Background
You can create a plate calibration curve to linearize plates for quality process control.
Tasks
Goal
Create a plate calibration curve and enter 53 for the measured Dot Area to represent a 3% gain.
Task 1: Create a new plate calibration curve in ColorFlow
- In ColorFlow, click the Plate Curves tab.
- In the Plate Calibration Curves section, click the Add button
. - In the New Plate Curve dialog box, enter the following:
- In the Device Type box, select Offset Press - Sheetfed.
- In the Plate Type box, select
Kodak Thermal Gold
or add the value to the list if it doesn't exist:- Click the Edit button
. - Click the Add button

- .Enter
Kodak Thermal Gold.
- In the Screening box, select
150 lpi AM
or add the value to the list if it doesn't exist. - In the Plate Line box, select
Trendsetter
or add the value to the list if it doesn't exist.
- Click OK.
- In the Data panel on the right, name your plate curve by entering
XX new plate curve
(where xx=your initials) in the Plate Curve Name box. In the Measured Plate Response section, enter the measured Dot Area values for each Tint In value.
In a real life situation, you would output an uncalibrated plate in Prinergy and measure it using a measurement device. For the purpose of this training, enter the following value:
- Click Apply.
A plate curve with a linear response is generated. - You can view the plate curve by clicking on the Plate Curve... button
- Select the Show curve in Prinergy check box beside the Plate Curve name in the Plate Curves section on the upper-left side.
Task 2: View the plate curves in Prinergy
- In Prinergy, click Tools > Process Template Editor > Loose Page Output > Virtual Proof.
- Click Virtual Proof.LoosePage.
- In the Loose Page Output dialog box, expand the Calibration & Screening panel.
- Click the ColorFlow Current State radio button.
- Expand the Plate Curve drop down list, you should see the plate curve you just created.
Task 3: Output a page using the plate curve in Prinergy
- In Prinergy, create a new job, and name it as
XX Plate Curve
(where XX = your initials). - Refine Chart_TintRamp_CMYK.pdf with 1stRef-Normz.
- Output the PDF file using Virtual Proof.LoosePage with one of the plate curves you just created:
- In your Virtual Proof.LoosePage Process template dialog box, from the Output To list, select Virtual Proof.
- Leave ColorFlow Color Relationship Management unchecked.
- Expand the Calibration & Screening panel.
- Click the ColorFlow Current State radio button.
- Expand the Plate Curve drop down list and select curve XX new plate curve.
- Open the generated page in VPS and measure the 50% black patch.
Confirm that the plate curve has been applied and the 50% black patch measures 47%.
Outcome
You have created a new plate calibration curve and used it in Prinergy to control the tonal response of a plate.