Surfscan introduces full color inspection

Surfscan Technologies has introduced Checkpress Colour – claimed to be a technological advancement that enables an entire moving web to be scanned and monitored in full color, with built-in zoom and the capability of pdf comparison with original artwork.

Designed to be used on-press and with no moving parts except for an encoder, the fully digitized Checkpress Colour system uses the fastest line scan cameras available, delivering 200dpi definition, instead of area scan cameras.

‘A printer or converter can view the complete web template, in fact, the entire web width, including the repeat length, without flashing strobe lights, motorized traverse systems or having to wait for a camera to re-position itself in order to view a two or three square inch section of the substrate,’ said Surfscan’s technical director Neil Parker. ‘The entire web can be viewed at once in high definition color.’

The new Checkpress Colour development also includes a pdf comparison module that enables the operator to compare what is actually being printed with the ‘golden template’ – the customer’s master artwork.

An additional feature of Checkpress Colour is the ‘Picture-in-Picture’ facility whereby an operator can view a selected image including the registration mark and, simultaneously, surrounding it, can see the rest of the web viewed at full press speed.

Other features enable a selected section of the web to be viewed in full zoom and examined minutely. This happens instantly, with no delays for cameras to move and no need to illuminate the web.

Surfscan approached the development of Checkpress Colour from the opposite direction to the company’s existing 100 percent monochrome inspection technology. ‘Most defect detection systems operate in monochrome even though the display is in full color,’ explained general manager Damian Harvey.

Surfscan plans to integrate its defect detection algorithms into Checkpress Colour as its next development. As well as this, the company anticipates including a roll mapping module that will map faults from the press to the rewind.

‘Every other system in this sector uses area scan cameras,’ Damian Harvey said. ‘This is why Checkpress Colour, with the fastest and highest definition linescan cameras available, is the only system of its kind.’

Monochrome web inspection and monitoring will still be the accepted method for higher speed printing and converting machinery, such as rewinders, but Surfscan claims that, when fully configured, Checkpress Colour will be the only full color, full vision, fully digital system available for printers and converters.

Click here for more stories about Surfscan on L&L.com.