December 2018
A letter from the Editor
Gorazd Golob
Editor-in-chief
gorazd.golob@jpmtr.org
The last issue of the Journal in 2018 is finally ready for publication. Unlike some of the previous ones, it contains four research papers, that again confirm the interdisciplinary nature of the field that we cover. In the first paper, the results of the study of printing materials are published, which through their properties, especially the optical density, influence the applicability of thermochromic printing inks based on liquid crystals. The second paper deals with the technical improvement of the system for direct laser engraving of printing plates for flexographic printing, which is needed to achieve a higher rendering resolution with the relatively large wavelength of CO2 lasers used. The third paper presents an overview of the digital editions of Canadian magazines, both in respect to the strategic importance of the publisher on the market and the added value for the end user. The last paper is an overview of the impact and role of community radio in the natural disaster event. Namely, the effectiveness of the radio at the time of floods in Tamil Nadu, India is presented in detail. Despite geographical and thematic diversity, all authors of the papers feature an analytical approach, research curiosity and a comprehensive discussion of the topic.
In the Topicalities, the Associate Editor Markéta Držková prepared an overview of the CIE’s activities and newly issued standards in the field of colorimetry and photometry. A summary of GWG (Ghent Workgroup) innovations is also presented, as well as an overview of selected projects, recommendations and publications contributed by the well-known German institute Fogra. The new books focus on colour, colour vision and colour management, as well as new publications from the field of Internet of Things, design, history, wettability, and new materials. There are also three doctoral theses presented. Simone Ganz dealt with printed transistors and methods for their characterization in the printing process in her thesis in the field of printed electronics, which she defended at TU Darmstadt. Dimitar Valtakari defended his thesis on wetting and electrical performance of fibre-based substrates and their modification by using various coatings and surface treatments at Åbo Akademi University, Turku. Ivana Jurić defended the thesis in the field of print uniformity and perceived quality by using different methods for analysis and evaluation of results at the University of Novi Sad. Topicalities round out with information on global upcoming events, symposia, seminars, and workshops from the areas covered by the Journal. We invite you to send information about interesting events and publications to marketa.drzkova@jpmtr.org.
Predictions for the future of the Journal are relatively good. The number of papers in review for the upcoming issues is promising. In 2019 we plan two special issues. The first one will be dedicated to Security printing, the other will be the result of the collaboration of two partner organizations – iarigai, which publishes the Journal, and the International Circle of Educational Institutes for Graphic Arts Technology and Management, which will join this project. Some changes will also be made in the Editorial Board and the Scientific Advisory Board. All these changes will be introduced in order to improve the quality of the Journal and its visibility. This will also lead to the improvement of the status of the Journal among other indexed journals recognized by research and technical universities as appropriate for publishing the results of their research projects. The Journal has already been indexed in Scopus and in ESCI, it is already recognized as a scientific journal, but the final goal has not yet been achieved. In other words, we want to be comparable to the best and truly recognized in the innovative, broad, interdisciplinary field of Print and Media Technology. We will only succeed if we will be recognized by you, authors, readers and users of published research achievements as an appropriate publication. Naturally, this must be reflected in citing the published papers in other journals, where quotations confirm the relevance of the papers in the Journal and its impact.
Among the tasks for the year 2019, the online publication of the Journal is one of the important items. Currently, it is not fully comparable with other online published journals and therefore it should be improved, notably in better visibility and in direct access to individual papers.
In 2019, besides health, happiness, and success, I would like to wish you a lot of important research achievements and successful publications in the Journal.
Ljubljana, December 2018
The properties of printing substrates required for thermochromic liquid-crystal printing inks
Maja Strižić Jakovljević1, Branka Lozo1and Marta Klanjšek Gunde2
E-mails: maja.jakovljevic@grf.hr;branka.lozo@grf.hr; marta.k.gunde@ki.si
1 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Graphic Arts, Getaldićeva 2, Zagreb, Croatia
2 National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Hajdrihova 19, Slovenia
Abstract
The color change of thermochromic liquid-crystal (TLC) printing inks occurs inside the microcapsules containing thermo-responsive material. It starts at the defined activation temperature (tA) and occurs in several degrees wide region above the tAwhere the color changes throughout the whole visible spectrum, with the effect known as “color play”. Previous research showed that the “color play” effect of TLC printing ink is clearly visible if the ink is printed on a black substrate but on the white one no color can be observed. The presented research aims to answer what optical density (D) of the substrate is needed for clear observation of the “color play” effect. The results show that mentioned effect of the TLC ink is observable if it is printed on grey substrate with Dof at least 0.72. The research also shows that samples printed on uncoated black paper result in stronger temperature dependent optical properties of TLC printing ink compared to the samples printed on coated black paper. This effect is related to drying mechanism of TLC printing ink and absorption properties of printing substrate.
Keywords: optical properties of substrate, activation temperature, spectral reflectance, “color play” effect
JPMTR 113 | 1816 Research paper
DOI 10.14622/JPMTR-1816
UDC 655.1-035.4-035.67:544.25
Received: 2018-07-22
Accepted: 2018-10-24
Improvement of the optical system in direct laser engraving to increase the resolution of printing plates
Abstract
At the present time the direct laser engraving (DLE) technology is the most economical and ecological one to produce flexographic printing plates. But small resolution caused by lasers with a wavelength of 10.6 μm led to insufficient quality of final print production. Thus an actual problem is the resolution increasing of DLE process, which will lead to increased quality of prints. The aim of this paper is to present the method of resolution increasing of direct engraving equipment. The calculation and design of an optical telescope intended to increase the resolution of the laser apparatus has been carried out. Testing of the performance of the telescopic system has been performed by calculating the distribution of the intensity of radiation in the focus of the optical system of the apparatus with and without a telescope with the help of a specialized application for optical designing, ZEMAX. A range of drawings and the simulation of a 3D model of the telescope have been done in the SolidWorks design application based on the conducted calculations of the optical system. The telescope then has been made and incorporated into the laser-optical system of the laser engraving device. The quality of focusing of the optical system before and after the modernization has been studied by engraving on a thermo sensitive film of a specially created test-scale that allows determining the convex caustic shape of the beam after its focusing by the optical system. During the comparative analysis of the laser engraving device before and after the optical system upgrade using a test image, it has been found that its technical parameters with respect to the resolution have been doubled.
Keywords: flexographic printing form, focusing spot, telescopic system, halftone resolution
JPMTR 114 | 1815 Research paper
DOI 10.14622/JPMTR-1815
UDC 535.4-023:772.2
Received: 2018-07-16
Accepted: 2018-12-21
Canadian magazine digital editions: affordances and engagement
Christopher Smyth and Carman Fan
E-mails: csmyth@ryerson.ca
Ryerson University, School of Graphic Communications Management, Toronto, Canada
Abstract
This paper is an analysis of print based Canadian consumer magazines, studying a selection of titles and their equivalent digital issues. It investigates how publishers are currently integrating a variety of digital platforms, and interactive approaches. These digital affordances are categorized as those that ‘extend’ the use of content, similar to navigation tools, such as searching for text within the issue, links to other articles, as well as the ability to learn more, or to save an article. Features used to ‘enhance’ the content include multimedia such as image slideshows, videos, and audio. Overall, the use of interactive elements in digital editorial content is relatively low, appearing in less than half of the issues. Video is leveraged in just over a third of these interactive examples. The use of interactivity affordances in advertisements is significantly lower. Publishers also support their digital and print editions by leveraging a variety of digital engagement tools. These include social media accounts for the magazine’s brand, as well as supporting the ability for their audience to share some level of content through social media. Other engagement tools such as the production of a digital newsletter, the availability of digital archives (back copies), editorial updates, commentary sections, and ‘email the editors’ are also investigated. These affordances and engagement approaches are compared with available circulation data in an effort to identify trends and patterns. This study forms a useful benchmark for how Canadian publishers are currently leveraging digital infrastructure. It highlights how publishers today may be focusing their efforts on specific devices and platforms, native apps for tablets and the iOS, while their readers and potential audience have shifted to mobile smartphones.
Keywords: content analysis, market analysis, mobile media, native app
JPMTR 115 | 1813 Research paper
DOI 10.14622/JPMTR-1813
UDC (071)050|(0.034.2)
Received: 2018-08-09
Accepted: 2018-12-11
Assessing the effectiveness of community radio during the 2015 floods in Tamil Nadu
Mahalakshmi Selvaraj and Sunitha Kuppuswamy
E-mails: lakshmi.aananth@gmail.com; sunithakuppuswamy@gmail.com
Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai-600025, India
Abstract
Flooding due to the unusual excessive rainfall during the month of December in 2015 was one of the recent calamities that turned the state of Tamil Nadu upside down. The arterial districts of the state were reeling under water due to the intense flooding and the coastal district of Cuddalore was one among the severely impacted. People residing in Cuddalore district were extremely traumatised and were clueless about the ongoing situation due to a major power outage and subsequent communication blackout. The advent of an emergency community radio in the post disaster phase of the 2015 floods in Tamil Nadu in the coastal district of Cuddalore carved a place for itself in history by becoming the country’s first ever emergency radio station and emerged as a timely disaster communication medium for the affected community. The present study aims to analyse the consumption of an emergency community radio Peridar Kaala Vaanoli (Tamil words meaning radio in times of extreme calamity) established for disaster communication in the context of a coastal district in a rapidly developing nation like India. The study is attempting to identify the predictors that envision the effective consumption of an exclusive community radio dedicated for emergency communication in the post disaster phase of the Tamil Nadu Floods, 2015, apart from a comprehensively analysing the socio-economic conditions and the extent of media technology diffusion with respect to the Cuddalore community through survey method. The empirical evidences from the current study state that the extent of media technology diffusion among the respondents is in line with their economic background and the emergency community radio Peridar Kaala Vaanoli has been effective through community empowerment, community resilience, needs gratification and inclusive communication design.
Keywords: disaster, emergency, communication, Peridar Kaala Vaanoli
JPMTR 116 | 1817 Research paper
DOI 10.14622/JPMTR-1817
UDC 621.39(255)=573
Received: 2018-08-13
Accepted: 2018-10-02