Esko launches Print Clone technology

Esko has unveiled Print Clone technology, an advanced cloud-native color matching software, which leverages artificial intelligence and automation to enable digital press operators to replicate colors from previously printed packages regardless of the original printing process.

‘Print Clone delivers high-quality results with minimal manual intervention,’ said Esko CMO Jan De Roeck. ‘This innovation eliminates the traditional trial-and-error approach, significantly reducing manual interventions and accelerating job completion times for packaging and label converters.’

Print Clone reduces job completion times and boosts digital printing productivity. It eliminates lengthy trial-and-error cycles and helps minimize waste and subsequent environmental impact.

‘Decreased press downtime serves to improve profitability, and the fact that Print Clone is cloud-native, requiring no installation, means users can just log in, upload, connect, and measure,’ added De Roeck. ‘Print Clone matches the color profile from any previously printed package, saving hours of manual corrections on press. It completely eliminates the trial and error of multiple iterations and test prints to determine the correct color composition, significantly reducing manual prepress interventions.

‘Moreover, Print Clone is exceptionally user-friendly. The ease of use makes it possible for anyone to prepare files for digital printing.’

With Esko Print Clone, packaging and label converters can benefit from real-time adjustments, quick measurements, AI-powered precision, consistency across runs and dynamically adjusted production-ready files.

‘Once a PDF file has been drag-and-dropped into Print Clone, a spectrophotometer guides the operator to carry out a real-time color comparison,’ explained De Roeck. ‘The AI-powered algorithms then optimize color accuracy to deliver a high-quality, color-accurate output with minimal manual adjustments.

‘By integrating Print Clone into their workflows, digital press operators can ensure consistent, high-quality results while reducing their environmental impact and operational costs.’