Software - Colour Management

The International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee 130 (ISO TC130) has published ISO 12640-4 Graphic technology–Prepress digital data exchange–Part 4: Wide gamut display-referred standard colour image data [Adobe RGB (1998)/SCID].  This Standard provides a reference of colour images in electronic form for research, testing and assessment of output systems (including printers, colour management systems and colour profiles).

Part of ISO 12640, the new Standard provides a reference set of wide gamut display-referred colour images in electronic form, encoded as 16-bit Adobe RGB (1998) digital data, that can be used to evaluate changes in image quality during coding, image processing (including coluor re-rendering and colour space transformations, compression and decompression), displaying on a colour monitor and printing. The images of Part 4 supplement the images of Part 1 (CMYK data), Part 2 (sRGB gamut images), and Part 3 (large gamut images encoded as CIELAB data).

Part 4, available on DVD, includes 14 natural images and two synthetic images (test charts).  It is available for purchase from NPES and ISO member national organisations.

Mutoh, an industry leader in wide-format printers, announces the launch of Mutoh ColorVerify, an on-printer colour checking system, using Mutoh's SpectroVue VM-10 spectrophotometer. The SpectroVue can be equipped to the new ValueJet 1324 and 1624 printers, and comes standard with the ValueJet 1608 Hybrid printer.
 
ColorVerify is a quick and easy way to save time and money by verifying the printer's colour output before running a print job. Mutoh's ColorVerify service provides a check for colour 'drift' before it results in rejected jobs. The process takes just a few minutes to complete and can be done without sheeting off, so it fits into the operator's workflow.
 
How it works: When the SpectroVue option is added to a new ValueJet 1324 or 1624 printer, it automatically activates Mutoh's free ColorVerify service. With this service, the operator simply prints the built-in ColorVerify Color Check test strip at the beginning of a print run and stores the measured values as a "baseline" in the printer's on-board nonvolatile memory. Then, at any point throughout the print run, the operator can reprint the test strip and re-measure. The printer will analyse the measured values, compare them to the baseline values, and report how much colour variation has occurred between the current print and the baseline measurement.
 
In addition to checking for colour drift, ColorVerify also notifies the operator if the printer is reproducing colour consistently across the full platen width, which is critical when printing multi-panel jobs such as billboards, tradeshow murals and vehicle wraps.

"Mutoh is the first in its industry to provide customers with an effortless and accurate colour verification system," shares Brian Phipps, General Manager of Mutoh America Inc. "In this economy, maximising colour efficiency is critical. ColorVerify quickly alerts the operator if something within the production workflow has changed that could impact colour accuracy. Process control has been a relatively unaddressed issue until now."
 
Faster and more efficient than a manually operated spectrophotometer, the SpectroVue provides accurate and consistent colour measurements. The SpectroVue mounts directly to the side of the print head and takes its measurements from the same sample spot every time a ColorVerify Color Check test strip is run.
 
The ValueJet 1324-54" and 1624-64" are Mutoh America's newest additions to the ValueJet printer line. Not only can they be equipped with the SpectroVue spectrophotometer, but they offer an automatic sheet off function, adaptation to different ink cartridge sizes and print at blazing speeds (up to 313 sq/ft per hour on the 1624).

GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end colour management software solutions, has announced that the company’s GMG ColorProof proofing software now fully supports the new Roland VersaUV LEC-540 printers for digital mockup creation and the VersaCAMM printers VS-300, VS-420, VS-540 and VS-640 with integrated contour cutting capability. Besides mockup creation, these printers allow for digital label production on various substrates suitable for solvent ink systems.

The Roland VersaCAMM VS series and GMG colour management offer players in the packaging and labeling market – including printers, design agencies, advertising agencies, repro houses, and brand owners – ground-breaking solutions for prototyping, mockup and small batch production of labeling. Equipped with white and metallic silver ink, the VersaCAMM VS series allows for exceptional image effects and quality. With the capability to print CMYK, Light Cyan, Light Magenta, White and Metallic ink at resolutions up to 1440 dpi, the VersaCAMM VS series allows for unmatched versatility and remarkably rich special effects, offering a whole new metallic color palette. By combining the metallic eco-solvent ink with CMYK, over 500 metallic shades can be created.

The UV printer/cutter Roland VersaUV LEC-540 prints CMYK, white and clear coat on a wide variety of substrates including vinyl, PE, PET, BOPP, self-adhesive PVS, paper, leather and textile. The LEC-540 also features a table for printing on rigid substrates up to 1mm. The new LED curing system enables immediate drying of the ECO-UV inks. The lamps reposition themselves automatically depending on the print modus. This speeds up production compared to the other VersaUV models.

With integrated cutting technology, these printers offer a one-step operation (Print & Cut) which is supported by the GMG Print & Cut Option in GMG ColorProof. This way, mockups already cut into shape can be created, eliminating laborious manual work such as reloading and accurately repositioning the output in a separate cutter.

GMG colour management, providing unrivaled quality and repeatability, enables the VersaUV LEC-540 and the VersaCAMM VS series to achieve a visual match, locally and at remote locations, with print processes such as flexography, offset and gravure printing – even for spot colours. Compared with traditional systems for mockup creation in the packaging and label market, these Roland/GMG solutions deliver highly colour-accurate mockups at a fraction of current costs.

 

Printers, publishers and brand owners no longer have to use control strips for quality benchmarking thanks to a new offering from the Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communication (VIGC). The organisation has launched its unique image-based Quality Perception Benchmarking Service, which enables users to make objective comparisons of print jobs, such as reprints of books, advertisements in different magazines, different versions of packaging, etc.

The VIGC Quality Perception Benchmark is based on seven parameters that are relevant to visual perception of quality. Measurements are based on images in the print job, which means control strips are not necessary. The VIGC’s methodology marks a significant step forward in benchmarking the quality of print jobs.

"Comparing and assessing the quality of multiple print jobs can be very difficult," says Eddy Hagen, managing director and trend watcher at VIGC. "This is because most quality benchmarking systems are based on control strips, which get cut off in the finishing stage.”

Fons Put, senior consultant at VIGC and responsible for the project, explains how the organisation set about overcoming the challenge: "We had to perform a quality benchmark on finished print jobs, so we couldn't start with the traditional measurements, eg density or the colours of CMYK solids in CIELab. We needed to go for other parameters that are important for image perception, such as dynamic range."

"So we devised a new, unique measuring methodology to get an objective assessment of these visual parameters. Differences in these parameters between multiple samples can always be related to one or more printing parameters, eg density or print contrast."

Benchmark for reprints, advertisements, packaging and more 

The VIGC has tested and refined the methodology over the last two years, in the course of a consulting job for one of its members. The company changed its production based on the VIGC reports.

And now the VIGC has made its Quality Perception Benchmark service available to all companies interested in an objective quality benchmark for printed jobs.

The service will be particularly appealing to companies that make reprints and are confronted by differences between two versions. Another target audience is advertisers that publish in multiple media. Brand owners that print their packaging at multiple sites are also very likely to be interested in the service, as it will provide them with an objective assessment of different versions.

The VIGC Quality Perception Benchmark has already been used to identify and quantify variations within a large production run.

Parameters relate to printing parameters

A crucial factor in the VIGC Quality Perception Benchmark is that all tested parameters relate to printing parameters. In its assessment report, the VIGC does not only show whether samples conform or differ, but also it states what could cause the differences, and which printing parameters are probably different.

Hagen concludes: “Ultimately, the VIGC Quality Perception Benchmark is an instrument that provides users tighter control of their production processes.”

 

X-Rite Photo Marketing announces its schedule of June Webinars that have been developed to address specific color management topics and are designed to appeal to both professional and serious amateur photographers.

Four free Webinar topics this month are sure to help photographers gain new confidence and to learn quick, easy and powerful ways to enhance their color workflow. Webinar attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions to the live trainers.

"Just in time for summer photography, this month our hour-long educational webinars will teach imaging professionals and enthusiasts how X-Rite's line of color management tools can bring their digital photography color to new levels and help them incorporate a near-effortless color workflow into their every day imaging projects," said Mark Rezzonico, vice president X-Rite Photo Marketing. "Also this month we are pleased to feature two new webinars co-sponsored by Nik Software and onOne Software geared to help photographers of all levels tap into their creativity and think outside the box. All photographers who are passionate about their photography, color accuracy and workflow efficiency are encouraged to regularly join our ongoing series of X-Rite Webinars."

June Webinar Schedule

Thursday, June 9, 2011, 11:00 AM EDT and 1:00 PM EDT

RAW COLOR POWER with Adobe Lightroom and the ColorChecker Passport

Professional photographers and photo enthusiasts will learn how to bring their digital photography color to a new level. This webinar will instruct attendees on how to quickly and easily capture accurate color, instantly enhance portraits and landscapes, create their own color look with one click, maintain color control and consistency and achieve superior color results in a fraction of the time.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Creating and Using Camera Profiles
• Custom White Balance with the ColorChecker Passport
• One click accurate color edits
• Matching color response of two or more cameras
• Matching color response under different lighting conditions
• Color editing in Adobe Lightroom
• Color editing in Adobe Photoshop

 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 12:00 PM EDT and 3:00 PM EDT

Wildlife and Nature Photography, Too!

In this free webinar, wildlife and nature photographer, Juan Pons will share some of his best techniques and tips for making exciting nature and wildlife photographs. He will share the techniques he uses for attracting wildlife, finding interesting and exciting places to photograph close to home and how to make excellent wildlife and nature images in the process.

Juan will discuss the necessity of good color management workflow and the tools he uses - X-Rite ColorChecker Passport and ColorMunki Photo. In addition, he uses Silver Efex Pro 2 and other NIK Software solutions to enhance and expand his raw capture images.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Getting extraordinary shots in ordinary places
• Techniques for attracting wildlife
• Finding interesting places near you
• NIK Software solutions for enhanced images
• Using ColorChecker Passport for camera profiles
• Profiling a color monitor and projector with X-Rite ColorMunki Photo

 

Thursday, June 23, 2011, 3:00 PM EDT

Take Control of Your Color and Unleash Your Creativity with Brian Matiash

This webinar is the first in a series co-hosted by X-Rite and onOne Software. For those curious about HDR photography and advanced amateur photographers shooting in RAW, Brian Matiash, of onOne Software, will show how to incorporate X-Rite color management solutions, including the ColorChecker Passport and ColorMunki Photo into a photographer's workflow. He'll show photographers how simple color management can be and the important role it plays in achieving great looking images. In addition, Brian will use the onOne Perfect Photo Suite to take his foundation image and stylize it so that it becomes truly memorable.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Getting the exposures you need
• Color management begins at capture
• Monitor calibration for a color managed workflow
• Using onOne Perfect Photo Suite to stylize images

Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 11:00 AM EDT and 1:00 PM EDT

Beyond Monitor Calibration - Get Prints That Match Your Display!

Perfect for wedding, portrait and landscape photographers as well as photo lab professionals and photo enthusiasts doing their own printing, this webinar, featuring the award-winning X-Rite ColorMunki Photo, will teach attendees how to put a color managed workflow in place from image capture through printer output including creating custom profiles and learning how to use them correctly to produce prints that match a display every time.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Monitor to Print Matching (Calibration and Profiling)
• Obtaining consistent color in camera
• Benefits of creating and using custom printer profiles
• Soft-proofing in Adobe Photoshop
• Applying printer profiles in Photoshop
• Digital Projector Profiling

Webinar registration can be found on XritePhoto.com Visit the Webinar page found under the Learning section.

 

 

X-Rite, Incorporated, the world leader in colour management, measurement and communication technologies and the Color Management Group (CMG) today unveiled a new web-based resource centre for digital imaging professionals who are upgrading to X-Rite's new line of i1 Professional Color Management Solutions. Customers visiting www.i1upgrades.com, can learn about the new line of products, choose the most appropriate upgrade package to suit their needs, purchase on-site or WebExTM training sessions and obtain expert technical information, in just a few simple steps".

"CMG has been a long-term strategic partner of X-Rite's," says Buzz Apostol, X-Rite's VP of sales.  "This latest initiative is a further testament to their commitment and expertise with our products.  In fact, many of their consultants were part of the beta teams that helped drive the development of our new i1Color Management Solutions. We are thrilled with their initiative and have every confidence that i1upgrades.com will prove to be a high-value source of information and guidance for digital imaging professionals throughout North America."

"CMG's experience in handling the fulfillment of upgrades for other industry leaders is second to none.  With i1upgrades.com, CMG has created a user-friendly resource centre that includes everything a customer might be looking for when thinking of upgrading, from pre-sales information to help them choose the most appropriate solution, to an highly-efficient and easy-to-navigate upgrade system, to post-sales support with a technology and FAQ corner," comments Jim Luttrell, X-Rite's Field Marketing Manager for the Americas.

Designed to accommodate all levels of proficiency and expertise, X-Rite's new line of i1 Professional Color Management Solutions consists of a combination of hardware, software, and comparative colour targets specifically focused on meeting the unique needs of packaging, pre-press, and publishing professionals, to provide them with exceptional value at very attractive price points. 

"X-Rite's colour management technologies are the cornerstone of graphic arts colour workflows. Our experts have relied on X-Rite technology to serve their customers' colour critical applications for years, helping them produce consistent, accurate colour. The Color Management Group is passionate about colour and we are very excited to partner with X-Rite on this effort. X-Rite's latest software, i1Profiler, is the culmination of industry-leading technologies that raise the bar on colour performance. We look forward to helping our experts, and their customers, experience these great new benefits," comments Marc Levine, Color Management Group's Director of Business Development.

The portfolio is comprised of i1Basic Pro, i1Photo Pro, i1Publish Pro and i1Publish (software and target suite).  All four feature groundbreaking new i1Profiler software technology designed to accommodate all skill levels, and provide the power and control needed to create the highest quality colour profiles, as well as the new PANTONE Color Manager colour swatch bridging software.

i1Photo Pro and i1Publish Pro include i1Profiler software, an i1Pro spectrophotometer, PANTONE Color Manager software, ColorChecker Proof target, mini ColorChecker Classic target, and ColorChecker camera calibration software. i1Publish includes all of the above except for the spectrophotometer.

For more information on these solutions, upgrades, and pricing, please visit: www.i1upgrades.com

"Since our founding, CMG alliance companies have been instrumental in executing technical and partner programs that meet both industry goals and customer needs. We are delighted to partner with X-Rite, and look forward to evangelising and helping our expert resellers creatively market this long-anticipated software. The new technologies, combined with the skills of our members will benefit customers worldwide," states Lida Jalali Marschke, Founder, Color Management Group.