Tool for the analysis and certification of soft-proofing displays

Ugra - The Swiss Center of Compentence for the Media and Printing Technology – is well known for its efforts in standardization and quality control. The Ugra/Fogra Media Wedge, the control device to evaluate hard copy proofs, is used worldwide. 

Ugra presents now a new digital control tool for the analysis and certification of soft-proofing displays. For the first time, a control tool has been developed by that focuses on the evaluation of the quality of the display. “This new tool for the evaluation of any computer display give users much more security when using the display for proofing” stated Ulrich Schmitt, Head of the Department of Quality Management at Fogra.

The Ugra Display Analysis and Certification Tools (UDACT) is based on ISO 12646 and the color patches of the widely accepted Ugra/Fogra Media Wedge. In addition to the 48 Media Wedge patches, the UDACT will also measure the calibration and the gray balance precision. Not all displays will be able to simulate proofs for offset printing as described in ISO 12647. Therefore the tool implements a ranking for the use of the displays. These ranking categories are high quality commercial printing, newspaper printing and simple layout. Even when the gamut of an evaluated display is small and the recommendation is, for example, good for newspaper printing standards, the calibration precision must remain at a top level for proofing. Therefore this tool does not only measure and certify the results in a printed evaluation document, it also gives recommendations for a reasonable use of that specific display.

Ugra stated that the first licensee, the German soft proof display manufacturer, Quatographic, will integrate the complete Ugra Display Analysis Tools into the calibration software of the Intelli Proof display series. 

J.R. Kuhnen-Burger of Quatographics, Head of Development, stated: “Standards are important and almost every proofing system is using the Ugra/Fogra Media Wedge to certify contract proofs. So the development from the output based Media Wedge to a display evaluation tool based on color patches of the Media Wedge was a logical step. For the first time ever, customers can establish reliable quality control to their proof displays. This will definitely be a great leap forward in quality management for softproof applications. Quatographic is proud to be the first company to integrate the technology in the calibration software.”

Ugra itself does the world wide direct distribution of this new quality control tool as a stand alone software. This will enable all users to calibrate their displays in accordance to standards (ISO 12646 and ISO 12647-2).