31 July 2015

Swanline chooses GMG ColorServer for consistent colour output and ink optimisation

Swanline Print has invested in GMG ColorServer software to improve and standardise its colour management capabilities and reduce ink costs. The investment is part of the company's continued expansion and commitment to creating new market opportunities for its trade customers.

Staffordshire-based Swanline Print is a leading UK trade supplier of specialist printed packaging and point-of-sale (POS) displays, with a reputation for service and confidentiality. Established in 2001, Swanline currently employs 105 people across its three purpose-built manufacturing and production sites in Stone, that include in-house design, screen and digital print operations.

The company has recently invested in two HP Scitex FB10000 Industrial Printers and needed to ensure it had a robust colour management workflow to cope with the diversity of medias they use. A key consideration was the ability to achieve consistent and accurate colours to an industry recognised standard - Fogra 39 - as well as optimising ink consumption levels to ensure its clients receive the highest quality at a competitive rate.

GMG was invited to demonstrate a solution that met Swanline‘s needs. Phil Mansell, Customer Services Director says: "We selected ten different print files varying in print complexity, colour saturation and print media and ran them though our existing workflow along with the GMG system to thoroughly test its capabilities. We were genuinely very impressed with the results, both in terms of print sharpness, colour balance and optimisation of ink usage."

GMG ColorServer provides superior, easy-to-use, colour management and delivers consistent and repeatable colour results to all output processes. It automates the transformation of RGB, CMYK, spot colours and mixed data to a standard, definable output colour space. With GMG ColorServer, data from different sources will behave identically on the press.

Used in combination with GMG ProofControl, InkOptimiser and SmartProfiler, ColorServer offers Swanline the perfect solution for a standardised and simplified proofing and colour management model that delivers consistent print results time and again.

An important and beneficial feature of ColorServer is the eco-save mode, which has enabled Swanline to make significant savings on ink while keeping the same colour integrity. Less ink usage has helped with the whole production process and cut production times and waste.

Swanline has been impressed with the results. Craig McDermott, Print Production Manager says: "GMG ColorServer has improved the way we work on every job that we have run so far, in comparison to pre-GMG days. It has given us better print quality/sharper detail and more realistic skin tones. It has also made life easier for the machine operators as they are able to produce work without having to make adjustments to any colour percentages."

Mansell says: "GMG is very professional in its approach and clearly understood our production capabilities, as well as the markets that we were seeking to penetrate. Installation, set-up and initial training went very smoothly. We have also found that any additional support that has been required through the GMG helpdesk has been extremely good, with a very fast response time."

Toby Burnett, MD GMG UK says: „We are extremely pleased to have enabled Swanline to produce identical printed output across two machines, while also reducing the cost of production and maximising their recent investment in the new HP GB10000 printers."