Dec 17 2009
X-Rite, Incorporated (NASDAQ: XRIT), the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies, today announced that its recently-announced EasyTrax, the industry’s most affordable, semi-automated press-side color scanning solution, is now shipping worldwide.
The new system is already being used in production in small to mid size printing shops in France, the UK, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa and throughout North America. EasyTrax is also generating wide customer interest in fast growing, price sensitive markets such as Latin America, China, India and Eastern Europe.
“Early customer feedback has been very positive, reports Laura Pursley, senior product manager for pressroom solutions at X-Rite. Users tell us they love the rich feature set and the affordable pricing.”
With an entry-level price starting at $10,995 (USMSRP), EasyTrax offers an affordable process control solution for commercial offset or folding carton packaging printers with smaller format color presses (from 20” up to 40”), or those working in a primarily process color environment (2 to 6 colors). It is ideally suited for printers who wish to regularly monitor press runs to ensure they precisely match their customers’ quality requirements, and meet industry specifications and standards.
EasyTrax simplifies the regular monitoring of press runs by measuring color bars press-side to give users fast and highly accurate density and spectral measurement data, leading to faster make ready and predictable, repeatable results. Designed with simple installation and ease-of-use in mind, EasyTrax offers easy set up, easy alignment, and can be used with little to no training, making it a highly efficient tool for press operators at any level.
For customers with older presses, EasyTrax can extend the life of their presses by introducing automation and increasing efficiency. It is ideal for customers who have, until now, been relying on handheld technology to do spot checks. Taking the next step in automation with EasyTrax will allow them to move from simple trouble shooting to a more disciplined process control.
Color House Graphics, a Michigan-based book manufacturer and North America’s first official customer of the new system, is using its new EasyTrax to control color on its older 4-color Speedmaster, devoted to book cover work. While this press would not typically have been a candidate for color process control, EasyTrax breathed new life into it, as Mike Arrowood, project team leader, Color House Graphics explains:
“EasyTrax has become an indispensable tool for our short and long run book cover manufacturing process. We love the fact that it quickly targets color and uses fewer materials to achieve a fast multiple color set up with our older press.”
Based on X-Rite’s proven color measurement technology, EasyTrax is compatible with X-Rite’s extensive range of prepress and pressroom solutions, and includes the PANTONE® Digital Libraries.
Available in multiple press sizes from 20” to 40”, EasyTrax comes with a measurement board for easy installation on existing consoles. EasyTrax’s measurement board includes black backing so users can achieve or maintain ISO certification.
Support for ISO standards and G7 Process Control is available for EasyTrax as an option for customers who want to maximize their process control efficiency by printing to international standards. These features will help process color printers work to ISO targets using specific ISO inks and paper stocks.
Pricing and availability:
EasyTrax is now available worldwide from X-Rite and its extensive network of resellers with a USMSRP starting at $10,995. Orders taken soon can still be fulfilled before the end of the year.
Source: http://www.xrite.com/home.aspx