CTP Tools Description

CtP-Tools
Operating manual
01.04.2010
Copyright 2010 Heidelberger Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Phone +49 (431) 3 86-0
Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Fax +49 (431) 3 86-13 80
Aktiengesellschaft. Dr.-Hell-Strae http://www.heidelberg.com/
Reprinting, even excerpts, only D-24107 Kiel
permitted with written permission.
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MetaDimension and Delta are trademarks or registered
Technology are trademarks of trademarks of the corresponding
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG manufacturers and fall within the
..........................................................................................................................................
Important notice: information and description as far does not constitute a written
We are dedicated to improving and as third-party products are contract of features.
enhancing our products. concerned. If any problems occur with the
Consequently, the information in The information contained in this product described in this manual,
this manual is subject to change manual about performance and please contact the agency which is
without notice. speed as well as technical data responsible for you.
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assumes no responsibility for products is not legally binding as it
Printed in Germany.
Overall chapter overview
Before you start .................................................. V

Note on CtP-Tools Version 10.0..................... V
About This Documentation.............................. V
What's New in Version 10.0........................ V
What is on the CD?..................................... VI
What you should already know................... VII
Further Documentation............................... VII
Symbols and Styles.................................... VII
Important Information.................................. VIII
Open Source Software.................................... IX
Heidelberg online............................................ IX
Plate Control Strip (PLC).................................... 1
1 General.......................................................... 1
2 Product Description........................................ 2
2.1 Plate Control Strip Formats................... 2
2.2 Function of Plate Control Strips............. 3
2.3 Universal Plate Control strips................ 4
2.4 Plate Control Strip Layout...................... 5
Calibration Check (CalCurveName).................... 13
1 General.......................................................... 13
2 Structure........................................................ 13
Plate Variation Test (PLV).................................. 15
1 Plate Variation Test (PLV)............................. 15
1.1 General.................................................. 15
1.2 Plate Variation Test Layout.................... 15
Index................................................................... 19
, CtP-Tools, Operating manual III

IV , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

Before you start ...
1 Note on CtP-Tools Version 10.0

...
start
you
Before
CtP-Tools version 10.0 has been tested with
Heidelberg prepress systems.
Its fitness for use in third-party prepress systems
cannot be guaranteed in view of the possible diverse
hardware platform and application software
combinations!
2 About This Documentation

This documentation applies to version 10.0 of CtP
Tools.
It is intended as a reference work for operation and
evaluation of CtP Tools.
Note
CtP Tools 10.0 was developed especially for use in
conjunction with Prinect Signa Station 10.0. Because
of a wide range of enhancements we cannot warrant
that CtP Tools 10.0 will work in conjunction with
older versions of Prinect Signa Station. This applies
in particular to versions of Prinect Signa Station that
are older than version 4.5.
On the other hand, we recommend that you update
all the marks you use to at least CtP Tools 4.5 (to
CtP Tools 10.0 is better) or Dipco 4.5 (to Dipco 10.0
is better) if you are working with Prinect Signa
Station 10.0.
2.1 What's New in Version 10.0

CtP Tools 10.0 was developed especially for use
in conjunction with Prinect Signa Station 10.0.
, CtP-Tools, Operating manual V

As of version 10.0 the content of the CtP Tools

CD is also integrated into the Prinect Signa
Station CD.
As of Prinect Signa Station 10.0 there is a Marks
Import Assistant that makes the import of multiple
marks much easier. In this case, the name of the
folder containing the marks you wish to import can
be used automatically as the group name. For this
reason, the folder structure on the CtP Tools CD
was reduced to one level.
Note
For a uniform installation of marks, we recommend
that you make a standard practice of using the folder
name as the group name.
2.2 What is on the CD?

The directory structure is as follows:
CTPtools___Documentation
This folder contains the customer documentation
for CtP Tools.
CtPtools__CalCurvename
This folder contains marks for evaluation of
linearization and calibration curves.
CtPtools__PLC_...
These folders contain the plate control strips for
the various platesetters.
4 CtP_Discontinued
This folder contains all the marks that are not
revised any further.
VI , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

PT.CTP.0018-000GRAUND_01
Fig. Directory structure on the CtP Tools CD
2.3 What you should already know

You should be familiar with the quality assessment of
printing plates.
2.4 Further Documentation

For more information, see the documentation of the
used output device.
2.5 Symbols and Styles

The following conventions are used in this manual:
References to other chapters and sections are
blue (on the screen) and underlined.
Example:
See the section "Symbols and Styles (Page VII)".
Quotes ("...") are used to indicate menus, folders,
names of functions, hardware conditions, switch
settings, system messages, etc.
Example:
Set the switch to "off".
, CtP-Tools, Operating manual VII

Menus, functions and sub-functions are separated

by ">".
Example:
Select "File > Open".
A plus sign is used to indicate that several keys
have to be pressed at the same time.
Example:
Press Alt + A.
2.6 Important Information

Important information in the text is marked by
symbols that are used as follows:
Warning - Warning text ...

Contains information that must be taken into
consideration to protect the user from injury.
Caution - Text ...

Contains information that must be taken into
consideration to prevent damage to hardware or
software.
Note
Contains important general or supplementary
information about a specific topic.
Prerequisite: This text contains requirements which

must be fulfilled before the steps which follow can be
performed.
VIII , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

3 Open Source Software

Some software libraries and other software programs
which form part of the scope of delivery of the
Heidelberg software are applications from third-party
providers. They are Open Source Software, for which
the granted rights of use are subject to the
regulations pertaining to the license agreements.
Upon your written order you can obtain a free and
fully machine-readable copy of the source code of
such Open Source Software, in line with applicable
provisions, from Heidelberg. The costs for the data
carrier, postage and administration will be charged.
You can obtain a copy of the source code stating
your Heidelberg software version from:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG Service Hotline
Electronics
E-mail: GlobalExpertPress@heidelberg.com
4 Heidelberg online
Do you have any questions regarding our products?
Do you want to improve your workflow?
Pay us a visit at our Internet home page. You can
find us at:
http://www.heidelberg.com/
, CtP-Tools, Operating manual IX

X , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

Plate Control Strip (PLC)
1 General
(PLC)
Strip
Control
Plate
The plate control strips described here were called
process control strips (abbreviated PCS) in CtP-
Tools versions < 2.0.
The plate control strip should always be included in
the non-printable area of the plate to continuously
assess the imaging process.
It is therefore feasible to permanently place it as a
mark on the template in question.
You can assume a reproducible imaging process as
the prerequisite for stable print quality if the
comparison panel tonal values match the given
tolerance panel for conventional screens up to 80 l/cm.
For conventional screens exceeding 80 l/cm and for
FM screens, the match should be in the tolerance
panel middle.
The specified working range is optimized for each
plate type. This minimizes negative features such as
scumming, banding, increased sensitivity of the
development process, etc. As a result, a major
prerequisite for high-quality print results is met since
the used calibration curves were based on this stable
working point.
In practice, deviations from the nominal working point
can occur due to plate sensitivity fluctuations
(possibly dependent on the plate lot), changes to the
development parameters (aging of chemicals,
temperature fluctuations, etc.) and drift of effective
laser light power (e.g. soiled optics). We strongly
recommend to take appropriate measures
(replacement of chemicals, cleaning, readjustment,
etc.) in such a case to warrant proper print quality.
, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 1

2 Product Description
The plate control strip is designed for the PostScript
and PDF workflow.
It is a quality assurance instrument used in the
computer-to-plate workflow.
Computer-to-plate does not require the conventional
prepress control strip used for the plate copy.
Instead, the digital plate control strip quality provides
quality assurance here.
Fig. 1 Plate control strip
Plate control strips come in several variants, each

matched to the plate type used.
2.1 Plate Control Strip Formats

The plate control strips support up to 16 colors and
are plate-specific and device-specific. Their
dimensions are 360 mm x 12 mm.
Color codes B, C, M, Y, X, Z, U, V, S1 thru S8 are
used for the 16 colors.
The real colors are mapped automatically, or
manually using the application software.
Each plate control strip comes in 3 data formats:
PLC_"recorder"_"plate manufacturer"_"plate
name"_360x12_V10.0x.eps
This control strip is intended for use in a
composite PostScriptTM workflow. It can be used
in conjunction with third-party imposition software,
2 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

and also by positioning it directly, e.g. with

QuarkXPress.
Note
Please do not convert the "eps variant" with Acrobat
Distiller but refer to the provided PDF variant if you
need this control strip in the PDF format.
Please do not convert the "eps variant" with Acrobat
Distiller but refer to the provided PDF variant if you
need this control strip in the PDF format.
name"_360x12_V10.0x.pdf
composite PDF workflow. It can be used in
conjunction with Prinect Signa Station and third-
party software.
name"_360x12_V10.0x.pre
separated PDF workflow and a separated
DeltaList workflow. It can be used in conjunction
with Prinect Signa Station and third-party software.
In spite of the "pre" extension it is also a PDF file.
Prinect Signa Station automatically performs the
selection. As a user you therefore need not
distinguish between "pdf" and "pre", but both
variants must be present.
2.2 Function of Plate Control Strips

The plate control strip's main function is to check the
reliable, reproducible imaging of the printing plate.
Using a simple, visual tonal value comparison, the
control strip highly sensitively implements this

function using a programmed resolution of +/- 1% in

the midtone, related to a screen of 60 l/cm.
The obtained assessment is the result of the entire
imaging process, independent of printing plate
exposure and development.
Other information in textual and graphical format
contained in the strip provide a comprehensive
overview of all process parameters governing the
plate imaging process.
Note
Many of the elements in the plate control strips are
matched directly to the properties of the output
devices. For this reason, scaling the strips is not
recommended because this can falsify the control
elements in a pure PDF workflow.
Note
When used in third-party systems, errors can occur
or the control strips provide a restricted assessment
quality.
2.3 Universal Plate Control strips

In addition to the plate control strips mentioned
above there is a folder with universal plate control
strips.
They are not customized to specific recorders or
plates of different manufacturers.
These plate control strips are designed so that they
can be used more reliably on third-party RIPs. Any
critical components that can cause issues on third-
party RIPs have been removed.

Note
Because a universal control strip is not optimized for
a specific plate, the comparison scale of the imaging
control area (see Fig. 4) is accordingly larger and
each level in the scale has a number. When you set
up the imagesetter, you must determine the optimal
working point, note its number and compare it with
future outputs.
There are universal plate control strips for four
different plate types:
chemfree plates
polymer plates
silver plates
thermal plates
Example: Universal Thermo medium
Fig. 2 Universal strip
2.4 Plate Control Strip Layout

The plate control strip comprises various control
areas; its layout from left to right is as follows:

PT.CTP.0002-000GRAENU_00
Data format of the used plate control strip
Output devi-
ce/Version
Manufacturer Plate type
Fig. 3 Description of the plate control strip

This panel displays the output device, the plate
control strip version, the plate manufacturer and the
plate type.
Comparison scale (zigzag line screen)
1% optimal 1%
Fine screen Tolerance field
Fig. 4 Imaging control area

The actual imaging control area comprises a 7-
stepped comparison scale in tonal levels of 2.5% and
a fine screen strip.
The comparison scale comprises zigzag line screen
sections. Gradation occurs with increasing line widths.
Imaging process fluctuations have only very little
effect on the tonal value of this coarse and virtually
one-dimensional screen. Contrarily, fine screen
structures (e.g. with square dot of 3 pixels edge

length in a 4x4 pixel screen cell) readily reflect

process fluctuations.
Taking into account the plate's imaging properties, a
tolerance range of three fields is defined where the
tonal value of the comparison scale and fine screen
strip are to match. This optimal operational range
warrants reliable imaging on the basis of a
reproducible, constant pixel area.
The tonal level of the comparison scale is 2.5% in the
tolerance range.
This and the selection of a suitable fine screen
results in an offset of the tonal value match by one
field (= 12 mm to the left or right) causing a midtone
change of approx. 1% for a screen of 60 l/cm.
Note
For an FM screen with a dot size of approx. 20 m
the deviation increases to approx. 3%.
The adjacent 5 panels contain special graphics

illustrating the imaging quality in various ways.
Vertical
Linearity lines
Spot symmetry Type
Horizontal
lines
Fig. 5 Imaging quality

Fig. 6 Spot symmetry
The patch for evaluating the spot quality contains
four square parts with a horizontal, a vertical, a 45
and a 135 line screen of identical ink coverage.
All areas of a symmetrical spot (pixel) feature the
same optical tonal value. Imaging with an unequal
tonal value results in an asymmetrical pixel geometry.
In practice, a slightly asymmetrical pixel geometry is
uncritical. Knowledge of the tonal value offset on the
plate can be important because the same method is
also applied for assessing slurring and ghosting
effects during printing.
Fig. g. 7 Linearity
The adjacent linearity patch provides you with
information about the optical (and thus also
approximately geometrical) imaging linearity.
With linear imaging the four areas (checkerboard
pattern with squares of 1x1, 2x2, 4x4 and 8x8 pixels
each) have the same tonal value.
Note
Heidelberg does not recommend optimizing for best
linearity as each plate needs a typical amount of light
energy for reliable imaging. You can compensate
any resulting non-linearity with the "Calibration
Manager".

Fig. 8 Horizontal and vertical lines
The two patches with horizontal and vertical lines
also allow you to assess spot symmetry and imaging
linearity.
The horizontal and vertical lines are 1, 2, 3 and 4
pixels wide. Immediately adjacent to each other they
are exposed positively and negatively.
Imaging is linear and the pixel geometry symmetrical
if positive and negative lines have equal widths in
both directions. There is an asymmetrical pixel
structure if line widths are direction-dependent.
Imaging is nonlinear when there are differences
between positive and negative lines.
Fig. 9 Text patch
The adjacent text patch with fine positive and
negative type (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 point Times) basically
allows the plate resolution and the effect of
nonlinearity and spot asymmetry to be assessed.

Measuring fields
Plate background
Solid ink field
Fig. 10 Dot percentage

A further section lets you view highlights and
shadows conventionally and measure ink coverage
on the plate.
The solid tint and plate base patches can be used for
calibration of the measuring device.
The tonal values of the linearized and process-
calibrated output in the current screen are
determined when the top patches are measured.
Ink coverage without linearization and without
process calibration in the current screen can be
measured in the lower patches.
The nominal ink coverage values can be seen at the
top.
Output resolution in Y and X direction

Screen system
Dot shape
Output screen fre- Output screen angle
quency
Color code with color name
Fig. 11 Information about the screen quality

Further information about the screen quality can be

seen in the above detail.
Date and time
Scale
Calibration curve Linearization and process calibration file names
Fig. 12 Calibration
The last part of the plate control strip provides
information about the effective calibration and shows
the date and the time data was processed in the RIP.
Information about the current calibration is provided
by a graphic display of the generated tonal value
change (related to the data input) and by indicating
the file names of the applied calibration curves
(linearization and process calibration).


Calibration Check (CalCurveName)
1 General
(CalCurveName)
Check
Calibration
Now and again in production, there are situations
where it would have helped to have known what
calibration curves were used in prepress when
creating the plates.
In principle, the names of the used plate linearization
and process calibration are also output on the plate
control strip (PLC). However, the PLC is generally
not found in the printable area.
The "CalCurveName" mark was created for this
reason. With a size of 50 mm x 5 mm, it has been
kept very small so that it can also be printed in the
trim. If need be, its size can be reduced even further
by scaling it.
2 Structure
The "CalCurveName" mark consists of a single
output field. This shows the name of the mark, the
version number and the file type. The main content of
the mark concerns the names of the plate
linearization and process calibration curves that were
used.
Mark name Version number File type
CalCurveName V2.1b 20070215 (pdf)

Lin: Process:
Name of the linearization curve Name of the process calibration curve
Fig. 1 CalCurveName mark

Calibration Check (CalCurveName)

Plate Variation Test (PLV)
1 Plate Variation Test (PLV)

(PLV)
Test
Variation
Plate
1.1 General
Note
Further development of the plate variation tests (=
plv) was frozen at version 2.2. The tests are now still
only available as the "universal" variant.
The Heidelberg plate variation test is based on plate-
independent and device-independent EPS files. It
serves to check and maintain the homogeneity of
printing plate imaging. The plate variation test allows
errors in the plate production path (recorder, optics,
plate, incidence of light, online processor and
chemicals) to be analyzed. It is designed for output at
948 to 1000 l/cm (2400 to 2540 dpi).
You can either directly output the plate variation test
on the RIP or use application software (such as
QuarkXPress) to combine it with other tests and then
output it.
1.2 Plate Variation Test Layout

The plate variation tests are designed for a maximum
test sheet of 1000 x 700 mm. Only one plate is
created since the test is a pure, monochrome
imaging test.

Complete test sheet
Fig. 1 Plate variation test

The background is a full-format fine screen;
depending on the plate type (thermal, silver-based or
polymer), different fine screens are used. The screen
must be homogeneous across the entire surface. It
can be assessed visually or with a densitometer.
The entire test surface is alternately filled with 2
different types of round test patterns. They resemble
each other; the outer annular area is identical. The
difference is in the center area.

Test area with line screen Test area with Siemens star
Fig. 2 Test areas

The outer annular area (apart from being circular) is
similar in its structure to the comparison scale in the
plate control strips and serves the same purpose;
see also "Plate Control Strip Layout (Page 5)".The
variation should not be more than plus/minus one
patch across the entire test area if you have optimal
conditions.
Note
If possible, there should not be any variation across
the entire test sheet when FM screens are to be
printed.
The test area centers alternately consist of line
screens and Siemens stars. Their purpose is to
assess the imaging geometry. The line screens serve
the same purpose as the respective patches in the
plate control strips, see "Plate Control Strip Layout
(Page 5)".The Siemens star is also used to assess
the focus setting and must be similar across the
entire test area.


Index
Index
B O
Banding1 Optimal operational range7
C P
Calibration11 Patches10
Calibration curves11 Plate base10
Comparison scale6 Plate control strip5
Control areas5 Plate variation test15
Print quality1
D
Q
Date11
Dimensions2 Quality assurance2
F R
Fine screen strip6 Resolution9
FM screen7
S
H
Screen quality10
Highlights10 Shadows10
Solid tint10
Spot asymmetry9
I
Spot quality8
Imaging linearity9 Spot symmetry9
Ink coverage10
T
L
Time11
Linearity8 Tolerance range7
Tonal levels6
N Tonal value change11
Tonal value match7
Nonlinearity9

Index
Tonal value offset8 Tonal values10

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CtP-Tools

Overall chapter overview

Before you start .................................................. V

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual III

IV , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

1 Note on CtP-Tools Version 10.0

2 About This Documentation

2.1 What's New in Version 10.0

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual V

As of version 10.0 the content of the CtP Tools

2.2 What is on the CD?

VI , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

2.3 What you should already know

2.4 Further Documentation

2.5 Symbols and Styles

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual VII

Menus, functions and sub-functions are separated

2.6 Important Information

Warning - Warning text ...

Caution - Text ...

Prerequisite: This text contains requirements which

VIII , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

3 Open Source Software

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual IX

X , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 1

Plate control strips come in several variants, each

2.1 Plate Control Strip Formats

2 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

and also by positioning it directly, e.g. with

2.2 Function of Plate Control Strips

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 3

function using a programmed resolution of +/- 1% in

2.3 Universal Plate Control strips

4 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

2.4 Plate Control Strip Layout

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 5

Manufacturer Plate type

Fig. 3 Description of the plate control strip

Fine screen Tolerance field

Fig. 4 Imaging control area

6 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

length in a 4x4 pixel screen cell) readily reflect

The adjacent 5 panels contain special graphics

Spot symmetry Type

Fig. 5 Imaging quality

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 7

8 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 9

Solid ink field

Fig. 10 Dot percentage

Output resolution in Y and X direction

Color code with color name

Fig. 11 Information about the screen quality

10 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

Further information about the screen quality can be

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 11

12 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual

CalCurveName V2.1b 20070215 (pdf)

Name of the linearization curve Name of the process calibration curve

Fig. 1 CalCurveName mark

, CtP-Tools, Operating manual 13

14 , CtP-Tools, Operating manual