Aditya Ghosalkar (AG): Name of the product?
Das Damodaran (DD): GMG Color Proof with Open Color Bundle.

AG: What does it do?
DD: GMG Color Proof drives the proofing device (an Epson printer) and acts as a front-end software for contract proofing. With Open Color, you can create CMYK and spot colour proofing profiles using spectral data.

AG: When was it launched/announced?
DD: Color Proof is the classic tool for contract proofing from GMG Germany and in use globally for more than two decades which was backed with L*a*b* based profiling techniques till the launch of Open Color in 2016.

AG: What kind of presence do you have among India’s print and packaging fraternity?
DD: We have a wide presence in India ranging among all the major offset carton converters, flexible converters, gravure cylinder makers, label printers, flexo plate trade houses, pre-media agencies and also brands.

AG: What are the target markets?
DD: All packaging converters - offset, gravure, flexo, gravure cylinder makers, flexo plate trade houses, packaging printers using digital machines, pre-media agencies and brands who have inhouse design facilities.

AG: What technology does it employ to visualise colour in before-and-after states and assess colour deviations on-screen?
DD: GMG Open Color connects with GMG's Color Plugin (Adobe Photoshop Plugin) and assists for previewing the colours (CMYK and Pantone) using the machine fingerprint, provided an industry calibrated monitor is in place. 

AG: What does the product have for print converters, say giving optimal layout and nesting of pack and labels for plates and digital presses …
DD: GMG modules have nothing to do with the layout and nesting for the optimal usage of available media sizes or to minimise the media wastage. For print converters what we can assure is that their incoming client approved sample can be matched in terms of colour at the shop floor by precise colour management using GMG tools.

AG: How is the product relevant for Indian converters in the SME sector?
DD: It helps to avoid the proofing using actual press hours and also avoids machine corrections related to artwork duplication. Open Color completely helps the printers to avoid job rejections due to colour variations in the machine. Thus they can save a lot of money in machine time, material.

AG: How does it differ from similar products in the market?
DD: Open Color is a spectral-based patented product creates both proofing and separation profiles without any iterations and works with many third party software for  both proofing and separation assistance such as Esko ArtPro+, Hybrid Packz, Xrite IFS, Pantone LIVE, Measure Color, Match My Color, DIC Color Cloud.

AG: How does it work?
DD: GMG Open Color creates profile from the machine fingerprint / inputs from ink kitchen softwares / cloud libraries of colour. This created proofing profile is supported in GMG Color Proof which drives the proofing printers.

AG: What’s the USP? For example, fingerprint characterisation of each press on each media on defined screening from a flexo pre-press ...
DD: It offers profile creation without any iteration in proofers. Its variants can be created without further fingerprints, simply by changing the paper tint for a new set of substrates / inputting anilox parameters / inputting dot gain curves.

Also, the module generates digital shade card creation as per Light / Shade / Dark (LSD) requirements. It provides dot proof profile creation including screen angle, RIP curve and imagesetter resolution; and ECG profile creation too.

Another characteristic is its ability to customise test charts as per actual machine size, and functionality to be integrated with third party softwares.

AG: How easy is it to implement and use?
DD: Open Color is a user-friendly software, which helps to create a profile in no time by just defining the presets and measuring the test charts.

AG: What kind of manufacturing compliance does your company follow in India?
DD: We don't develop the product in India, we do import from GMG Germany. Our role is currently limited in sales and support for GMG modules.

AG: What’s the price of the model?
DD: Price range varies with a lot of influencing parameters like profiling capacities or only using the created profiles, choice of proofing printer size, dot or contone proofing. For an idea on price, we can say it’s about 7-9 L for proofing with a 24-inch printer and no profiling capacities included.      

AG: Can you name your key customers?
DD: Huhtamaki all units, Uflex all units, ITC all units, Parksons all units, TCPL all units, Shilp Gravures, Image Gravures, Amcor, Veepee Graphics and many more.

AG: Contact person and details.
DD: Das Damodaran, business director, Farb Technologies
Email: das@farbtechnologies.net