LED-based standardized light box INNOVATION. That the days of fluorescent tubes as light sources in matching boxes could soon be numbered was made clear by Just Normlicht at Drupa with its LED Proofcontrol technology demonstration. German magazine 'Deutscher Drucker' talked to Just’s Managing Director, Michael Gall, about the challenges of developing the new LED-based standardized light box. Read more...

Create any type of light with LED's

ALTERNATIVE LIGHT SOURCES.Whilst the position of D50 as the ‘optimum’ light keeps on coming up for discussion, in the absence of an alternative fluorescent tubes appeared untouchable as the light source. And yet they do not exactly offer the best energy efficiency, and their use of mercury and phosphorus makes their disposal problematic. But since Drupa they have had some competition. Just Normlicht has solved the problems of using LEDs to reproduce the light spectrum in matching boxes with a control system that it has developed itself. Over 1,000 LEDs in four arrays create standardized lighting conditions in the LED Proofcontrol product, which was shown as a beta test device inDüsseldorf and which Hiding one’s light under a bushel should be commercially available by the end of the year.

CONVINCING. The new system will cost more as current fluorescent tube based matching boxes. However, the diodes it uses last ten times longer than tubes, they do not alter with age and their disposal is much more environmentally friendly. For many users these alone would not be sufficient grounds for spending so much money, but the really convincing advantage of the system stems from the individual control of the seven different types of diode in the arrays.This means that the system can be calibrated to any kind of light and will provide stable observation conditions— and will even do so on two separate devices communicating with each other remotely. What is more, anyone who wants to switch between different types of light will no longer need a second device and the kind of light used for matching will become a question of choice.

A perfect bundle for color matching of monitor and proof! The »JUST Color Communicator2« is equipped with a USB communication interface that enables the »adJUST« and »basICColor display4« software to adjust the brightness of the viewing cabinet and to match the image displayed on the monitor with that in the viewing cabinet automatically and with the utmost precision. For the first time, the image on the monitor and the printout can be compared directly under standardized light.

The lack of a suitable interface did not make it possible to adjust the brightness of a viewing cabinet by means of a software program before. Therefore, visual control and changes were made manually using a slider.

Now this procedure is completely automatic and controlled with measuring technical equipment. Firstly, the monitor is calibrated using »adJUST« and »basICColor display4«: the target brightness of the viewing cabinet is determined and later measured with the same color measuring device. Then the software calculates the optimal adjustment and sets the Color Communicator2 via a USB interface accordingly. Everything occurs automatically: the user simply puts the measuring device on the monitor and then into the viewing cabinet. The result is that a soft proof on the monitor and the proof in the viewing cabinet look exactly the same.

Download JUST Softproof solutions (pdf, 480 MB)

Open your eyes... in the digital workflow! You can look at it whatever way you want: Colour management is not just a digital affair. The human eye is still required because colour management would be self-defeating without any visual colour comparison. In the digital workflow, colour management must offer standardized testing methods and monitoring devices, true to the priciple: "Standardisation is a prerequisite for the creation of colour corrected print data." ICC profiles, sheet-fed colour control bars, test charts, paper grades, calibration and colour measurement are as much part of the standardized process as is the use of the proper tuning light. So, keep your eyes wide open!