achieve an ICC profile of the output device. A device folder is created to contain the target and CIE measurement data, along with a report file to provide statistical information on the output device.
• Profile Editing: ColorBlind Matchbox includes ColorBlind Edit, an application for soft proofing images using ICC profiles and for editing any ICC profile.
• Spot Color Calibration: ColorBlind Matchbox includes ColorBlind Spot, an application for building color libraries for any output device. Spot utilizes an ICC output profile to create a library of any measured or Pantone color for color correct reproduction of any spot color the output device is capable of printing or displaying.

For more information on other ColorBlind packages, see our Aug. 17 story here.

Pricing information on the RealProof 8500 was not available at press time. For more information, visit http://www.itec.net. The company will be at booth 1139 during the Seybold show.

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