Patent ID: 8857331

Claim:
A method of proofing ink to be applied to a photopolymer plate in a flexographic printing process with a hand-holdable ink proofing tool, the plate configured to have a desired dot gain range, the method comprising: mounting the photopolymer plate on a transfer roll, the transfer roll disposed in the hand-holdable ink proofing tool; disposing the hand-holdable ink proofing tool above a drive roll; adjusting a first micrometer thimble disposed on the hand-holdable ink proofing tool to set a nip distance between an anilox roll and the photopolymer plate mounted on the transfer roll; supplying the ink to be proofed to the anilox roll; transferring ink from the anilox roll to the photopolymer plate as the anolox roll and transfer roll rotate in opposite respective directions; rolling the transfer roll along a substrate disposed between the photopolymer plate and the drive roll to form a proof image on the substrate corresponding to the photopolymer plate on the transfer roll; measuring a dot gain value of the image on the substrate; and adjusting a second micrometer thimble disposed on the hand-holdable ink proofing tool to adjust a nip defined between the photopolymer plate and the substrate to alter an ink density property of a future proof image corresponding to the photopolymer plate on the transfer roll.