ICS Introducing Spectrally-Based Proofing with New Remote Director

NEW YORK—May 21, 2008—Integrated Color Solutions (ICS) today announces a new version of its Remote Director proofing system that the company expects will bring dramatically positive changes throughout the graphic arts industry. By moving Remote Director’s color computing to processors so powerful they are used for advanced scientific and sophisticated 3D and gaming applications, ICS engineering teams were able to move to a spectrally-based color system* and also add numerous, previously unavailable, functions to the graphic arts workflow.

This newest version of Remote Director will be a featured solution at drupa 2008, being held in Dusseldorf, Germany, May 29-June 11, at ICS exhibit Hall 4, Booth F47.

Remote Director, already known for real-time monitor synchronization, verification and collaboration; and cross-platform integration with any graphic arts workflow; now offers an improved toolset based on worldwide customer needs and requests. One of several important new functions is spectral spot color definition and blending, offering the most accurate color representation whether a color is a solid tint or blended accent to a CMYK image.

“We had many color accuracy hurdles addressed already, but we were hitting a wall in processing power when it came to applying these advancements within Remote Director while at the same time retaining the same level interface performance,” explains Bob Burnett, Remote Director Product Manager. “And then around four years ago, as graphic card processors began making significant leaps in response to the gaming industry, we started looking at utilizing these powerful GPU processors for our spectral color processing.” The result is the core technology now powering Remote Director in this new version.

As the acceptance of monitor proofing has continued to grow; printers, prepress specialists, publishers, agencies and brand owners worldwide have chosen and installed Remote Director as their monitor proofing solution of choice. Remote Director offers so much time-saving and file integrity assurances - including cross platform and cross monitor color accuracy to any color standard, including SWOP, GRACoL and Fogra, as well as real-time collaboration - that increasing numbers of workflow system suppliers and their customers are moving away from, or completely eliminating, hard copy proofs and the courier services that carried them.

* The spectrum is the most complete measurement of a color sample. From spectral data, it is possible to calculate density, CIELAB, and dot percent.

What’s New in Remote Director

There are a number of significant architectural refinements and feature additions in the new version that keep Remote Director at the forefront of monitor-based proofing. The most significant of these include:

Web Access to Proofs

Filter and browse all of the proofs that you have created or have been invited to review. Sort proofs to find the highest priority work, view proof image statuses, or even review individual image annotations, all from a standard web browser. Then, click on a proof image to open it in Remote Director for a color-accurate view.

Monitor Uniformity Mapping

Images proofed in Remote Director can now be color managed for up to 121 regions per monitor. This eliminates imperfections in uniformity that larger LCD monitors suffer from, and improves color transitions of images stretched across multiple monitors.

GPU Technology

Remote Director makes direct use of the tremendous computational powers of today’s graphics card processors (GPU). By moving the complex 3-dimensional color modeling engine and other processes to the GPU, a whole host of new capabilities, some running today and still more being developed, have been opened up to monitor proofing.

Spectral Spot Color Definition and Blending

Remote Director utilizes spectral color definitions for proofing spot colors. Whether the color is a solid tint, blended spot colors or a blended accent to a CMYK image, spectral blending give the most accurate color representation.

System Certification

Remote Director can run a certification process evaluating itself on whatever hardware it is being run to verify that it is showing accurate color according to SWOP, GRACoL, Fogra or even a custom standard defined by the user.

Virtual 10-Bit

Remote Director turns any 8-bit monitor into a high quality 10-bit monitor. With Virtual 10-bit technology, Remote Director actually increases the monitor’s color fidelity and eliminates banding.

The latest version of Remote Director is available as a free download for existing customers at: www.icscolor.com.

About Integrated Color Solutions
Established in 2000, Integrated Color Solutions (ICS) pioneered accurate monitor proofing technology and today is the only provider to offer the full range of proofing capabilities - from the simplest to the highest end, color-accurate applications - in real time, on any mix of computing platforms and workflows, at any location in the world.

The company’s flagship product, Remote Director, streamlines relationships between clients, agencies, photographers, prepress professionals, publishers and printers. ICS clients worldwide have been able to increase their margins and efficiencies by significantly reducing time to market, shortening critical supply chains, and enabling production of higher quality products, all while saving money and time.

Digital imaging and color science excellence are the hallmarks of ICS’ research and development team, responsible for several existing and pending ICS patents. The resulting technologies combine superior imaging with flexibility, practicality, and easy integration with the many hundreds of workflows in existence - making ICS the first choice of users and vendors alike.

Integrated Color Solutions (ICS) is a privately held company with offices in New York City and Carlsbad, CA. In addition to selling directly via a worldwide distribution network, several OEM and integration partners have incorporated the same core ICS monitor proofing technology found in Remote Director in their own various workflow components and systems.

For more information visit the ICS website at: www.icscolor.com