Via InDesignUserGoup Amsterdam De RGB-workflow… Voor de ene de heilige graal, voor de ander een onsamenhangend en onduidelijke oerbrij van kleurprofielen. De tijden dat je zeker kon zijn dat je zorgvuldig uitgedachte InDesign-ontwerp alleen maar aan een papieren substraat werden toevertrouwd zijn voorbij. Het is belangrijker dan ooit om je kleuren daadwerkelijk in beheer te hebben. Maar waar begin je?

Peter Maas weet er heel veel van. En het mooie is dat hij bereid is om een stukje van die kennis met ons te delen. Een tipje van de sluier, zogezegd. Hij zal in ieder geval tijdens deze sessie op dinsdag 5 juli de knuppel in het spreekwoordelijke hoenderhok gooien: is een RGB-workflow wel zo geweldig, of kleven er toch ook behoorlijke nadelen aan? Zijn er momenten waarbij het van te voren omzetten naar CMYK wel een goede keus is? Met voorbeelden uit de praktijk, zodat we zo duidelijk mogelijk het verschil kunnen zien. Uiteraard besprenkeld met de nodige tips en trucs en met aandacht voor de adders onder het gras.

Ik zeg: Be there, or be cmyk.

Relevant artikel: 10 Pre-Press Tips For Perfect Print Publishing

I had a small chat with Petri, one of the developers of PhotoEQ. He’d love to talk about their new App on my blog. The App, PhotoEQ is a really lightweight and fast program to get your daily image editing tasks done. PhotoEQ can be used for color correction, image editing and color management. You can process a single image file or use PhotoEQ’s ToDo queue to batch process multiple image files and folders. Petri tells us what inspired his team to build PhotoEQ, how long it took to code the 1.0 version and shows us a short demo. Read more

De nieuwste door Henk Gianotten opgestelde lijst met gecertificeerde drukkers in Nederland. “We duikelen wat naar beneden omdat één gecertificeerde naar België verhuisde (van Grinsven Venlo) en er diverse Thieme bedrijven stopten, cq het certificaat verloren”. Link naar PDF file met lijst.

A new update regarding ISO 12647 printers in the Netherlands has been provided by Henk Gianotten. As most of you reading this blog know, the purpose of ISO 12647 is to create and standardize the quality of print. There have been a few changes with regards to the last update. Some printers had to be removed from the list, either because they went ‘belly up’ or because they could (temporarely) no longer guarantee the ISO 12647 quality. This is not to say they suddenly became bad printers, but rather they were not able to produce the formal quality papers ISO 12647 the Fogra, BVDM, UGRA, WAN-IFRA or SCGM organizations demands. When those printers do provide the documents they will once again be added to the official list. You can view the new list after the break. Read more

My friend Bart posted an article regarding European colorsettings for Adobe Creative Suite 3, 4 and 5. We both agree his settings are superior to the standard ‘Europe prepress 3’ settings Adobe delivers. I crosschecked with colorexpert Erik Koldenhof and he states the following: “If you select a full color profile for the grey, Photoshop will only load the information from the black channel of that profile. The main advantage is the Creative Suite will use the exact dot gain behavior as written in the profile to convert colors and CS5 will show you a slightly better simulation on your screen. Barts’ article was written in Dutch, but he did use an English screenshot of the Adobe Photoshop CS5 colorsettings. As always, create and save the settings in Photoshop and load the settings-file (.csf) in the Bridge to synchronize the entire Creative Suite. (These settings were created for standard ‘coated’ artwork. If you need to create artwork for newspaper, magazine or uncoated paper other settings are required).

De beide PDF’s van Henk Gianotten’s presentaties ‘Voorspelbare Kleuren’ en ‘Untitled’ staan online. Henk verzorgde in Amsterdam beide presentaties tijdens de InDesign User Group. Het betreft “ISO 12647 druk- en printstandaarden: voorspelbare kleuren” en “Untitled, of waarom ze jouw PDF niet vinden!”. De PDF’s zijn erg informatief en ook nuttig als je de presentaties gemist hebt. Een korte omschrijving: “Het doel van de ISO-organisatie: gelijktrekken en standaardiseren, ongeacht afkomst. Voor drukwerk is de huidige standaard 12647, maar van gelijktrekken is nog absoluut geen sprake. Henk Gianotten zal tijdens deze sessie de samenhang aantonen tussen de kleurruimtedefinities van vector- en pixelafbeeldingen in de werkruimte, op het beeldscherm, en tijdens output naar een proof, drukwerk of print. Ook de verwerking van PMS-, Goe- en HKS-steunkleuren komen aan bod waarbij de optimale werkwijze wordt uiteengezet. Waar moet je als gebruiker op letten om optimale kleurresultaten te bereiken, en op welke manier kun je kleurdefinities bij huisstijlen beter vastleggen? Kortom, genoeg informatie om consistente kwaliteit te kunnen leveren.

In response to the “Color Management in the Command Line” article, a reader tells me ImageMagick is also very fast, highly flexible and scriptable command line software. Apart from that, it’s Open Source (e.g. free download) and can also be implemented in a Switch09 flow. So at first glance both Apps appear do be able to perform the same tasks. But there are few important differences between the two: ImageMagick is free, but it is more limited. It can read, write and convert images as well as perform fairly simple tasks like scaling, flipping or adjusting colors.

SoftColor however, can perform fully automatic color corrections which can be tuned (layer based / correction intensity / non-linear color, exposure, contrast adjustments). It supports color management using ICC profiles, thus allowing the application to convert images from RGB to CMYK for example. It can output to layered PSD files (original image / improved image) and perform more complex tasks like sharpening, changing the contrast or colors.

ImageMagic does have one advantage: It can be implemented using Windows, Unix or Mac OSX. SoftColor is Windows only. That’s not entirely bad, as SoftColor is build around a tiny collection of easy to use static binary configuration files. Imagemagick binary version requires multiple dll files. SoftColor also supports RAW files out of the box, ImageMagick requires a plug-in. You do pay a few extra bucks for SoftColor, but not nearly as much as a Photoshop license and you can reach an actual human if you run into any problems or have specific questions. To sum it up: If you’re thinking about automating repetitive tasks and you’re looking for a lightweight tool be sure to check both tools out.

Over the years I’ve seen quite a lot of tools to perform your color correction. But I’ve never come across a command-line tool for color correction. SoftColor Toolbox from Finland is just that. It can perform your color corrections, image processing and color management chores, either per single image or batch processing via the command line. You can either activate the command line or run SoftColor from a server. These days with Apps increasingly building feature on top of feature (and generally being a big memory-hog) it’s nice to see a super-light command-line tool like SoftColor. If you’re interested in command-line image-processing, be sure to have a look at their blog as well.

After several years of discussing the topic of ‘Certified Color’ (or ISO12647) RIT’s School of Print Media decided to start developing an audit and certify program for printers in North America. “RIT is an autonomous organization with the reputation and the know-how to fill this much-needed demand”. A bit late, but welcome to the party guys! More details in this PDF. (Tip of the hat to mr. Gianotten.)

Recently the 45th printer company in the Netherlands got ISO 12647 approval. This basically means their entire operation is dedicated to the so-called ‘Certified Color’ process. The ISO qualification guarantees their printing quality, the inks, paper and just about every detail you can think of. As such companies selecting these printers can rest assure they will receive the best possible quality. More and more companies that rely on perfect color (such as the food-business) are starting to find out. The 45th printer to join the ISO qualification is Telenga located in the Frisian town Franeker. Currently only 45 printers carry the complete ISO 12647. Another 135 have stated they can reproduce the exact quality. (One of the important things about the ISO process is the fact that a client is able to measure the quality. The ISO guidelines, rules and datasets are available to anyone. As such complete ISO approval is not absolutely necessary in order to reach the same level of quality). Of course these companies are not able to carry the official ISO approval. Read more

ISO 12647 is a big deal. Why? Well, quality printing is nice, but constant quality is even better! You can be sure about the quality of the printed result if you decide to select printers that are ISO 12647 certified. It’s not just ‘a piece of paper’. I asked mr. Gianotten to write a short summary of what it means to be an ISO 12647 certified printer. Here’s what he told me:

“Printers that work according to the international printing standard (as documented in ISO 12647) can print with predictable results. They can also make sure there are minimal color-shifts between the soft- and hardproof and the final printed result. Certified printers have documented proof they control the entire printing process from start to finish and their company complies with the PSO (Process Standards Offset). Furthermore: all certified company’s are required to send in control-specimens each year. These printed control-specimens are measured and checked by two separate testing-organizations in order to make sure the quality remains constant”.

Here is the updated list of all ISO 127647 Certified printers as of today: Read more

Looks like Pantone got the color wrong (again). The guys from the Belgium VIGC (or Graphic Brain) tested the Pantone iPhone app and guess what?

• Same App installed on two different devices (iPhone 3GS and iPodTouch) and they display the same PANTONE colors very different.
• The iPhone 3GS’s color is way off compared to an LCD-monitor dat (that was calibrated using the X-Rite Color Munki Design). The iPhone’s color-range is much smaller and the glossy screen doesn’t really help.
• Pantone claims the myPantone App can ‘snap’ to a Pantone color like PANTONE GOE coated (or PANTONE solid coated), but photo’s from Pantone’s own color-swatches are ‘snapped’ way off, even in a controlled enviroment (neutral light, D50 lightbox).
• Even a digital file that was created in Photoshop using sRGB-values from the GOE-book didn’t ‘snap’ to the correct color.

Being the color-lovers they are, Graphic Brain warns iPhone users not to trust the colors from the myPantone App. “And that’s a shame as graphic designers look towards Patone to set the standard regarding color. Just two years ago Pantone forgot to mention the RGB-values in their new Pantone GOE books were set in sRGB and not the industry-standard AdobeRGB. Now we have an App to judge and advice on color and it’s way off. This is not helping Pantone’s reputation as a color-expert”.

Test with picurers right here. For more information, (high res) pictures and testresults you can contact VIGC Edit: Added link to English test.

My good friend Bart set up a Conversion Guide for RAL to Pantone Solid Coated and Pantone GOE. Check it out but keep in mind the surface you’re going to apply RAL-paint on to might make the color appear different. Also don’t forget what Bart says:
“Please be aware that 100% accuracy is not possible when it comes to match these two color systems. Both have unique colors, but also a limited amount of colors to match. I’ve used software to compare the colors between the colorsystems and it comes up with an alternative based on the LAB-colorspace and the closest one based on the “feeling of the color”… Use is at your own risk and I can not be held responsible for any costs or problems because of using this chart”. (I updated the link).

Marco: Grafisch vormgevers en Art Directors besteden enorm veel tijd aan het ‘perfect maken’ van nieuwe logo’s. Typografie, witruimtes, leesbaarheid, originaliteit en ga zo maar door. Sluitpost is helaas vaak de ‘definitie van de kleuren’. Twee (of meer) Pantone Coated kleuren worden gekozen en voor een full color variant zet men de PMS ‘koud’ om naar CMYK.

Probleem is echter dat er meerdere CMYK-kleurenruimtes zijn: Het papier dat gekozen wordt voor het huisstijl-briefpapier en de enveloppen is vaak uncoated. Het logo komt echter ook op glossy full color brochures, maar ditzelfde logo wordt ook gebruikt voor magazine- en krantenadvertenties. Wanneer je slechts één CMYK-waarde definieert zal de kleur van het logo in elke uiting anders overkomen, nietwaar? Krantenpapier werkt mee in de kleur tenslotte. Beste Henk, hoe zou jij dit probleem oppakken? Een logo gebaseerd op Pantone-waardes en misschien een RGB-logo? Read more

By Alwan: Print houses can now deliver standardized production without investing in new offset presses thanks to Alwan Color Expertise, the graphic industry’s leading color standardization company. Alwan has opened its Print Standardizer to popular automatic scanning technologies including X-Rite IntelliTrax, ATS, Komori DCS II and Heidelberg’s Image Control – ensuring international standards are within reach of all printers. Implementing Alwan Print Standardizer is simple and only takes a few hours, plus standards are guaranteed for every job. Read more

I’ve written a bit (1, 2, 3) about ISO 12647. In previous years I wrote quite a bit about ISO 12647 as well. So what’s up with all this talk about ISO 12647? Well quality printing is nice, but constant quality is even better! Wouldn’t it be great if I could publish a list of Dutch printing professionals that are ISO 12647 certified? Well, thanks to mr. Gianotten now I can. Here’s the entire list: Read more

From ESKO: The graphic industry’s body of international standardization experts, KEE consultants, has convened in Paris to explore ways of encouraging national federations and the graphic industry as a whole to adopt ISO 12647 standards. Members agreed that there is growing awareness concerning the need for standardization in the market, and that’s this belief is shared by OEMs, operators and production companies. Standardization is today considered the best way to optimize production quality and company profitability, particularly since the economic downturn hit the industry. As a result of this awareness, there has been increased demand for standardization and related products and solutions – software, measuring devices, inks, papers, lights and monitors etc – plus standards implementation consultancy. Read more

PrinArena is a Dutch Website combining all the information a Dutch graphic designer might seek if he wishes to supply correct artwork to a Dutch magazine, newspaper, printer, screenprinter or large format printer. It handles everything from ICC-profiles to InDesign settings and offers brief explanations about correct practices. It should definitely receive a place among your bookmarks. (If you can read Dutch, of course!)

The good folks at the ECI (the European Color Initiative) have just released an update for the ISOuncoated.icc profile. This is a major update as the ISOcoated ICC-profile had been replaced well over a year ago and it brought better color-reproduction and more stable colors with it. (And ISOcoated version two finally killed the ‘Blue Haze’ that bothered a lot of printers). So now we have ISOuncoated_V2? Well not exactly. The new international name for ‘ISOuncoated’ is now ‘PSO Uncoated ISO12647_eci.icc’ and it’s based up on the FOGRA47 data-set. If you want to deliver artwork according to the ISO 12647-2 guidelines (and who wouldn’t?) I would highly recommend you use this new profile for all artwork destined for uncoated paper.
As always, the profile can be downloaded for free at the ECI website. More details (in Dutch) at the Digital-Engineer Acrobat.com account.
Tip o’ the hat for mr. Gianotten.

After you install the Creative Suite 3, you can activate the app called ‘Bridge’ and select colorprofiles. Adobe made this quite easy actually. All us Europeans have to do is select ‘Europe prepress 2’ settings. After that all the CS3 apps like Photoshop, InDesign and the others will use ‘Adobe_RGB (1998)” for RGB and ‘Coated FOGRA27 (ISO 12647-2:2004)’ for CMYK. And that’s a bloody shame really… Read more

So what’s up with these colors? The answer is actually pretty simple. The color to the right and left of the content actually is white. ‘White?!’, I hear you thinking…’ It’s more like a dirty grey-brown! But no, it really is white. You just have to ask yourself … according to what? Because that’s the trick you see! This is white. And the first time I realized this actually was white, I was shocked. Because I had created ads for thousand-euro budgets not realizing this was white… in the world of newspapers. Read more