
By Vickiec / January 22, 2024
Revolutionizing Workflow and Color Accuracy in Art Reproduction with HD Apeiron/42

Challenged by a slow workflow
Color accuracy is a paramount concern for John Rush from Rush Digital Printing, and he is constantly seeking ways to enhance the precision and efficiency of his current workflow.
Searching for an alternative
John Rush visited Contex in Denmark to test if the HD Apeiron/42 contact-free art scanner would meet the demands of a busy fine art printing business.
Would highly recommend
Based on his hands-on experience and the positive outcomes observed during the demonstration, John Rush expresses no hesitation in recommending HD Apeiron/42.
Fine art reproduction with HD Apeiron/42
“It will save us hours, if not days,” was the conclusion from John Rush, owner of Rush Digital Printing in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
John Rush visited Contex to see the HD Apeiron/42 contact free art scanner first-hand and to learn if it would be useful for his business with reproduction of fine art.
Improved workflow will save time
The current workflow of Rush Digital Printing does not involve the customer in the production process, which can make every feedback step a long wait and eventually prolong the delivery.
With HD Apeiron/42 in the shop, John Rush sees a possibility for a much-improved workflow that more likely will get it right the first time. This includes letting the artist be a part of the scanning process.
“From the samples we have run through today, we looked at a watercolor in great detail and just a straightforward scan with HD Apeiron without any kind of adjustment or any kind of workarounds has given us a quality in reproduction that we just can’t get near at the minute,” says John Rush.
Reproducing special colors
A close match between original and copy is the key to success in the fine art reproduction business.
His own background in photography has left John Rush with the same knowledge and feel of color accuracy as any artist:
“Can we give the artists 100% color accuracy at the minute? I don’t think we can. But we can get them very close. I think the Apeiron gets us much closer.”
The 3D effect will let them finetune the detail of the texture in real time.
“The ability to do this in the presence of a customer, it will just blow them away,” exclaims John Rush.
How the scanner ensures correct color printing
The software for HD Apeiron/42, Nextimage Apeiron, includes a closed loop calibration (CLC), a Contex technology that matches the scanned image with any paper on any printer.
“The ability to create [CLC] profiles with the scanner and have those profiles built into the scanner is really, really attractive for us,” says John Rush.
Unrivaled image quality
HD Apeiron/42 art scanner has lots of potential to speed up any existing workflow while continuously ensuring a perfect color match.
“It would streamline our entire workflow and save us hours, if not days. But mostly it will improve our detail and ultimately the product that we put out at the other end is going to be improved,” clarifies John Rush.

One of the test scannings were of a watercolor original. The outcome from the 3D effect option of HD Apeiron/42 is shown here in three sections with 0, +50 and +100 in 3D effect.
John Rush:
“The ability to do this in the presence of a customer, it will just blow them away.”