SpotOn! Software

SpotOn!™ is an easy-to-use process control tool with a powerful visual dashboard for tracking on-going press and proofer conditions. SpotOn! makes it easy for any print shop to test and generate charts showing the consistency of their printing and proofing processes. By adding a 29-patch control strip to press sheets and scanning it with an i1™ spectrophotometer, SpotOn! allows you to achieve and maintain optimum results to GRACoL® and SWOP® specifications. SpotOn! monitors presses and proofers for:

• Solid ink density variations

• Ink Solids and Overprints compared to ISO standards

• G7 Neutral Print Density deviation

• TVI (dot gain)

• Gray Balance deviation

• Average Deviations over time

• Density to ΔE Trends

• Density to NPDC, TVI Trends

1. Target Data Ink & Paper Values – This table displays the values for the current Target Data set in the Job Information screen. The chosen setting is displayed at the end of the title in parentheses along with the chosen Meas. Backing.
2. Press Sheet Measured Ink & Paper Values – This table displays the measured values for the current Pull being displayed.
3. Delta Press Sheet to Target Values – This table displays the difference (delta) between the Target Data Ink & Paper Values (1) and the Press Sheet Measured Ink & Paper Values (2). The Target Values are subtracted from the Paper Values to arrive at the numbers displayed.
4. Pass/Fail Press Sheet to Target Values – This table displays the deltaE76 values comparing the Target Data Ink & Paper Values (1) with the Press Sheet Measured Ink & Paper Values (2). PASS or FAIL are displayed based on the tolerance setting in preferences for the deltaE value. The default setting for the deltaE tolerance is 5 and 3. With the default setting a deltaE of 5 and above is a red FAIL. A deltaE between 3 and 5 is an orange PASS, and a deltaE less than 3 is a green PASS.
5. Solid Ink Densities & Tone Value Increase – This table displays the Solid Ink Densities (SID) for each process color relative to paper (-paper) using Status T filtration. Also displayed are the Tone Value Increase (TVI, aka Dot Gain) values for 50% using the Murray-Davies formula.
6. Apparent Trap – This table displays the Apparent Trap values for the overprints using the Preucil formula.
7. TVI All – This graph displays the CMYK TVI curves from 0 to 100% at 5%, 25%, 50%, and 75%. The graph is smoothed between data points and uses the Murray-Davies formula to calculate the TVI values.
8. Chroma/Hue – This graph displays the relationship between the CMY inks plus overprints and the Target Data. The a* and b* values for the Target Data are the large dots. The lines are the a* and b* values for the inks and overprints. These lines radiate out from white paper to solid ink.
9. Primaries Deviation – This graph displays a more precise picture of the relationship between the CMYK inks and overprints to the Target Data. The center of the graph is the target for each color. The data points show how far each color is from its target and which way it has to move to get to the target.
10. L* Deviation – This graph displays the L* delta values from the Delta Press Sheet to Target Values (3) in a visual graphic manner.
11. ΔE Deviation – This graph displays the deltaE76 values from the Pass/Fail Press Sheet to Target Values in visual graphic manner.

SpotOn! software is easy to use you do not have to be an engineer or a press expert to use this tool and understand what the reports are telling you. Plus, by monitoring the printing process, you will be able to maintain tight tolerance during press runs to produce higher quality products with less re-do's.

Once you’ve used SpotOn! and you have some trending data, you can use it as a vendor validation tool as well. SpotOn! can help identify trouble with inks, can tell you how new blankets are performing compared to the previous ones, compare quality of printing on different types of paper and more. SpotOn! can also pull reports by operator or shift, making it a valuable tool for employee evaluations to validate if operators are meeting shop standards for printing.

SpotOn! can help you produce more consistent results, match proofs better, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction.