HP Indigo provider with good RGB Workflow / East Coast

[abooks]

Hi, I am hoping you can help me find a print service provider in the east coast using an HP Indigo 7XXX series or higher that can handle RGB workflows well.

I run a small book publishing firm that specializes in artist books. Most of the content pages of my books consist of images using the sRGB or Adobe1998RGB color spaces. My current HP Indigo provider is very accommodating but has a CMYK workflow calibrated for consistency with their offset equipment. When I submit work to them it is difficult to get the color close to the original and I often can do better with my own Xerox 550 color wise. IF I submit the same files to any of the "photo products" printers using HP Indigos with RIPS that work well in the RGB color space (do the CMYK conversion very well) the results are excellent and require no additional steps. The problem with the "Photo Products" printers I am familiar with is that they have no flexibility about paper choices, I am too small for them or will not use my premium Indigo approved papers (Mohawk or Neenah). Also, some of the "Photo Products" printers will not handle just the press sheets (we do our own binding).

Please let me know if you know of a printer in the east coast (near DC preferably) that can provide press sheet services using an RGB workflow.

Thank you,

ABOOKS

 

[SlaveToTheMan]

Try District Photo in Beltsville, MD perhaps. They are a very large Indigo shop, and specialize in photo books. Not sure if they deal directly with the public however.

Another shop is Indigo Ink out of Columbia, MD. They're on the other end of the spectrum, very small but extremely customer-oriented and professional. Indigo Ink® Digital Printing in Maryland

 

[abooks]

Thank you for the references. Indigo Ink Print has an Indigo 5500... so far I've been working with Indigo 7500s... are there any quality /output differences between the two models?

 

[Mark Flanders]

Greetings,

You have a totally fixable issue that you should be able to resolve with your current Indigo printshop. What is happening here, I think, is a prepress workflow built around direct-to-plate offset. Maybe running Preps for impostion and sending 1 bit tiffs to output devices. The Indigo press is probably a newcomer on the pressroom floor, and they've integrated it into their existing workflow. The problem with this is that the Indigo RIP does a GREAT job of ripping RGB images straight. DON'T convert images from RGB to CMYK pror to the press. This is an obstacle because prepress has been training people for years to convert the RGB to CMYK. Basiclly, they need to adapt, and create a custom workflow to the Indigo. It may be possible to create a path in their existing workflow, or they may have to create something simple and direct...like RIPing PDF files from the press. Learn to "impose" you own layouts on the correct sheet size, and then ask them to bring it in directly from the press. It works great, and it won't take long before they figure out a way to accomodate your work.

PS - 7600s are great, but 5000s print nearly as well, but are a bit more trouble to run.

 

[ghabicht]

Thank you for the references. Indigo Ink Print has an Indigo 5500... so far I've been working with Indigo 7500s... are there any quality /output differences between the two models?

Also in Maryland is Printing Specialist Corporation. They have an Indigo 3550 and just replaced their Indigo 5500 with an Indigo 7600. About half of the work they do is for the trade and much of the rest of their work is for agencies and designers, so their quality is top notch.