Color Problems

First post, want to say looks like a very informative site. Here is the biggest problem I am currently having.

Background Info
Flexi 7.5 Pro, WIN XP SP1, Mimaki JV3 (with Bulk Ink system), Mimaki Plotter as well forget model, not important right now.

Anyway the RIP that comes with the mimaki is good, but very very grainy even at 720x720. We use flexi for the ability to die cut what we print, and usually get pretty good results until I actually started to do some caomparisons. I usually have to speand 15-20 minutes before I run a job trying to match the customers pantone colors, you wuld think this wouldn't need to be done, but sadly the only color I can match on the first try is 185 red, and that is still off compared to the pantone book. Any other color you might as well sit down and run a bunch of proofs to match these colors because the numbers the customer supplies never match after being run on the mimaki.

Is there a way to make this more acturate, I know that my screen color and print color will usually be way off, but I would like to think that I could make my pantone colors, and pantones colors be a little closer than they are appearing. An ecample would be the other day I ran a light blue pantone color, and after it came out of the printer I would be a very dark blue green.

Can you make and tweak your own profiles, rather than using the ones supplied by the manufacturer, or the company that makes your profiles. We are also having problems in the same area, but the printer laying down WAY to much in, most jobs we run are 360X540, and they are soaked when they come out of the printer, so bad that the colors tend to run together.

Alot of times my colors won't "pop" like they should either. For instance 185 red doesn't "glow" the way it should this is on a high gloss material I am sure this is a problem with profiling as well though just thought I would throw it in as well.

I know this seems like alot to throw out on my first post, but as I was typing I jsut kept thinking of other problems I have.

Materials run are usually general formulations, and Avery 3000 Matte, as well as various papers.

Thanks in advance
Science

 

no actually could you send me links to where I can get both of those. Money is not really a problem, I just want good prints I figure up front expense will pay off in the end.

At least for the colorometer just so I know what I am looking for and know I am not looking at junk.

 

cool, so now that I have these things, how do I use them to work on fixing my problems

Whats an up to date target?

I sound like an idiot i'm sure.

 

Ok after looking at the pantone book I am thinking, and let me know if this is right:

Instead of selecting my pantone color in Flexi, and then going into production manager and telling my printer to print spot colors, I would create a color with those CMYK values instead? So I would avoid using the Pantone library in flexi completly and use just my CMYK values.

I am getting ready to read the link you sent about the colorimeter.

 

Cool thanks for the help, I will check into the information you gave me, and I am sure i will have some other questions that come form that.