Technology & Research

The Printing Industries of America’s Center for Technology and Research Print Analysis Laboratory offers the most advanced and comprehensive print analysis in the industry.

How well will your system produce a print job? Printing Industries of America’s unbiased technicians and experts can answer this question for you. Using a Printing Industries of America digital or film-based sheetfed or web test forms run on a press, our staff can:

• Determine the color reproduction characteristics of a printing system
• Determine if printed sheets exhibit any mechanical issues with the press
• Evaluate materials
• Compare printed sheets from different presses
• Validate printed sheets to industry print standards and specifications

Recommended For Printers
Printers should diagnose their printers and presses semi-annually as part of a preventative maintenance program. Regular testing can improve color printing while reducing waste and makeready time. Printing Industries of America can also troubleshoot mechanical problems or evaluate a press before buying.

Recommended For Press Manufacturers
Installing a new press? Use Printing Industries of America’s print quality analysis as a neutral third-party approval of the press’s performance.
If you are relocating a press, Printing Industries of America can diagnose the press before disassembling and after reassembling to ensure the press is functioning at optimum quality.

Press Sheet Analysis

1. Press Sheet Characteristic Analysis Only
   Includes measuring solid ink density
   • Tone value increase
   • Apparent trap
   • Print contrast
   • Hue error and grayness
   • The printing industries of America color hexagon.
2. Full Press Sheet Diagnostics
   Includes all of the above and prepress and press reproduction conditions.
   With the full print sheet diagnostics, we will evaluate:
   • Plate exposure
   • Registration
   • Densitometic evaluations of solid ink density (SID) fall-off
   • Visual and densitometic evaluation of left and right Ladder Targets
   • Gray balance
   • Mottle
   • Printing Industries of America Star Target
   • Printing Industries of America Dot Gain Scale II
   • Ink coverage
   • Tone reproduction or print characteristics and tone value increase (TVI) values at various screen rulings
3. DRA – Digital Register Analysis Diagnostics
   Digital Register Analysis, or DRA, one of the industries most accurate sheet-to-sheet image analysis, is a process which quantifies sheet-to-sheet image mo­tion during the printing process, bringing objec­tive performance information and standards to a once subjective aspect of press operation and service. The mechanical “fingerprint” which DRA creates is extremely useful determining new or previously owned presses’ compliance with manufacturer performance standards, troubleshooting complex mechanical problems in existing press installations.

Color Management Validation

Assess current color management effectiveness, offset, digital, advanced screening (stochastic, hybrid), and print–to-proof verification to ISO 12647, ISO 2846, GRACoL, G7, SWOP, and SNAP guidelines.  

• ISO 12647
• GRACoL
• G7
• SWOP
• SNAP

Recognition Certificates – receive print sheet validation to ISO 12647-2 and/or G7, the actual data sets, and recognition certificate for industry standards and specifications.

Digital Printer Analysis

Digital printer test analysis utilizes the Altona Test Suite to determineif digital print equipment are performing to manufacturer and accepted industry specifications. The Altona Test Suite contains series test elements including; Measurement elements for setting up and checking output systems such as proofers, conventional, or digital printing systems based on colorimetric and densitometric measurements, Visual elements allows checking and adjustment of color accuracy of press simulation on a proofing system, and Technical elements address overprinting and font formats from a technical perspective.

Rates: For information on rates, contact Mark Bohan at Printing Industries of America by phone at 412-259-1706 or email research@printing.org