COLORIFIC SOFTWARE FILLS GAP IN WINDOWS 95 PLUG-'N-PLAY FOR COLOR MONITORS

SAN FRANCISCO, September 25, 1995-Colorific -- V.95, color management
software from Sonnetech, Ltd., is the first solution that fills a gap in
the color architecture of Windows 95 that can result in inaccurate
screen-to-printer color matching. 

According to Sonnetech managing partner Bill Hilliard, monitors must be
equipped with Colorific or other color management software to assure
"no-surprises" display-to-printer color matching. Colorific creates a
color profile, a data file describing the individual monitor's specific
color rendering behavior, and supplies it to the operating system, which
uses the information to match the colors printed to those seen on-screen.


In order for Image Color Matching (ICM), the color matching module of
Windows 95, to facilitate WYSIWYG printing, the operating system needs to
know the color characteristics of each individual monitor's display.
Windows 95 expects the monitor to supply this information as part of the
monitor's Color Plug 'n Play configuration sequence. Colorific uses a
quick, set-and-forget color tuning sequence to supply this color profile
for the monitor and then recreates the color settings each time the
computer is turned on. 

"Colorific installed on a color monitor provides this missing link in
Windows 95's color management architecture," said Hilliard. "Windows 95 is
designed to use information about the user's monitor to deliver
great-looking color on-screen and to produce the very best quality color
printing. Colorific is how the monitor tells Windows 95 about itself." 

Without a color profile for the user's monitor, Windows 95 is unable to
perform accurate WYSIWYG color printing. Instead, Windows 95 uses a preset
default setting when printing colors. Regardless of the maker or model, if
a monitor does not supply a color profile at configuration, ICM assumes
the monitor has the color rendering characteristics of the NEC 4FG, a
discontinued model. Subsequent printing will reflect color settings for
that model, not the actual monitor configured. 

Colorific for Windows 95 is now shipping with monitors from ArtMedia, EIZO,
Iiyama, Mitsubishi, Nanao, NEC, Nokia, Optiquest, Sony, and ViewSonic in
the United States, Europe, and Asia. More than 195,000 copies of Colorific
have been shipped to date for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh systems. 

Support for Kodak Precision Color Management

Colorific for Windows 95 also supports existing applications designed for
Windows 3.1 that use the Kodak Precision color management system (KPCMS)
instead of ICM. These include Adobe PhotoShop 3.0 and PageMaker 6.0, and
Micrografx Picture Publisher 5.0. To ensure full compatibility with
applications that use KPCMS, Colorific provides its monitor profile
information in the format needed by these applications. 

Better On-Screen Color

According to Hilliard, a second benefit to users of Colorific is better
on-screen color for multimedia and other on-screen presentations.
Colorific makes sure that the monitor displays the color specified, even
when the presentation is moved to a different monitor, or the monitor is
moved to a different location. Display colors are affected by a large
number of factors, including magnetic fields and video card bias. With
Colorific, however, a company logo would always appear in the correct
color. 

Price and Delivery

To accommodate delays in the distribution pipeline, Sonnetech will supply
free copies of Colorific for Windows 95 software directly to customers who
purchase qualifying monitors. Within 60 days of purchasing a qualifying
monitor, send a proof of purchase, along with $4.95 shipping and handling
to Sonnetech, Ltd., 350 Townsend St. #409, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Customers using earlier versions of Colorific on their monitors can
upgrade to the Windows 95 version for $14.95 plus shipping and handling. 

Color Management for Business Applications

While exact color matching has long been a concern for graphic arts
professionals doing color proofing, growth in the low-cost color printer
market has made color matching a consideration for business, technical and
academic users, as well. Colorific ensures that reports, presentations,
transparencies, and other materials are printed in the colors displayed.
Colorific supports all Windows applications that display in color. 

Colorific uses a patent pending process that measures the characteristics
of each individual monitor and makes adjustments to accommodate such
environmental variables as room lighting, monitor brightness settings, and
video card variations. Colorific then ensures that materials are printed
in the colors displayed. In addition to producing more attractive printed
materials, Colorific may save on color printing costs by reducing
trial-and-error draft printing. 

Sonnetech, Ltd., based in San Francisco, Calif., is an innovator in color
management and other system software for enhancing computer displays and
printing. The company's first product, Colorific color management for
monitors, is marketed through manufacturers of monitors and printers.
Customer inquiries: 415/957-9941 or colorific@aol.com. 

Sonnetech Ltd
350 Townsend St, Ste 409
San Francisco, CA 94107-1699
415-957-9940,  fax 415-957-9942
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Colorific for Windows 95

* Optimizes color matching by updating the Windows 95 internal registry
with the unique color characteristics of each monitor. Without Colorific,
color matching suffers because Windows 95 assumes generic monitor
information for gamma, phosphor chromaticity, white point, etc. 

* Provides superior results for the three types of color matching offered
with Windows 95: 

  (1) Photographic Matching for photos and bitmapped images
  (2) Saturation Matching for business charts and presentations
  (3) Colorimetric Matching for Pantone color matching

* Corrects white point and gamma for optimizing the look of images, video,
and multimedia applications displayed with Windows 95 Plug 'n
Play-compatible video cards. 

* Creates color profiles in the Kodak Precision format used by Adobe
PhotoShop 3.0, PageMaker 6.0, and other programs, plus Kodak-certified
monitor profiles in the ICC format needed for all other Windows 95
applications. 

* Ensures consistent color day-to-day for presentations and on-screen
demos. 

* Includes special features enabling even better color accuracy with
upcoming Windows 95 prepress applications from Adobe, Kodak, and other
prepress vendors. 

* Provides a vehicle for loading monitor "xxx.inf" files needed to prevent
clicker and loss of color depth from your display. Without these files, a
monitor will plug-and-play with Windows 95 only at the simplest level
(i.e., Standard VGA or Super VGA.) 

* Offers Colorific/Kodak logo certifying color quality to end-users and
corporate purchasers. 
 
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