Hello,
I just recently signed up to this list as I had not been aware of when
the English version became available. An interesting post, and I would
agree that ultimately, this solution would probably be optimal, but
there are some points in which I see difficulty. If I understood
correctly the message, to sum it up, it was that due to the fact that
there are many non-color knowledgeable people at the creative or
beginning end of the production chain, that the best solution is to
maintain RGB data within a PDF/X-3 file format in order for the
knowledgeable to later process as necessary at the end of the line. I
would argue, however, that one needs to have more color knowledge in
order to use an RGB workflow that a CMYK one. If we take a typical user
who may have scanned in an image directly to CMYK and proofed that image
at a service bureau or on an in-house RIP, and done correction for
example, (which is currently pretty common), the chances are quite good
that the print will at least be quite similar to what they were seeing.
To do this same job in RGB, this user must have the knowledge of RGB
working spaces, embedding profiles, setting up the CMYK softproof in
Photoshop and how to proof correctly an RGB image. In this case, then
this user has at least a base of color management. If you add on to
that the ability to create a PDF/X-3 file correctly, then this is not a
"green" uninformed user.
It also appears, and correct me if I did not understand correctly, that
the great part of the problem with the correct reproduction of color
lies with the designers, creatives, photographers, etc. while the
printers and pre-press houses have the know-how to get the job done
correctly. This is often not the case, or at least even in instances
where it is, many times external variables anul this. Blanket or other
mechanical problems, time crunches and the need to get many jobs printed
in a small amount of time, printing without density control, incorrect
proofs due to low-cost solutions or lack of rigorous recalibration,
operator errors, etc, etc. are an everday occurence. So when the
beginning of the chain simply hands off an RGB file for print and
blindly waits for it to print correctly, what do they have to protect
themselves in the event that it doesn't? With a CMYK file and a proof,
there is something to show what should have come out.
Once again, I am well of aware of the workflow you are supporting here,
and I also work generally in the same direction, but it is not as simple
of a solution as it seems, and done too soon, can also be
counter-productive. It is kind of an all or nothing situation -
everyone continues to need to protect themselves until there is a
guarantee that things will be done correctly at the end, and in the
instances that they do not, at least the real reason has to come to
light.
Regards.
Darrian Young
Hi,
there is one thing that has kept chasing me for quite a while now, and
I'd like to share this with you for some possibly interesting
discussion:
Assumptions:
- at least some 'color management' - whether correctly or not - is done
everywhere (and be it only conversion to CMYK or retouching in CMYK of
some image in Photoshop)
- for most documents that get printed on a printing press any necessary
conversion to CMYK or establishment of CMYK values - again: whether
correctly or not - is done early on in the food chain (e.g. by the
designer or layouter, as opposed to the printer)
- in terms of number of different pages produced altogether, more pages
are created by not so professional people but also often printed in
smaller print runs, whereas a comparably smaller number of pages printed
in higher print runs (magazine/newspaper ads, catalogues, direct mailing
pieces, packaging, etc.) is typically produced by more professional
people (though your mileage may vary significantly ;->)
- the number of printers (i.e. people/companies running print presses)
is relatively small when compared to the number of people
creating/producing pages to be printed on presses.
- the number of people in the graphic arts industry who master color
management (i.e. they get it right nearly all of the time) is relatively
small; these people are typically more often found down stream in the
food chain, often as staff in high quality prepress service providers or
prepress departments of larger agencies/industry customers/printers.
- anybody else in the industry - for more than one reason - is having a
hard time getting color management right and getting reliable results
- those professionals mastering color management typically have learnt
that real color management is about process control: know what your
color will look like, and how to make sure it does look like that in the
end (i.e. after having been printed on the press). They accept that
quite often it might have been possible to get 'better' color, but due
to the fact that under the given circumstances it has not been possible
to predict and control in what way the color would have been better
these people resort to slightly less ideal, but predictable color.
- many other people involved in the graphic arts industry - whether
those working inside it or those buying its services - are (often
unknowingly) rather looking for the best possible result. They do not
mind if a repeat print run looks slightly different as long as it looks
'nice' (though this is less true for specific colors, e.g. Coca Cola
will always want that their Coca Cola red looks as much the same all the
time as possible).
Conclusions:
- at the moment the majority of people who are (knowingly or
unknowingly) doing color management (e.g. conversion of a digital camera
image from some kind of ICC based RGB to whatever kind of CMYK, editing
of color in CMYK on screen, judging color from a color print printed
from CMYK data)
... do no have a clue about color management
... do not have ideal equipment to do color management well
... do not have the means nor the knowledge or experience
to set up equipment for reliable color management
which means this in a way is like asking a deaf person to listen to the
radio and write down what they understood from the broadcast.
- because of files today being often delivered digitally directly from
the creating side to the printing side there are no gateways anymore as
there were until a couple of years ago in the form of service bureaus
that imaged files onto film and, where desired/required, did analogue
proofs. This hurts some printers more than others: for example,
newspapers are complaining quite often that total ink coverage for ads
is sometimes too high, the reason being that some image was converted to
CMYK in Photoshop using for example a Euroscale profile.
- one of the reasons printers can nevertheless get their presses going
somehow and can produce more or less pleasant looking results is that
not so professional people often screw up their data in similar ways (so
certain heuristics, once found, will compensate for similar problems in
most of the files). Nevertheless there are often also pages ending up on
the same sheet that have significantly different characteristics.
Applying a heuristic to improve one of the pages will deteriorate one of
the other pages on the same sheet.
- having color management done early on in the food chain by people who
do not master it means that a lot of options to get it right again are
unretrievably lost. If on the other hand files had been left in their
initial color space, more professional people further downstream had
better options to convert images/pages to a more reliable, more
predictable, more easily producible and nicer result.
- also, in terms of overall economy, it is much smarter to have the
fewer people at printing plants and associated prepress
departments/service bureaus learn to master color management than trying
to educate the masses (whose job description most of the time does not
include a bit about color reproduction as such) towards some pretty
complex matter.
Summary:
- prefer digital files with as much device independent color retained as
possible (though it will always be acceptable if a professional document
creator submits device dependent CMYK files - they know what they are
doing...)
- establish knowledge and equipment at every printer or at a service
provider associated with every printer that enables the printer to
convert incoming digital files to device dependent data appropriate for
the printing process at hand
- be pragmatic about the strategy: if files seem to come from
professionals, convert 'as is'; if files seem to come from not so
professionals, convert them in a way to make them 'as nice/pleasant as
possible'.
- the ideal format for this is PDF/X-3: it accommodates both device
dependent and device independent data in any combination.
- also, there are now enough decent tools (with varying degrees of
quality and price tag) available - especially iQueue from Gretag
Macbeth, SuperColor from Heidelberg, Acrobat 6 Professional from Adobe,
Quite A Box Of Tricks from Quite - to easily color convert PDF files to
process specific CMYK.
Essence:
It is not smart to request CMYK files from people who do not understand
color. Instead by default postpone color conversion to CMYK as long as
possible. Promote PDF/X-3 as the natural carrier for digital files that
maintains all options and can handle files from professionals as well as
from not so professionals.
Olaf Druemmer
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