Communicating Color for Grand Format Printers

X-Rite Color Management forGrand Format Printers

Sponsor

• X-Rite is the global leader in color science and technology

• Pantone is part of the family

• Mature product line for printing and graphic arts markets

Today's Speaker – Dan Reid

o Founded in 1998 to help business realize the benefits of color management

o Consulting and product sales for some of the largest and smallest print providers

o Early adopter of G7 calibration technique for non-litho applications. Certified by IDEAlliance in 2006

www.RPimaging.com

(866) RGB-CMYK

First Webinar o PDF Slides – http://slidesha.re/17vHP5W

o Recorded Webinar – http://bit.ly/1coYVIi

Part 1 — Printer Calibration

Second Webinar o PDF Slides – http://slidesha.re/18POIVM

o Recorded Webinar – http://bit.ly/1aifG5J

• This is webinar is also being recordedo We will send links to the slides and recording

Part 2 — G7 for Grand Format

(1st Poll Question)

• What is the BIGGEST challenge you face in matching color?

• Why is this so difficult?

(2nd Poll Question)

• Printing has always been a challengeo Today we are communicating intentions better than beforeo Better quality printing today. Able to quantify color matches

based on how we respond to color

• Color Matches traditionally are by agreement amongst mechanical specifications and not visually

• 21st Century brought visual matching to printing industry

Quick History ofColor Communication

• Pantone Matching System (PMS) – the ubiquitous method of communicating coloro Has evolved with the market for decades• Pantone has reacted to changes in printing technologies and

customer needs• Downside – there are many versions! • Need to be mindful of what (Pantone palette) version is loaded

in your Adobe appso May not correlate to the fan book in your hand

• CMYK builds in a fan book are only useful if “color managed”to simulation ICC output profile

• You need LAB specifications to accurately match

Pantone Matching System

• Pantone Matching System (PMS) – the ubiquitous method of communicating coloro LAB definitions are the best way of

communicating color• Allow seamless translation to printer ICC profileo Takes advantage of the full color gamut of printing device

• Easy to quantify a color match to LAB referenceo No LAB reference?• Measure the customer supplied sample to determine LAB

target values• Measure (old) PMS fan book if that is the gold master in your

shopo (Consider purchasing a newer version of your current fan book since

your Adobe CS app may have different library loaded by default)

Pantone Matching System

• Pantone Color Manager (Software)o Included with purchases of new PANTONE Plus

series fan books and X-Rite i1 product line (i1Basic Pro2, i1Photo Pro2, i1Publish Pro2)

oAllows easy updating of Adobe CS apps with the libraries of current fan book references

oDoes a whole lot more • Extract colors from images• Create custom libraries based upon output ICC profileo Load these custom libraries in Adobe CS apps

• Create color libraries that can be used for “optimization” in ICC profile iteration within X-Rite i1Profiler software

Pantone Color Manager

Pantone Color Manager

Isn’t my densitometer Good enough?

X-Rite i1Pro2 Spectrophotometer

X-Rite 530 Spectrodensitometer

• Traditionally Densitometers were the gold standard in color communicationo Densitometry can not differentiate between different

hues of ink

o Densitometry essentially measures how much ink is piled on the substrate. Does not quantify what the color of ink looks like -- just quantity of ink

oMatching against density (and dot gain) sometimes resulted in agreeable match

• Spectrophotometers are the new standard

You should be printing at 1.35C!

• Spectrophotometers measure color

Spectrophotometers(SpectroDensitometers)

o Precisely defines quantity of reflectance in different portions of spectrum

o Source info that can be adapted to density, different lighting (illuminants), and RGB or CMYK(+) color models

• Spectrophotometers are appropriate for Grand Format Printers

o Densitometers are not – filtration engineered for lithographic inks – not grand format inks

Spectrophotometers(SpectroDensitometers)

Spectrophotometers

• Useful for determining LAB reference for customer supplied samples

o Could be print

o Could be non-print

Spectrophotometers

Must be tethered to a computer and have software to acquire the data

• Allows quick look up of closest PMS color from measured color

• Included video camera allows easy measurement

• Averages 30+ samples at different angles to get a good representationof the coloro Allows measuring non-paper surfaces

PANTONE Capture

PANTONE Capture

• Invariably source files are either RGB or CMYK

• RGB files converted by their nature are neutral

• Files from RGB to CMYK are typically a US Web Coated (SWOP) v2 or GRACoL (2006) separations

• Though US Web Coated in not based on G7 using GRACoL as a source ICC profile in your RIP usually works

So what about regularRGB and CMYK files?

Can you see a difference?

GRACoL– ICC profile Assigned

US Web Coated (SWOP) v2 – Original

GRACoL– ICC profile Assigned

US Web Coated (SWOP) v2 – Original

Can you see a difference?

• ICC profiles are usually RGB or CMYK

• Special ICC profiles called Device Link ICC profiles can improve color translationo Device Links can be RGB to

CMYK or CMYK to CMYKo Typically used as CMYK to

CMYK conversions

ICC Profiles

Device Link ICC Profiles

• Best way to handle color conversiono No trip through LAB o “Baked” color conversiono Fastest since all calculations are done

• Typically ICC color conversions require more processing

o Best method for scaling source color to destination color gamut

• Several Device Link creation products are available

Device Link ICC Profiles

Device Link Software:o Offers features on how to handle scaling (rendering intent +

BPC) from one color space to anothero Purity of colors

• (ie, 100% magenta is maintained in destination with no contamination of other colors)

• How to feather the purity through the tonal range

o Black generation preservation• Maintain text as black ink instead of 4/C black• Option to re-separate to drop ink coverage or modify GCR

settings for final output device

Device Link ICC Profiles

• X-rite i1Profiler v1.5 ads Device Link ProfilingoFree UpdateoCMYK to CMYK ICC Device Link ProfilesoQuality of device link is directly related to quality of

source and destination ICC profilesoUnlike proofing workflows, you will want to use

relative colorimetric to get the most pleasing results. Black point compensation is helpful when source ICC profile has darker blacks than destination

Standard ICC Profile Conversion

CIE L*a*b*(profile connection space)

CMYK CMYK

Typical ICC Color Management Conversion

Device Link ICC Profiles

Device Link ICC Color Management Conversion

CMYK CMYK

(no conversion through LAB)

Device Link ICC Profile Support

• All leading Grand Format RIPs support Device Link ICC profileso EFIo Calderao Onyx

• Different support and use of Device Link profiles in each RIP• Depending on the RIP you will load the device link ICC Profile:o Most of the time it will be loaded as an input ICC profile for

conversion of legacy files to new color reference• (US Sheetfed Coated v2 to GRACoL)

o Could be loaded as an output ICC profile if converting from source (GRACoL) to printer output ICC profile

How close is good enough?

• ISO 12647 is useful mainly for traditional printing technologies like offset lithography, flexographic, proofing

• ISO 12647 does not really address Grand Format Printing

• ISO 12647-8 attempts address digital printingo “Validation print processes working directly from digital data”

o “..... conformance of systems that produce a hard-copy validation print, directly from digital data, which is intended to simulate the expected appearance of material printed in accordance with a characterized printing condition”

o Written for laser and toner printer market for non-contract quality proofing

How close is good enough?

• ISO 12647-7 is for validating proofingoDigital printing is pretty much a proofing workflow in that

you have to match a (source) file o Validating your printing system consistently meets an

agreed target and tolerance • Decreases waste and unexpected results• Able to be more confident color matching is being done

correctly • Agreement upon what's acceptable and unacceptable

printing at your shop

New Kid on the Block!

IDEAlliance ISO 12647-7 2013 (84 patches)Over 50% sample increase!

IDEAlliance ISO 12647-7 2007 (54 patches)

New Kid on the Block!

IDEAlliance ISO 12647-7 2013 (84 patches)

UGRA/FOGRA v3.0a (72 patches)

IDEAlliance ISO 12647-7 2013

IDEAlliance ISO 12647-7 2013 (84 patches)

• Not supported widely yet• Future support in X-Rite i1Profilero No support in X-Rite i1Profiler v1.5

Questions and Answers

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Communicating Colorfor Grand Format Printers

X-Rite Color Management forGrand Format Printers