Editor's Picks

May 1, 2006 12:00 AM, By Katherine O'Brien

The best of InRegister from: Hot Metal, Pantone, GretagMacbeth, RobertJamesDesigns and Inserts USA.

The Best of InRegister™

Make mine metallic
Hot Metal (West Chicago, IL ) specializes in special effects. The company offers software solutions and consultancy services for creatives, brands and printers.

Visitors to the Hot Metal Web site will find information on:

MFX Technology, plug-in software that lets users incorporate metallic inks with four-color images, illustrations or any graphic.
ALCHEMY, a plug-in that can be used with PhotoShop to create stunning effects using just one or two additional metallics.
ABACUS, a calculation tool that can estimate cost implications associated with special metallic ink and foil effects.
PRINTVIZ, software that helps designers visualize metallics, pearlescents, spot varnishes and embossing.

The site also features free guides from strategic partner Wolstenholme Intl. on conventional and UV printing. See www.hotmetal.info.

Color management for everyday people
Pantone (www.pantone.com) has partnered with GretagMacbeth to launch “huey,” an affordable, consumer-oriented monitor calibration tool. “It’s a neat little device,” says GATF’s Joe Marin. “Combined with the huey software, it lets anyone keep their display (LCD or CRT) consistently calibrated—you don’t need any color management knowledge.”

The software ships with various canned settings. There’s one for photo viewing, graphic design, and even one for computer gaming. The huey device compensates for ambient lighting conditions.

As the room light changes, huey maintains consistent viewing conditions by continually adjusting the display. With a suggested price of only $89, there’s no excuse for not calibrating your display.

GretagMacbeth has the exclusive rights to market the product in the United States and Canada. See www.gretagmacbeth.com.

The gravity part is free
No more conveyors or forks that flip plates into a bin. With RobertJamesDesigns (Pasedena, CA) equipment, you can stack plates using gravity. The company’s height adjustable unit can accommodate any CTP configuration at speeds greater than 40 plates per hour. The Gravity Stack 44 also boasts a compact footprint: It’s 30 inches long. See www.platestacker.com.

Cruise control for 18 million inserts
Inserts USA (Chicago) collaborated with McCann Erickson-Detroit to create this insert for a 2006 Buick Lucerne ad campaign. With 18 million inserts going to 15 different binderies, handwork wasn’t an option. Inserts USA engineers developed an automated method to fold the pocket around the card and attach it to the insert, working closely with printer The Segerdahl Group (Wheeling, IL) to coordinate various bindery tests. See www.insertsusa.com.

Wednesday is InRegister™ day
Editor’s Picks features selected highlights from AMERICAN PRINTER’s InRegister™ newsletter. InRegister is published on alternating Wednesdays. For a free subscription, see www.americanprinter.com. Want to comment on something in this issue? Drop us a line at KOB@americanprinter.com. We look forward to hearing from you!