color standards & specifications standards & specifications wide format series kerry moloney...

Color Standards & SpecificationsWide Format Series

Kerry Moloney Field & Channel Marketing Manager – Fiery Wide Format

John NateWW Technical Product Training Manager – Fiery Wide Format

Session overview

• Knowledge of the latest color-industry standards is a must to satisfy today’s customer needs

• Why standards exist, what they are used for, and where they play a part in the print process

• Advice on document types and settings when working with standards and specifications

• Take a quick poll

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Today’s topics

• Standards, specifications, and methods– Why we need them– Why we are wrong…

• Specifications– Document– Printing– Evaluation– Measurement– Viewing

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Standards, specifications & methods

What do you want?

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Standards

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If you don’t set standards…

Standards

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you won’t know what’s right.

A document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.

Standards (Not what you think) - ISO

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A detailed description of the criteria for a piece of work. Specifications for printing can include characterization-data, ICC-profiles, PDF preflight criteria, calibration targets for the print process, etc.

Specifications - ISO

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A way, technique, or process for doing something.

Methods - ISO

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• Standards– A car

• Specifications– How fast, mpg, which parts, what color…

• Methods– How to assemble

In simpler terms…

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In simpler terms…

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In simpler terms…

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• Standard– A printed piece

• Specifications– What stock, which inks, matching what?

• Methods– How to get the look you want

In our world…

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Document standards

Who built this?

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Document standards

• There aren’t any!

• But there are recommendations…

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Document standards - GIF

• 256 colors per file

• Websites

• Animations

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Document standards - PNG

• No CMYK support

• Websites

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Document standards - JPG

• RGB, CMYK, L*a*b*

• ICC Profile

• Lossy Compression

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JPG artifacts

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JPG artifacts

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Document standards - TIFF

• RGB, CMYK, L*a*b*

• ICC Profile

• Lossless Compression

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PDF recommendations

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PDF recommendations

• PDF/X-1a

– Least flexible

– CMYK only

– No ICC Profiles

– No transparency or layers

– Least likely to cause reproduction problems

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• PDF/X-4

– Most flexible

– CMYK, RGB, Gray, Spot colors

– ICC Profiles allowed

– Transparency and layers allowed

– Most likely to cause reproduction problems

PDF recommendations

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File prepared

Production checklist

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Printing standards specifications

What should it look like?

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Printing specifications - Americas

• SWOP– Specifications for Web Offset Publications

• SNAP– Specifications for Newsprint Advertising Production

• GRACoL– General Requirements for Applications in Commercial Offset

Lithography

• First– Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances

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Lithography


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Lithography


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Lithography


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Printing specifications - International

• Fogra– Fogra 39 (Coated stock)

– Fogra 48 (Newsprint)

– Fogra 50 (Gloss laminated)

• 3DAP– Australia

– 3 paper types

• Japan Color– Japan

– 4 print conditions

• ISO

– ISO Coated

– ISO Uncoated

– ISO Newspaper

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Printing specifications - GRACoL

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G7 – a method

• 7 = CMYK & RGB

• G = Gray balance

• Based on L*a*b* measurements

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G7 – a method

• 7 = CMYK & RGB



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G7 – a method

• 7 = CMYK & RGB



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What is G7?

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Where are you going?

What is G7?

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New York

Paris

Tokyo


What is G7?

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Paris

Tokyo


Driving

New York

What is G7?

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What are you trying

to match?

What is G7?

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GRACol

Fogra 39

Japan Color

What are you trying

to match?

What is G7?

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Fogra 39

Japan Color

What are you trying

to match?

G7

GRACol

G7 Compliance levels

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Gray BalancedConforms to

a Specification

Uses Correct Media

UsesCorrect

Ink

Uses ICC Profiles

Grayscale ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖

Targeted ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖

Colorspace ✔ ✔ ✖ ✖ ✔

Extreme ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖

• Traditional (GRACoL – ISO Coated)– 100% red = 97% magenta + 89% yellow

• Expanded gamut– 100% red = 100% magenta + 100% yellow

Expanded gamut printing (G7 Extreme)

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• Traditional (GRACoL – ISO Coated)– 100% red = 97% magenta + 89% yellow

• Expanded gamut– 100% red = 100% magenta + 100% yellow

Expanded gamut printing

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File prepared

Specification selected


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Evaluation standards

Where is your proof?

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IDEAlliance 2009

IDEAlliance 2013

Japan

3DAP

Fogra v3

Color bars

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Aims (GRACoL)

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Small number difference….

49…large visual difference

Tolerances

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Expanded gamut

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File prepared


Color bar, aims, & tolerance selected


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Measurement standards

The “M” illuminants

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• M0 – UV Include

• M1 – D50 (a little UV)

• M2 – UV Exclude (UV Cut)

• M3 – M2 + Polarization Filter

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• M0 – Old reference measurements

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• M0 – Old reference measurements

• M1 – New reference measurements

– Match new viewing booth lamps

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M1 capable measurement devices

ES-2000/i1 Pro 2

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Konica Minolta FD-5BT

BarbieriSpectro LFP

BarbieriSpectro Pad

File prepared



Color bar measured and evaluated


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Viewing standards

What color is your light?

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Viewing standards

• Problems– Type of lamps

– Color of light

– Metamerism

– Optical Brighteners

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Type of lamps

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Incandescent Fluorescent LED

Color of light

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Color temperature

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Lamp standards

• CRI – Color rendering index– 100 = Perfection (The sun)

– Fluorescent lamps = 50-90

– LED = up to 98

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Metamerism

• Sample colors match under one lighting condition but not under others

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Metamerism

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Optical brighteners

• UV light causes optical brighteners to fluoresce producing a blue shift

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Optical brighteners

• Proofing media

• Production media

• Press sheets

• Inks

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Use a booth!

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File prepared



Color bar measured and evaluated

Image properly viewed


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Session summary

• We learned– The difference between standards, specifications,

methods and compliance and how these differ globally– How important lighting and viewing conditions are

when evaluating standardized results– Documents standards don’t exist but recommendations

do!

• To learn more, we have some resources for you

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Additional resources

• www.idealliance.org– Just Enough Video Bank covering topics such as G7 & GRACoL

• www.fogra.org– Latest news and advice on standards and specifications

• www.gwg.org– Best practices for publishing and packaging workflows

• www.xrite.com– More information on “M” illuminants for measurement devices

• www.wikipedia.org– Detailed overview of PDF/X

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http://www.idealliance.org/glossary/g7-method

http://www.fogra.org/index.php?menuid=1&getlang=en

http://www.gwg.org

http://www.xrite.com/documents/literature/en/L7-510_M_Factor_en.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF/X

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Additional World of Fiery sessions

• May 27 – Color Management Fundamentals• Learn the foundations of color theory and management to get the most

from your design software and color technologies.• June 17 – Color Standards & Specifications

• Gain knowledge of the latest industry standards and how they apply to wide and superwide format printing and proofing.

• July 8 – Color Management Inside Fiery XF & Fiery proServer• Put your knowledge into practice and understand RIP-level color

controls.• Production Series for wide format printing starting this September, details

can be found on the WoF home page

http://www.efi.com/marketing/fiery-servers-and-software/webinars/wof/webinar-series/2015/2015-webinar-series-wide-format

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Color standards & specifications

Questions?

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Color standards & specifications

Thank you!