It’s never to early to learn color management.

One of the perks in being a CEO is that you can bring your kid to work if you want. I brought Lucas in over his spring break to learn a little bit of the print industry. He helped sort samples, helped in bindery and of course built his first ICC profile with our X-Rite i1 iO Automatic XY Scanning Spectrophotometer. He did well! We will profile everything at Emagine. We started with the Xerox Docucolor 252 then will move to the hp Indigo 5500 and Presstek 34 DI.

Over the next few months. Emagine Digital will undergo a transformation where the entire shop is color managed. Color Management saves money and time, and will get the best out of your print systems. It’s never too early to learn. Start your learning curve now and before you know it you will understand the importance of an ICC workflow.

 

The Right Color

Reblogged from Replica Printing:

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Colors cause certain symbolic and psychological associations that are often overlooked in design. While not all colors evoke the same feeling in all parts of the world, the following interpretations are a general representation of color in our culture

Brown:

Brown represents wholesomeness and earthiness. While it might be considered a little on the dull side, it also represents steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and health.

Read more… 1,390 more words

I like this post on The Right Color.

Welcome to PHOTO 204 – Color Management for Photographers

I case you missed it here are the lecture notes.

Paper Surface Affects Color

I recently made a profile for Howard Linen by Neenah. I profiled it through a Creo Spire workflow to a Xerox 6060. Even though the paper is meant for double sided printing the fibers of the paper are different on both sides. This causes the toner to lay down differently on each side. This affects color. A couple of notes in case you are not acostomed to profiling through Creo. You have to build a new calibration for your media. then when you send a CMYK profiling testchart through the RIP make sure you send it through a “Direct” pathway. This will bypass any color management – even though there is a choice for ICC profile. Once the profile is built you have to import it back into the RIP. This is not an issue if you have a .icc extension. I taught a course for X-Rite and Creo about a year and half ago all about this and wonder how manyare actually building profiles. John Gilbert would know.

Display Calibration at it’s Best

This is a screen capture of X-Rite’s i1 Match Software. I used my i1 Pro Spectrophotometer to build a calibration and profile for the new 24″ iMac. The default white point was right at 6500 Kelvin and the resultant calibration yielded a perfect 120.0 cd/m2. This is rare. Sometime you get lucky. Other iMac’s I have calibrated don’t give me the same results – that’s not necessarily bad – except one of the best ways to get multiple displays to look similar is to have similar luminance say +/- 2 candelas.

Thinking About Color

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with thoughts about color – especially if your responsible for color. Art Directors, Designers, Photographers, Commercial Printers, Pre-Press Professionals, all think about color all day. It’s overwhelming and at the same time easy to be complacent.  Are you really color critical? When was the last time you stretched your knowledge? Do you know about PANTONE’s new Goe Color and Plus Systems? Do you even know why you are calibrating your monitor? Can you produce a decent in-house proof? What I am trying to stress here is that it’s important to think about color – technically – and keep up with current technological trends. It’s important to stretch your knowledge base and take that class or attend that seminar. The best brands are crazy about precision color reproduction and print quality. The competitive landscape is only going to get more critical as time goes on.

Color Management for Photographers

Do you wonder why the photos you print don’t match how they appear on screen? Learn how to color manage your system from capture to print in this short, intensive workshop. From basics of digital color, discover how to use a color management system including software & hardware. Topics include: limitations of color gamuts, color settings, calibration and profiling of a LCD display & profiling a media on the supplied photo quality inkjet printers. Prior experience in digital photography & working knowledge of computers & Photoshop CS , CS 2 or 3 required. Bring 5 digital images to 1st class meeting. Note Printing elective for Professional Certificate in Photography. prerequisite: Intermediate Photography in the Digital Age (ART 40440) or equivalent experience. For more info. or to discuss prerequisites, call (858) 964-1051 or ahl@ucsd.edu.

IN-CLASS
Instructor: Marc Aguilera
Section: 079251 Course No. ART-40402
Time/Date: W 6:30-9:30 p.m., Sep. 22-Oct. 27 (6 mtgs.)
Location: Rm. 134, UCSD Extension Complex
Credit: 2 units in Art
Fee: $325 No refunds after: Sep. 27 (da/amn)
No visitors permitted. Early enrollment advised.

Sign Up’s Are Available Now

Projector Profile Results

examples from my latest blog post on the hp pro photography blog

results of projector profiling with i1 Pro and i1 Match

Reds and Warm Tones from projector profiling with i1 Pro and i1 Match.

Result from projector profiling with i1 Pro and i1 Match

Skin Tones from projector profiling with i1 Pro

i1 Pro with Scan Table

This is essential gear for ICC profiling

SWOP – Quickly Defined

SWOP is the Specification for Web Offset Publications and more information can be found at swop.org or the idealliance.org. It is the main specification used by press house in the united states.