Color Management Training

[Printing_Is_Fun]

Hello everyone,

I have been thrown into prepress management recently (after my boss quit), against my qualifications... We all know how that goes, right?
I've been with the company for many years, and can handle everything but the color management!
The company is willing to invest in training, but I don't even know where to start! Where do you go to learn hands on color management? Press checks, proofing, plating? We have a demanding customer coming for press OK next week, and I don't even know how to read Delta E!!! How to learn all that without the direct guidance from someone right next to me holding my hand???
PLEASE share any ideas, as I really want to succeed in this new role - not because of the title, but because I really love this industry, and hope I can do it!

Thank you in advance!

 

[gordo]

Hello everyone,

I have been thrown into prepress management recently (after my boss quit), against my qualifications... We all know how that goes, right?
I've been with the company for many years, and can handle everything but the color management!
The company is willing to invest in training, but I don't even know where to start! Where do you go to learn hands on color management? Press checks, proofing, plating? We have a demanding customer coming for press OK next week, and I don't even know how to read Delta E!!! How to learn all that without the direct guidance from someone right next to me holding my hand???
PLEASE share any ideas, as I really want to succeed in this new role - not because of the title, but because I really love this industry, and hope I can do it!

Thank you in advance!

Drink lotsa coffee and start here:

https://www.lynda.com/Design-Color-tutorials/Welcome/135361/149849-4.html

https://www.amazon.com/Real-World-C...d=1508993620&sr=8-3&keywords=color+management

https://www.amazon.com/Understandin...d=1508993620&sr=8-5&keywords=color+management

 

[arossetti]

I think the Idealliance courses are worth every penny. I would start with this one and continue into more advanced classes as you wish. https://services.idealliance.org/memberportal/iCommerce/Training/CMPFundamentalsTraining.aspx

I learn better through these online courses than I do from reading a book.

 

[afilsonCSA]

We can help. We have several classes on color management. Some specific to inkjet printing, others on applied basics of color. One of my favorite classes is called Applied Basic Color, and even if you have been in color management for years you will take something away from this class. It is a two day class, and I will warn you, there is nothing "basic" about it. You will come out knowing why the bricks at Epcot are red, and possibly why the box of Tide looks better at Walmart, than maybe the store down the street. All the while we will teach you about dE, and spot color matching, and how to manage color. This class will teach you more than enough to speak intelligently about color. If you want to know more, reach out to us here at Canon Solutions America.

 

[Tim-Ellis]

I'd make a start here:


http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/The_Color_of_Toast


There is plenty of material free online and on YouTube. You can sign up for free Webinars from X-rite and Pantone as well us software houses like GMG and Esko.

However, a lot of this information can be fairly generic. You might be in a niche industry. Speak to your suppliers. See who they recommend and what they can offer you. That way if you do spend money on training you can be more confident it will be applicable to you.

Warning: There will be graphs and charts. There will be some basic physics, chemistry and biology. Just breath deep and go with it.

I was lucky to spend a day training with one of the top experts in the UK. He said, 'You won't understand it all the first time you hear it. If you get about 10% of it first time, then you are doing well. The next time you hear it, maybe 20% will stick.' ... and so on.

The other top tip: Forget the word COLOR. It's just about Management. It's just about managing a workflow and machines so that they produce the consistent result you need. No different from making sausages or soda. How much sugar can you add to a soda before it stops being soda? You need to define maximum amount and a minimum amount. No different than with printing colour.

If all seems lost, go to

http://johnthemathguy.blogspot.co.uk



... There is also a lot of very good stuff to be found in the Archives of this forum

 

[Correct Color]

I can help. To get to where you need to be, I'd suggest someone who can come to you and train you on what you need to know in your environment. Which, by happy coincidence, is a service I provide.

Yes, there is a lot of information available online, but a lot of it is wrong. And a lot of it will steer you incompletely wrong directions. And one of the true pitfalls for someone such as yourself out online and searching is you don't know what's right, and what's wrong. Everyone sounds like an expert on the Internet. And, as Tim said, one of the key issues that all people who want to learn color management have handling absorbing all the initial inflow of information.

Drop me a line if you're interested. Or feel free to call me at 512 468 0010. I'd be glad to talk about what it is exactly you need to do, and what's the best way to get there.



Mike Adams
Correct Color

 

[danremaley]

This is a problem I run into often. The previous operator had all the knowledge and seldom shared his information. If you like you can call me to discuss your situation.
I was a consultant for the only printing company to win the Malcolm Baldridge Award.
It was Branch Smith in 2002 of Texas. I taught several classes at GATF on Process Control & Color Management. “Google Me”.
Cell 412.889.7643