Paper dimensional stability in sheet-fed offset printing : Papperets dimensionsstabilitet i en arkoffsetpress

In offset printing, dampening solution is used to create a good balance in the process. If too much water is transferred to the paper, the sheet can change its size between the printing units, due to water absorption, and cause a problem with the colour register. This phenomenon is usually referred to as fanout. In this degree project, an investigation was made to see if the paper dimensions changed through its way in the sheet-fed printing process. The instrument Luchs Register Measuring Systems (Lynx) was used, and a method for measuring if the paper changed its dimensions with this instrument, was developed. Paper qualities with three different grammages were used, 90, 130 and 250 gsm. This investigation showed that all paper qualities changed their size with widening in the gripper edge in the range of 10 - 70 µm and in the trailing edge the increase was 10 - 130 µm. The elongations of the papers were in the range of 10- 300 µm. The papers with lowest grammage changed more than the heavier. To see if the print had been affected of the widening and elongation, print quality parameters like relative contrast, dot gain and mottle were correlated with the Lynx data from the sheets. The group of papers that gave correlations were in 130 gsm. The sheets had visual doubling and the combined standard deviation from the Lynx marks K3, K5 and K21 correlated with dot gain. When the variations increased so did the dot gain and this indicates that the doubling was due to the widening. There was also a correlation between the standard deviation from K3 and Mottle. The sheets widened with an average of 30 µm in the gripper edge and since there probably were doubling due to widening it also affected the Mottle values. What the widening depends on is hard to tell. Since widening was so small, it could be due to water absorption, papers being ironed out or maybe the sheets have been flattened out. It probably needs a more detailed investigation to find out what causes the widening. Further investigations about how print quality is affected by the register accuracy of a printing machine should include a print form with measuring areas close to the Lynx marks. The measuring areas should contain fine hairlines, negative text printed with at least two colours and some pictures to evaluate together with standard measuring should give a good knowledge about the subject.

Utredning om huruvida Dalarnas Tidningars produktion passar en KBA Cortina

This degree project illustrates newsprint and waterless offset. A new news press was introduced at Drupa-00, Cortina from KBA, which is the first news press dedicated the waterless technique. With actual statistics from the company in question an investigation was made whether their production fits this press. It came out in the investigation that the production of the company, from statistics, fits this press very good. A table was made where different timeschedules were accounted for the new press, with semi- and full automatic plate changing for present and to be added papers. The waterless technology is compared to conventional offset with the difference that the plate is based on a sort of laminatetechnology. Like conventional plates this plate has a base made of aluminium. Lightsensitive photopolymer isunited as a layer or coat on top of the aluminium and a 2µm thin oleophobic siliconlayer is applied on top of the photopolymer. Considering the print, the waterless method has a higher qualitygrade than conventional offset. No water is emulsifiedin the ink, and therefore the printed dot gets a higher density. The loss of dampening solution and higher tack of the ink gives sharper dots. This makes the colourspace bigger why a greater range of colours can be printed. The loss of dampening solution gives a more stable dotgain, which contributes to that a higher screen can be used. The disadvantage is that the plate can't do as many rotations as the conventional plate. A waterless plate makes around 100 000-500 000 rotations before it needs to be removed owing to type- and manufacturer of the plate. The plate is also slightly more sensitive and expensive than conventional plates, around 1,4 - 1,7 × aluminium printing plates. A waterless system can be installed in a conventional printing press by degrees and when large editions are being printed a cooler needs to be installed in the oscillationrollers of the press, since an increase in temperature can make the oleophobic parts of the plate oleophilic. The Cortina is however equipped with a temperature controlsystem at the beginning. To avoid picking, caused by the tacky ink, a blanket with a high “quick release” should be used.

Formgivning av magasin i ett redaktionellt utvecklingsarbete

Tidningskompaniet, a publishing agency in Göteborg, has during the spring of 2003 developed a customermagazine for Göteborgsvarvet, a Half Marathon Race in Göteborg. If realized the magazine shallbe distributed to former participants of the race twice a year and will be financed by adverts.As part of the editorial concept, development of a graphic profile will be made for the magazine. Thisdegree project will result in the production of a »dummy« magazine to be presented to the client and tobe used by the advertisement sales people in their work.The magazine, named »Varvet«, will convey the message that anyone can run Göteborgsvarvet. Theintention is to give the magazine a »youthful and sporty« image.The work in this degree project has comprised designing the magazine in co-operation with an editorialconcept developer and a project leader at Tidningskompaniet, and also the production of 18 magazinepages including prepress work. The magazine has been made into a strictly sectionized product,with a mix of short and long articles with lighter material and strict how-to-do-it guides. The designhas been made to complement the editorial concept, with typography and colours that feel modern and»active«.The dummy magazine has been digitally printed using a Xeikon digital press and has been distributedto the client and the advertisement sales bureau.

Färgperception och grafisk profilering av Hedemora Assistansservie

An inquiring study of literature has been conducted, about the human colour perception (theimpression of colours). The colour has been examined, both as conscious and subconscious signal,and reasons for it’s influence have been exammed.The practical parts of the degree project have been carried out in active collaboration with thecustomer, The Association Hedemora Assistansservice (HASS), which offers handicapped persons astimulating spare time by personal assistance. A graphical profile-programme and an informationfolderhave been produced, easy received by both handicapped (with defective vision) and normallysighted persons. The graphical profile-programme was made in collaboration with the customer.Concerning the information-folder HASS took the main responsibility for the choice of photographswhile layout, text writing, colour-reproduction, original-production and connecting printing workswere made independently. The customer has shown engagement and interest and had a lot of opinionsabout the degree project, of which have been paid attention.

Utvärdering av digitala provtryckssystem

Six different Digital Proofing Systems from three different techniques have been evaluated as totechnique, printing quality, economy and usability. Digital proof from two paper qualities, coatedand uncoated, has been compared with references printed in offset, to see how good they match eachother. Only two Proofing Systems manage to print on reference paper. The other Proofing Systemsuse special paper for digital proof.Measurements and visuell judgement show that the Digital Proofing Systems visualise referencepictures with quite good quality. Proof optimised for coated paper visualise the colours with goodresult. Proof optimised for uncoated paper shows higher quality than the references, which depends onthe surface of the proofing paper. Comparison between reference paper and proofing paper has takenplace as to differences in colour and paper quality.The Digital Proofing Systems are fully automatic, which demand a quite comprised education forcorrect handling. The purchase price and printing costs vary considerably between the ProofingSystems.

Färgstyrning av kontorsutrustning

Color management has become more common now than ever in the graphic trade. Calibration andcharcterization are words that are mentioned very often when it comes to controlling colors andwhen you want a printed picture to look the same as an original photograph. The problem is thatthere are not so many people that has the knowlegde about this subject. Even if a printer supportscolor management it is not sure that the result is going to be satisfied and that a printed picture isgoing to look the same as the original.The printers which were used were Hp DeskJet 970 Cxi, Xerox Docu Color 12 and AgfaChromapress 50i. The theory of color, colour management and the equipment which were usedare described in the first stage. The second stage describes calibration and characterization ofmonitors, scanners and printers. Finally the result of created ICC-profiles is set by visual comparisionof a photographs original colours and a scanned and printed photograph.The results of calibration and characterization were varying a lot. Agfa Chromapress 50i was theonly printer which could produce a succesful calibration. Agfa Chromapress 50i and XeroxDocuColor 12 gave the best results when comparing original photographs with printed pictures ifthey were separated with ICC-profiles. ICC-profiles created for Hp DeskJet 970 Cxi achievedundesirable effects. This was the only printer that gave a bad result both with and without ICCprofiles.The reason for this miserable result can depend on the printers unability to fully supportcolor management.

Redesign av personaltidningen Energitrycket samt anpassning för kopiering och publicering för webben

This degree project has been carried out on the commission of AB Borlänge Energi. The purpose of thisproject was to redesign the magazine Energitrycket. The magazine should inform about the current eventsat the company. The work consisted of redesign of the existing magazine and adjustment to copying andpublishing on the web.This project also contains a research about how paper and colour affect the print results. It shows thatthe maximum contrast and sharp image reproduction is best achieved on woodfree, coated, calenderedpaper with high whiteness. An uncoated, light yellow paper is however to recommend for a printed matterswith a lot of text.It also shows that every production unit reproduces colours differently. To get a good colour reproductionand a good communication between these units, they must be calibrated, and well-functioningICC-profiles must be created.

Broschyr om avändarprofiler

The project group is participating in a measuring project that is a cooperation between CIT EnergyManagement AB, the Measuring unit of Chalmers and College of Dalarna.The results from the measurementswill be put together and presented in a brochure.When designing the brochure a great deal of planning has been made how to attract the targetgroup.To make the contents of the brochure more attractive, which mainly will contain text, a lot of imageswith a symbolic substance have been used. To keep the brochure together it has been divided into fivechapters that each has been given one specific colour. The colours are consistent on initials, headlinesand images.At the moment the results of the measurements are not yet ready and the text for the brochure is notpossible to complete now. This project is expected to finish in the fall when all the measurements havebeen compiled.

Kvalitetssäkring av Clas Ohlson AB´s grafiska produktionsflöde

The question formulation in the essay brought up whether Clas Ohlson works today with their graphical productionflow and if that way of working leads to a desirable result in press. After a dialogue with Clas Ohlson it emerged thatthey had certain problems with the material that came out of the printing presses. Certain colours were not reproducedaccording to the stated values that had been developed. In March -08 an analysis of the graphical production flowspresent situation were done at Clas Ohlsons in order to find out how they worked with their production of print materials.In the analysis, their way to work with color spaces, displays, ICC-profiles, PDF-exports, pictures and printerswere examined. Occasional interviews were also implemented with responsible personnel about how they worked withdifferent aspects.Deficiencies were found on almost all examined parts in their graphical production flow. Wrong colorspaces andCMYK-profiles was used in big extent, the displays where uncalibrated or incorrectly calibrated, wrong PDF-presetswas used frequently and it also showed that six different suppliers for their printing materials were used. The solutionsthat were relevant for the problems and defects were later on presented as proposals on measures.

Grafisk profilering som en del avvarumärkesarbetet

A strong brand can help a company to be easier to recognize and be remembered by their customers. Part of branding is to create a visual appearance which is called a graphic profile and contains information on for instance a logo, colours or typography.The objective of this thesis was to create a graphic profile for Stjørdal Tannhelsesenter that could serve as a base for a brand work in the future. It was important to analyze how the clinic wants to be perceived and how it is perceived today. The methods used to carry out this study were questionnaires, researches and a focus group.The work resulted in the generation of a graphic profile that included a new logo, colours, decorative elements, fonts, templates for stationery, business card / badge, imagery, and examples of some publications.According to the test which was made to examine the results of the project showed that I was successful and that the new design meets all the requests from the previous questionnaires.

Evaluation of Red Colour Segmentation Algorithms in Traffic Signs Detection

Colour segmentation is the most commonly used method in road signs detection. Road sign contains several basic colours such as red, yellow, blue and white which depends on countries.The objective of this thesis is to do an evaluation of the four colour segmentation algorithms. Dynamic Threshold Algorithm, A Modification of de la Escalera’s Algorithm, the Fuzzy Colour Segmentation Algorithm and Shadow and Highlight Invariant Algorithm. The processing time and segmentation success rate as criteria are used to compare the performance of the four algorithms. And red colour is selected as the target colour to complete the comparison. All the testing images are selected from the Traffic Signs Database of Dalarna University [1] randomly according to the category. These road sign images are taken from a digital camera mounted in a moving car in Sweden.Experiments show that the Fuzzy Colour Segmentation Algorithm and Shadow and Highlight Invariant Algorithm are more accurate and stable to detect red colour of road signs. And the method could also be used in other colours analysis research. The yellow colour which is chosen to evaluate the performance of the four algorithms can reference Master Thesis of Yumei Liu.

Färg och missfärgning hos sågad björk : - Variation samt effekter av avverkningstidpunkt, lagring av timmer och torkning av sågad vara

Variation i björkvirkets färg beror på art, läge i träd, ursprung och lagringstid. Vårtbjörk har en mörkare färg än glasbjörk, men livligare struktur och glans. Timmer hugget under tillväxtsäsongen bör sågas färskt eller lagras högst en månad. Vid brädgårdstorkning är god luftcirkulation och skydd för väta och direkt solljus väsentligt. Strövirkets färskhet är av stor betydelse för att undvika fuktfärgning av virket.Variation in birch colours depend on species, position in tree, origin and the storage period. White birch is darker than hairy birch but with a lively structure and shine. During vegetation period timber storage exceeding one month should be avoided. Air circulation, protection from rain and direct sunlight are essential for yard drying. Freshness of stickers used for stacking is important to avoid water marks on wood surface.

Printing colour hard proofs using EFI Colorproof XF v. 3.1 and Photoshop CS3, and production substrates.

EFI Colorproof XF was found to be more convenient from a user’s aspect, and had features which are covered in the ISO 12647-7 standard (e.g. the ability to simulate screening and print margin information), which Photoshop CS3 lacked. None of the proofing systems distinguished itself in a clear way from the other; sometimes, on certain substrates, Photoshop CS3 produced most accurate colours, sometimes EFI Colorproof XF did. Further investigations need to be carried out to tell more exactly which system produce most accurate colours. Only 6 out of 34 simulation-combinations had colours within the tolerances in the standard. The result also shows that the production substrates should not be used as proofing substrates. Instead the proofing papers especially made for ink jet should be used to obtain more colour-accurate prints.

Design and validation of a sheet metal shearing experimental procedure

Throughout the industrial processes of sheet metal manufacturing and refining, shear cutting is widely used for its speed and cost advantages over competing cutting methods. Industrial shears may include some force measurement possibilities, but the force is most likely influenced by friction losses between shear tool and the point of measurement, and are in general not showing the actual force applied to the sheet. Well defined shears and accurate measurements of force and shear tool position are important for understanding the influence of shear parameters. Accurate experimental data are also necessary for calibration of numerical shear models. Here, a dedicated laboratory set-up with well defined geometry and movement in the shear, and high measurability in terms of force and geometry is designed, built and verified. Parameters important to the shear process are studied with perturbation analysis techniques and requirements on input parameter accuracy are formulated to meet experimental output demands. Input parameters in shearing are mostly geometric parameters, but also material properties and contact conditions. Based on the accuracy requirements, a symmetric experiment with internal balancing of forces is constructed to avoid guides and corresponding friction losses. Finally, the experimental procedure is validated through shearing of a medium grade steel. With the obtained experimental set-up performance, force changes as result of changes in studied input parameters are distinguishable down to a level of 1%.

Företagets kärnvärden i en grafisk profil : Utformandetav en grafisk profil till ett e-handelsföretag med afrikansk inriktning

Sanke är ett nystartat företag som genom sin hemsida ska sälja produkter som producerats i norra och västra Afrika. Konkurrensen mellan olika företag skapar oändliga valmöjligheter för kunden vilket blir ett problem för de företag som vill nå ut i mediebruset. Därför var målet med examensarbetet är att ge Sanke ett enhetligt grafiskt utseende för att öka medvetenheten och igenkännandet av företaget och dess varumärke. Detta har genomförts genom att utforma en grafisk profil som återspeglar företagets kärnvärden. Genom en intervju med Sanke fastställdes företagets kärnvärden. Dessa användes sedan för att skapa nio olika förslag på grafiska profiler som målgruppen genom en webbenkät gett återkoppling på. Resultatet av målgruppens återkoppling blev Sankes grafiska profil. Den grafiska profilen omfattades av en logotyp, profilfärger och hustypsnitt samt riktlinjer för hanterande av elementen och deras samspel. Slutsatsen blev att det faktum att kärnvärden och färgkonnotationer kan ha olika betydelse för olika individer kan ha försvårat bedömningen av förslagen, men att målgruppen till en vis del visat en gemensam uppfattning.