Staccato
April 2004 PRINTACTION
31
than their own plates and curves. We have also provid-
ed plates that are stochastic and Hexachrome to other
printers and had no problems. Once again, going
against what the belief is in the industry."
Moving its stochastic process into a CTP-led work-
flow was a very simple transition for Datachrome,
because they had gone through the toughest of screen-
ing environments and come out safely on the other
side. Today, the company is moving ever closer to a 100
per cent Staccato-driven workflow.
Datachrome's attention to the prepress end of
enhanced screening is being noticed in the marketplace.
Not long ago, a printer from Quebec called the compa-
ny because they needed to print a book for Sico Paints
a paint proof book. Datachrome sent him a set of 4-
colour plates with instructions to put them on the
press, run the numbers and see how they look. The
printer called back and Ronald sold him around 110
plates to produce the entire book. Only one plate had a
problem because it broke.
"Sometimes what we do is go in and say `hang our
plates and run the numbers. If your black deck or blue
deck is crap, just make sure it always runs the same way.
We will do the changes in the front end," says Ronald, as
he continues to say he still believes in the word prepress
even though people continue to say it doesn't exist. He
wonders aloud how people are supposed to get to press,
and then clarifies that prepress is still the one area that
is going to make the difference between a good job and
an amazing job.
"We are not a rich, multi-billion-dollar company
here, but I just felt if we are going to differentiate our-
selves and sell a product that nobody else can, we have
to make that investment," says George Kallas, president
of Metropolitan Fine Printers. "People go and spend $5
million on a press and they might not need that press. I
would rather spend it on improving the product that I
give to my customers."
Just seven years ago, Met did not have a single com-
puter for prepress, not even an imagesetter for film.
Kallas planned on getting into CTP back then, but he
came across Creo's Staccato technology before most
knew of its existence. He decided to hold out for the
right moment and then threw Met's production staff
into some of the world's leading screen work. Because
water levels have to be kept at a minimum to reach such
strict tolerances on press, suddenly the water/ink bal-
ance used in 10-micron screening becomes about half
of what is used in conventional screening never an
easy adjustment.
"When the pressmen get used to running less water it
is almost like you have them out there, swimming with
half a lifejacket," says Kallas. "But they can still swim.
Once they get used to it, they are going to make sure
that they can swim or they are going to drown."
From treading water in half lifejackets to skipping a
sailboat in America's Cup, the Vancouver-based
company now claims to be the only printer in the
world that is simultaneously producing 100 per
cent of its work in Staccato and Ultra Violet. By
the time this article hits, they are likely to
become one of the world's first companies to
plug a CIP4-led folder (MBO Navigator) and
CIP4-led cutter (Polar) into their frontend.
Not just high-end
"Every week we come across new appli-
cations [for Staccato]," explains Jerry
Moodie. "Single-colour halftones look
gorgeous at 10 micron. You start
thinking, `Wait a second... should I
make this look like a photograph?'
And why wouldn't you if it doesn't cost
more."
All three printers featured in this article were
adamant that the ability to produce a screen above 500
lpi does not mean its work starts and stops with high-
end car brochures or cosmetic catalogues. While
Moodie speaks extensively about Lowe-Martin's high-
quality Annual Report work, he also points out that, as
with any technology, enhanced screening should be
applied to the needs of the market. He offers an exam-
ple from Vancouver-based Hemlock Printers, which is a
shop he has visited to review their setup for10-micron
production.
While Hemlock is known across North America for
its award-winning, high-end work, Moodie instead
brought up a 10-micron job where Hemlock produced
bus schedules for a local transit system. They were only
2-colour jobs, but Hemlock sold the transit system on
Staccato so that brochure-sized maps would jump off
of the back page. The concept was that the transit rider
would be more inclined to use the map because they
could actually read the street names on it if it was
printed at near photographic continuous tone.
The new high-tech schedules were placed at bus shel-
ters around the city and sure enough the 10-micron
maps were scooped up while few of the conventional
maps were touched. Money had been saved and the
transit could deduce that too many older maps were
being produced. Moodie referred to the job as an inter-
esting experiment in human behavior. Moreover the
job was more environmentally friendly.
"Why is everyone going out and getting high-defini-
tion TV right now?" asks Ronald. "Why is the whole
world moving toward high definition except printing?
My grandfather was in the business, my father was in
the business and they both were always running 150
lines per inch. And we are still doing it. It just doesn't
make sense."
Ronald continues to suggest that someone doesn't
need to be in the printing business to understand that
conventional 150-lpi work will not remain in favour for
much longer and that the entire industry will need to
move toward a more photographic look. "People ask
me what I am going to do when prepress is gone," he
says. "Well, what are you going to do when I start quot-
ing jobs at seven or 10-micron and you are still at 150
lines per inch. And I can do it for the same price."
Few printers believe in this idea like George Kallas,
who printed one piece at 1,695 just months after bring-
A
mid tight security from concept to design, Metropolitan Fine Printers used its 10-micron ability
to produce the all-important Bid Book for the 2010 Olympic Bid organizers. The book was a key
element in the proposal to bring the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver. In the final hours before the
decision came, Vancouver's bid seemed to steal the Games away from the heavily favoured Austrian
contingent. The Bid Book no doubt played a role in the winning effort. Met produced nine books as
part of the package. The company was also one of the Community Contributors for the Olympic bid,
which helped translate the vision for the games as well as provide awareness in the Vancouver
community. Vancouver's major turned the affair into a public referendum.
Olympic Staccato
"When the pressmen get used to running less water it is almost like
you have them out there, swimming with half a lifejacket," says
Kallas. "But they can still swim. Once they get used to it, they are
going to make sure that they can swim or they are going to drown"
