Esko has announced a partnership with X-Rite/Pantone, a global provider of color science and technology. The companies will show at this year’s drupa a color management workflow that encompasses the entire packaging supply chain and “ensures first-time-every-time color integrity.” The companies will be located in Hall 8B, Stand A23, at the event in Düsseldorf, Germany.

“Market research consistently reveals that consumers use the color and shape of a package to recognize and select the product they want when shopping,” says Geert De Proost, director of software engines for Esko. “That is why brand owners are so concerned about an accurate representation of package colors. For the same reason, we decided to implement support for PantoneLIVE from X-Rite/Pantone in our workflow. PantoneLIVE delivers an end-to-end solution that, for the first time, addresses the needs and requirements of every single discipline within the packaging supply chain. This means that the brand manager will see an accurate representation of on-press color early in the design process, while converters can be assured of first-time-right color proofing and easy-to-match color on press. This sets the right expectations from the beginning of the process and has the potential to significantly reduce time to market.”

Esko’s Color Engine, the central color database to manage color and device profiles, is the enabling technology to support the PantoneLIVE color management process across the prepress packaging workflow. According to the company, the combination of PantoneLIVE spot color profiles with Esko’s unique and patented spectral ink model provides accuracy and predictability for spot color simulation.

The company says that all supply chain stakeholders can access the Color Engine from within their preferred application:

– For designers, Ink Manager and Esko Viewer are PantoneLIVE-enabled plug-ins inside of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.

– For prepress professionals, PackEdge, ArtPro, Automation Engine and WebCenter all connect to the same color data for editing, previewing and proofing purposes.

– FlexProof creates accurate and achievable hardcopy inkjet proofs, either locally or remotely, based on PantoneLIVE spot color profiles.

– Brand owners can use the PantoneLIVE portal to manage digital brand color standards.

– Printers and converters will access the exact same color references to use in X-Rite Ink Formulation Software.

In combination with the PantoneLIVE color database, the Color Engine Pilot provides a tool set for creating and maintaining critical brand colors, creation of spot color profiles and other color conversion settings.

“PantoneLIVE delivers color DNA based on real ink, on real substrates with real printing processes for predictable, repeatable results,” says Sonia Megert, vice president of the Pantone digital business unit at X-Rite/Pantone. “We are very pleased to have Esko, the leading packaging workflow software provider, endorse and recognize the value of PantoneLIVE. Esko plays a key, strategic role in the digital ecosystem that surrounds PantoneLIVE.”

“This is the first time that the same digital ink specification can be used throughout the entire packaging supply chain,” says De Proost. “It guarantees consistent color reproduction from design through production, a goal that has been difficult to achieve in the past. Integration of Color Engine in PantoneLIVE changes the game. We are excited to support PantoneLIVE’s end-to-end color workflow at drupa 2012.”