On-Press Densitometric Analysis of Printing Variables.

A MacBeth on-press densitometer system has been installed on a four-color commercial web-offset press at the Technical and Education Center of the Graphic Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology. The densitometer scans the width of the printed web and measures color bars as directed by system software. Tests using specialized data acquisition software have been run with the goal of acquiring a quantitative understanding of the manner in which color bar densities vary as a function of printing variables.