Testimonials
freieFarbe e.V. uses ColorLogic ZePrA’s Spot Color Iteration to Develop its Color Atlas

28 July 2021
Founded by a coalition of German and Swiss color professionals, freieFarbe e.V., freeColor, is a non-profit association in Germany that specializes in prepress and color management. Their initiative is to share knowledge and tips on how to create consistent color across all application fields and to make color free.

Main Product
Their main product is the innovative HLC Colour Atlas, a tool for use as a basis for all stages of professional color communication – from design to the final product. The printed color atlas was designed and produced in accordance with the German standardization body DIN SPEC 16699 “Open Color Communication”, and contains over 13,000 CIELAB-HLC colors in the XL version. It is also available for free in digital format on our website. The prints have a color accuracy that would not have been possible a few years ago (average dE-00 < 0.5); and is comparable to the far more complex lacquer printing process.
“The production team at freieFarbe e.V. tested various solutions for optimizing the individual colors.” says Holger Everding, CEO at freieFarbe e.V. “In the end, we found only one solution that allowed us to accomplish all steps: ColorLogic’s ZePrA with its Spot Color Iteration in combination with ColorAnt. Due to the iterative optimization of the atlas colors, even highly saturated colors, which are at gamut border of the printing system, are reproduced with the highest possible accuracy.”
Using ZePrA
ZePrA was put to the test due to their very special requirements. First, they used ZePrA for evaluation of the printable HLC/Lab colors via the printer profile. A color library in CGATS format was imported into ZePrA as a spot color library and the best possible conversion was calculated for a given printer profile. As a starting point they were able to produce a table that shows all reproduction of HLC/Lab colors is possible with a dE-00 < 2.


Second, the Spot Color Iteration feature in ZePrA allowed the measurement technology optimization of a complete spot color library, based on a printer profile to improve on the deltaE. Measurements were taken either directly from ZePrA or in ColorAnt. This allowed them to create optimized color libraries for a wide variety of applications, which was essential for the production workflow of the HLC Colour Atlas.
Advantages of using ZePrA
Another special ZePrA feature is the ability to optimize even very large color libraries. For the HLC Colour Atlas XL, they successfully prepared and calibrated a color library of 15,000 colors for measurement with an X-Rite i1Pro2 spectrophotometer and iO2 measuring table. However, this works just as well with 3 or 200 colors. Once the colors have been measured, ZePrA calculates new optimized device colors and test charts based on the printer profile, which are then measured once again as part of the iteration process. At the end after optimization with ZePrA for all colors that lie within the printable gamut, a dE-00 < 0.5 was achieved. This is within the reproducibility range of the printing system and the measuring instruments used.
At the start of the optimization, their color library contained colors that are in the gamut of the printer profile but had higher dE-00 than 2. After optimization with the Spot Color Iteration the results are a spectral color library and a color atlas generated from it, reproducing the printed HLC-CIELAB colors of different Atlas batches with a dE-00 <=1.
ZePrA and ColorAnt
ZePrA and ColorAnt are central and appropriate working tools at freieFarbe e.V. for optimizing the HLC color libraries and the associated color atlases. The iterative optimization of the atlas colors allowed them to reproduce even highly saturated colors with the highest possible accuracy. Furthermore, the color libraries created with these tools can be exported in a variety of data formats and can therefore also be used universally outside the ColorLogic environment.
CC-BY-40 · freieFarbe e.V.
Authors: Jan-Peter Homann, Screenshots: Matthias Betz
Contribution: Eric A. Soder, Holger Everding
More Testimonials
Inland Packaging Powers Great Packaging with ColorLogic
Inland a label and packaging printer based in La Crosse, WI, with plants in Neenah, WI, and Downingtown, PA. We specialize in labels for the food and beverage markets as well as shrink sleeves and flexible packaging.
Sundisa Uses ColorLogic’s Complete Solution Toward Their Commitment to the FOGRA PSD and G7 Standards
Sundisa is one of the leading large-format printing and digital printing service companies in Spain with more than 40 years of experience.
Nussbaum Media Publishing Group Relies on ColorLogic’s Color Solutions
With a weekly circulation of more than 1.1 million copies of official gazettes and local newspapers, the Nussbaum Medien Publishing Group is the market leader in Baden-Württemberg, a federal state in Germany.
IWCO Direct Uses the ColorLogic Complete Solution to Automate Their Color Game
IWCO Direct is a data-driven marketing firm headquartered in Minnesota, USA. We produce our clients’ direct mail marketing materials using multiple print technologies (digital, litho, flexo) across several facilities.
Austria’s Greenest Printing Company Relies on ColorLogic
“Brands and media for tomorrow and an economy for our children’s future.” That’s the motto of the printing company gugler*. Founded in 1989, the family-owned company now calls itself the greenest printing company in Austria and proves this with numerous awards.
Satinskin Textiles S.A. has Better Efficiency
Satinskin Textiles S.A. is a digital textile printing company located in Portugal exporting 90% of their production, who uses ColorLogic CoPrA and ColorAnt applications in their workflow.

CrossXColor, Inc. is the independent partner company of ColorLogic GmbH supporting their partners and customers in North and South America.
CrossXColor, Inc.
U.S. partner of ColorLogic GmbH
1212 Country Club Blvd., Suite 301
Cape Coral, FL 33990
Phone: 239-540-5722
Email: info@crossxcolor.com
Follow
Website Design and Maintenance:
CrossXColor.com
All products offered and supported by CrossXColor, Inc. are developed by ColorLogic GmbH, part of Hybrid Software Group located in Germany, and therefore the End User License Agreement (EULA) and Terms and Conditions are defined according to German Law.