Worldwide availability of ColorCloud was announced by Alwan founder and CEO Elie Khoury. ColorCloud was designed to make color management and process control available, understandable, and affordable; thereby yielding faster turnaround times, accurate and consistent color results, and overall quality and experience improvements.
To achieve these product goals, ColorCloud provides access to Alwan’s proven technologies via an easy-to-use, step-by-step interface. Users can then calibrate, profile, predict, and assess the conformance of their proofs and prints with confidence.
Four pricing plans, with graduating levels of volume supported, are available. Per month, these are $0, $55, $110, and $165 (in US dollars), and 2 months free with a one-time annual payment in full.
Color management is critical to accurate, consistent, high-quality printing. Printing companies that do not have color management tools are forced to spend time and money rerunning jobs until the intended color is obtained.
Alwan’s decision to offer simple, wizard-based versions of its high-end color management solutions was prompted by increasing demand from conventional and emerging print markets in need of affordable access to professional-level color management. Alwan decided to combat two of the biggest reasons why some printers have resisted using color management: one is the time necessary for training and implementation, and second is the perceived expense associated with adoption.
The resulting approach called for highly simplified and affordable cloud-based access to four essential Alwan applications: Hydra Profiling, Calibration Curves, Profile Viewer and Conformance Assessment.
“These are the workhorse tools, the powerful core technologies that are constantly updated and improved because they’re at the heart of our color management offerings,” says ColorCloud team captain Eric Trinh. “These are reliable applications that are practically foolproof in the hands of any user.”
ColorCloud users can access the following tools/functions:
Hydra® Profiling – Build Accurate ICC Profiles from a Small Number of Patches
Build accurate 3-7 color ICC profiles with Alwan’s Hydra® spectral technology, saving substantial time:
- Print & Measure charts with very small number of patches
- Unique spectral profiling technology for accurate colors and vibrant images
- Simplified profile building process with easy step-by-step guidelines
Calibration Curves — Keep Color on the Press Accurate and Stable Over Time
Build accurate ISO and G7® curves with Alwan’s Smart calibration technology:
- Print & Measure ISO or G7® compliant control strip
- Unique Smart calibration technology for accurate and stable colors on press
- Simplified curve building process with easy step-by-step guidelines
Profile Viewer — See How Your Devices Compare with Numerous Targets and Standards – all in 3D!
Assess your ICC profile and compare it with a reference profile:
- Load your ICC profile and visualize its gamut in 3D
- Display profile data graphically and numerically for advanced analysis
- Check colorimetry, TVI, TRC & G7® Gray balance curves
Conformance Assessment – Confirm that Your Prints Meet ISO and G7 standards
Assess proof and print conformance according to ISO and G7® standards:
- Choose your reference printing conditions
- Import / measure one or several control strips
- Get a Pass / Fail with a score on screen and a detailed PDF report
“All companies and operators understand the value of color management,” says Khoury. “They just need it to be more easily understood, and priced so that they can start integrating color management on their own terms. We would also love to see beginners and students using the free plan of ColorCloud platform to play, test and enjoy learning more about color management and process control.”
ColorCloud is available at https://colorcloud.alwancolor.com
