Digital Colour management solution

[rsands]

We are after a software application that can manage our printer colours. We have created paper profiles for our Xerox 700 but when printing in clustered dot it doesnt print colours even close to what they should be on the screen

any advice?

 

[Correct Color]

"Created paper profiles" exactly...how?

And how do you know that the colors you see on screen are the colors as they "should be"? Is the screen in question profiled? It's just possible that the printer's closer to what the file actually is than your screen.

The thing is that in order for color management to be effective it must be comprehensive. Making a set of printer profiles--even assuming you do it correctly and install them correctly--is only one part of the picture.

There isn't one single overarching software that's going to be able to color manage your printer simply because just at your printer there's no way to know how you created the files that got to the printer. What you need--if you're truly serious about producing high-end color--is a complete color managed workflow.


Mike Adams
Correct Color

 

[rsands]

Hi Mike,

We use the EFI profile suite with the spectrometer to create an ICC paper profile...we do 4 runs of colour swatches and then average them out.

I am keen to get high end colour that is consistent throughout jobs...problem we have at minute is there is no consistency from one month to the next...we are open to the suggestions that other printers use to acheive this sort of consistency and run files through colour management software to ensure its correct.

Maybe we are doing this all wrong?

Thanks

Richard

 

[rsands]

forgot to mention we have calibrated our monitors as well.

 

[Correct Color]

There's just no way to tell, given the information you've given.

But understand that if you're looking for one piece of magical software that's going to suddenly make your color workflow perfect...it isn't out there.

There are all sorts of devices and all different manner of software packages out there all related to and having a function involved in color management. Some of them are very good, and some of them are truly terrible.

What you need to fix your issues isn't software. It's knowledge. And honestly, the best way to get that knowledge is to hire someone who has it to come in and teach you. In the end, you'll be way, way, way ahead.


Mike Adams
Correct Color

 

[sbonoff]

Re:

Re:

...or become an expert yourself! G7 Expert Blog

 

[Shanavaz]

All Xerox machines have an in built calibration settings through it's control pannel. If that is done, you can go for software calibration, your RIP can respond.

 

[InvisSoul]

Hi Mike,

We use the EFI profile suite with the spectrometer to create an ICC paper profile...we do 4 runs of colour swatches and then average them out.

I am keen to get high end colour that is consistent throughout jobs...problem we have at minute is there is no consistency from one month to the next...we are open to the suggestions that other printers use to acheive this sort of consistency and run files through colour management software to ensure its correct.

Maybe we are doing this all wrong?

Thanks

Richard

So do you use just one stock on your machine or a variety of stocks?

I'm looking to improve the color on our C8000, but right now we are using many different stocks on it. I do a paper calibration to a specific coated and uncoated stock daily. I've used the EFI profile suite and color isn't quite where I'm happy with it.

Any suggestions on how you are doing it would be great.

 

[rsands]

we used efi colour profiler suite to create a paper profile, then imported this icc into the rip for management. colours were still a bit dark but the machine is causing some problems at minute so we manually adjusted the density values to get were we wanted to be, etc...seems good at minute

 

[Johu]

You could try Oris Press Matcher. It is a software for controlling one or more digital press (or any other printer) colors.

 

[jrrowellprinting]

Color Calibration

Color Calibration

I was once told that the only true way to match what you see on your monitor to what your printer is printing is to follow these steps:

1. Run your color calibration on you printer.
2. Print what you want printed just once.
3. Bring the printed version to your monitor and hold it up next to the image on your monitor.
4. Adjust the color on your monitor (brightness/contrast, color curves) to look exactly like what you see on the paper.
5. Color adjust the graphic file on your computer to look like how you want it to print and once you print you should have a perfect match.

This manual calibration used to be easier on older monitors with color controls and brightness/contrast controls, but now they make it so difficult to adjust any monitor settings that it has become more difficult.

Whether or not what I was told will work for you, I don't know... but it has saved me a ton of money over the years trying to buy software and monitor calibration toys!