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Summerhall Wins On Quality With Creo Staccato

Watford, (May, 20, 2005) – Edinburgh-based, Summerhall, is reaping the benefits of its investment in Creo Staccato™ proving that CTP is about the results it delivers in terms of process control and quality not just about installation of the newest “box”. Using the 20 micron Staccato screening process, Summerhall produced two award-winning brochures, walking away with a Gold and a Bronze in the prestigious Concert Royal Awards held on the 19th May in Dublin.

It is Creo’s SQUAREspot® imaging technology that makes its Staccato® Stochastic (FM) Screening solution possible. Stochastic screening is a digital screening process that converts images into very small dots of equal size and variable spacing. These tiny dots are more efficient at absorbing and reflecting light and produce a larger colour gamut than AM screens, the result is a significant and consistent improvement in quality, more accurate colour, finer image detail and the elimination of halftone rosette patterns and screening moiré. By producing sharper and more detailed results, even on lower grades of paper and using less ink, Staccato delivers savings on production costs and increases profitability.

The Awards, established in 2002 by the UK’s leading paper merchant Howard Smith Paper, recognise achievement and excellence for the best creative standards and innovation in print production. The Gold Award for Catalogues and Manuals was won by Summerhall’s brochure for Scotland’s leading jewellers, Hamilton & Inches and the company’s own brochure won Bronze in the Self Promotional Brochures category.

“We are delighted with our awards which reflect the quality of the work we produce. Printing with Creo Staccato is certainly a major contributor to our capabilty. Summerhall is positioned in the very high quality end of the marketplace so any process that enhances our ability to produce the highest quality product is attractive to us,” says George Pryde, director at Summerhall.

“Staccato not only enhances the quality of our product but also delivers cost benefits to our customers,” continues George Pryde. “Since using the screening process, we have been able to increase our colour gamut. This means we can achieve many more brand colours from the 4-colour process instead of having to use spot colours. This delivers significant cost savings for our customers and gives Summerhall a strong competitive edge.”

Having first tried FM screening some years ago using a film to plate workflow, Summerhall found it to be unpractical from a production point of view but their interest was kindled by its potential for improving print quality. When the company installed Creo thermal CTP a year and a half ago, it also installed the Creo FM screening solution, Staccato, confident that Creo technology meant that the process would now deliver consistent, repeatable results in a production environment.

The Gold-winning Hamilton and Inches Catalogue comprised 173 x 231 32 page of text and a 4 page cover all Perfect Bound. The text was printed on 200gsm Consort Royal Blue White and the cover on 270gsm Accent Glacier White. Twenty-seven main images were photographed and supplied digitally by London specialist Edward Edwards and colour adjusted at Summerhall. Contract proofs were produced on a Creo Veris™ digital proofing system. The plates were imaged on a Creo Trendsetter® using 20 micron Staccato and printed 4 colour and silver on a Komori Lithrone 628 6-colour press with interdeck UV drying. The job was produced for McColl Productions, Edinburgh.