proofing NEWBIE

[MonsterBabyBLN]

hi everyone..
im not even sure if this is the right forum.. but.. maybe i can find some generous help.

for a few years i do fineart prints for a small amount of customers and know the rules about color management.

but now i was asked to do some proof prints.. and i admit to enter a new field. but would like to learn about it.

so i read a lot on the net... but it leaves some open ??...

first: do i need an original 400$ fogra strip?
second: do i need a RIP to do proofs..

of course i have calibrated my media ... and using a z3100 its linearilized and messured quite well..
so is there a chance to use photoshop and qimage (my usual tools) to produce a contract proof ?

thanks.. for everything! im very curiuous

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

You don't need the fogra strip, unless you need to deliver a verified proof. Some customers may demand it, and then you need to do a ROI calculation.

Strictly speaking you do not NEED a rip, but there are some issues that a RIP handles differently, the primary one being overprints.

The diference between proofing than printing is that instead of making your image look as good as possible, or similar to the screen you are trying to simulate how it will look in print.

You must know what you are simulating, coated, uncoated or newsprint.
You will then set the proofer and the output profiles.

Having a rip means you can set up hot folders to handle the most common scenarios…*and less checkboxes means less errors.

 

[MonsterBabyBLN]

thnx lukas..
i guess this client wants a real verified proof.. so i will need a rip for doint this!

 

[TerryWyse]

thnx lukas..
i guess this client wants a real verified proof.. so i will need a rip for doint this!

Not necessarily...there's nothing inherent in a RIP that gives you better color-matching than simply properly color-managing it through a RGB print driver...which is probably what you're doing currently.

If your printer is already properly profiled, the only thing you may need is to know what source profile to assign to the CMYK data (a proof has to be CMYK data by the way). Once you know the "source" printing condition, you simply assign this profile to the customer's image/PDF/whatever and print using absolute colorimetric on a suitable media (best is to choose a media that matches the print condition closely such as a SWOP or GRACoL-certified proofing media).

As far as the media wedge and "proof certification", you could simply set your application color mangement settings to absolute colorimetric, open up the CMYK media wedge and ASSIGN the source profile to it. From there, it's a simple matter to set your info palette to LAB and take your eyedropper tool and read/record the LAB values for each patch. Once you print the media wedge, you then simply measure the patches and compare the printed LAB values with what you measured in Photoshop.

Having said all THAT....you might find it advantageous to purchase something like a ColorBurst X-Proof RIP (Mac or Windows). It has everything you need to produce decent proofs including the ability to print a "print certification" target and measure/compare that to the print standard you're using. While ColorBurst is more-or-less built around proofing, it does a find job with fine-art printing as well.....you might find it meets ALL your inkjet printing/proofing needs.

Regards,
Terry

 

[MonsterBabyBLN]

thanx terry for getting into it.. after a another day of research and your comment, too. i tend to get the idea what it is all about.

most people only have this halfe knowledge that says: u need a RIP.. and u need fogra 3.0 and no one really thinks whats BEHIND the whole thing and what a proof is actually for! to simulate an offset print..!

so just back to the simulation.. lets say i hav a picutre in adobeRGB. then i first convert this perceptual wise to lets say ISOcoated ??-- and then print it with the calibrated papers gamma as absolute metric?...

and to proof it i have to print the fogra patches in CMYK .. in the papers gamma absolute as well... then read it patch by patch.. ad it should be the same values ?

i cant use ur RIP suggestion, as i have a Z3100 by hp... i do have an external DTP20 tho.. and i have profile maker.. so im sure there is a way to messure the fogra strip... not sure how tho

 

[gordo]

[SNIP] and no one really thinks whats BEHIND the whole thing and what a proof is actually for! to simulate an offset print..!

A subtle distinction, as far as color is concerned, the proof, in the vast majority of cases, represents the target that the press is expected to align its color to.

best, gordon p

 

[MonsterBabyBLN]

... leaves the questions about how to transform the gammuts...

can someone check my earlier post.. thanx

 

[michaelejahn]

Workflow

Workflow

... leaves the questions about how to transform the gammuts...

can someone check my earlier post.. thanx

I am unsure as to what your workflow is.

Will you be making proofs and shipping them somewhere where they will measure them to "verify" if they are "okay" ?

Do you own a spectrophotometer ?

If I sent you a file ( like a P2P target) - like in the link below....

http://files.idealliance.org/g7/experts/p2p25/p2p25xa_isis_package_05_09.zip

if I asked you to print it and create a report and send me that report, could you ?

These are the sort of things I would ask you if you were suppling the proofs.

 

[MonsterBabyBLN]

???

i again dont understand what your questions have to do with my questions ??

did u read my posts ?

"I am unsure as to what your workflow is. "
... sorry

"Will you be making proofs and shipping them somewhere where they will measure them to "verify" if they are "okay" ?"
... no ?

"Do you own a spectrophotometer ?"
... two ?? as i have a Z3100 by hp... i do have an external DTP20 tho.

"If I sent you a file ( like a P2P target) - like in the link below...."
.. sorry but. then...what?

"if I asked you to print it and create a report and send me that report, could you ?"
i could print it together with a fogra wedge and meassure it to clear it. i could not create an office fogra certification. which is not part of the iso 12467 standards

"These are the sort of things I would ask you if you were suppling the proofs. "
... i still dont understand how those are answers to my questions..

its not that i dont know anything about CM.. i just wanted to make sure the conversions for proofing WITHOUT a rip.. theoretically.. !! thats all..

thank you