EFI releases latest Fiery tech

EFI has detailed the new additions and enhancements in the latest version of its Fiery Color Profiler Suite integrated colour management software.

Commercially available as of 12 September, Fiery Color Profiler Suite version 5.2 features Fiery Edge colour profiling technology, which is said to deliver colour improvements in new Fiery digital front-ends (DFEs).

A host of new controls intelligently boost colour and adjust shadow detail levels. Users can also control shadow detail levels to best represent a product or subject’s characteristics.

EFI said Fiery Edge also gives users the ability to define colour-to-black transitions for reduced image peppering, graininess, and smoother transitions, which is useful for colour-critical applications such as photobook printing.

As well as boasting smoother colour transitions and blends and more image detail, clarity and depth, EFI said “superior” rendering of RGB reds and blues in the Fiery Edge technology gives users a more faithful rendering of RGB images.

Fiery Edge profiles are available for selected new cutsheet digital printers as well as for many wide- and superwide-format printers that use EFI Fiery DFEs.

“Fiery Edge technology has been around for a few years for our Fiery wide and superwide users, so it’s a tried and tested technology, but with Fiery Color Profiler Suite version 5.2 we’ve brought it to the cutsheet market,” said EFI Fiery product marketing manager Kerry Moloney.

“Anybody who buys a new server that has Fiery Edge profiles in there will see some instant out-of-the-box improvements, such as smoother colour gradations.

“The profiles also have a better black point, which translates into a lot of things in terms of visual quality benefits: better blacks and better detail and a more dynamic range, which makes prints look a lot clearer and sharper.”

She added: “Colour technology is a very mature area, so any improvement in the correct direction is really welcomed by users.

“The story behind the name is that we really push engines with Fiery Edge right to the limit of their capabilities quality-wise and gamut-wise, which means we’re giving customers a competitive edge by having Fiery print.”

EFI said the new software also enables users to produce more colourful and vivid output in applications such as signage, POS and display due to Fiery Edge’s ability to boost colour with Fiery Intensify, a new rendering intent innovation that can increase colour and saturation while maintaining neutral greys and realistic skin tones.

Fiery Edge technology also supports up to eight colour channels: CMYK plus four extra colours, which further enhances Color Profiler Suite’s ability to get the best possible colour out of any supported Fiery driven printer, including those with colourants such as orange, violet, blue, and green inks or toners.