Description

The 8 Parts of Color Management

Over the years, I’ve worked with all kinds of shops, files, and printers. I’ve discovered that there are 8 essentials parts to color management that must be accounted for in order to have a workflow that can give predictable results on the printer. We will cover each of these essentials in detail, but let’s get a brief overview of them here.

 Your Monitor

Your monitor is the location where you will be making judgement calls about color. That being the case, it’s important to have a fairly good monitor. Some monitors can display a wider range of colors than others and typically that’s related to the cost of the monitor.

However, most monitors that typically come with your computer can do just fine if they are calibrated and profiled. We’ll discuss how to set up and profile your monitor so you can believe the colors your monitor will be displaying for your jobs.

 Your Printer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, your printer is the device that is going to be making you money, so it has to be calibrated and working at top condition. We’ll discuss what is needed to ensure consistency and how to ensure you get the results expected.

 Your Media

The media on which you are placing color is also very important. Each media type has its own way of handling inks and each one must be profiled to assure the best color print as well as to save you money. Placing more ink on a surface will not result in better color matching etc. but rather will increase the cost of the job. We’ll talk about the various media used for printing as well as how to get the best results.

Your Inks

Is there really a difference between OEM inks that originally came with a printer and third-party inks? Indeed, there are on a few levels. Besides, there are also different kinds of inks, eco-solvent, UV, etc. and each one has its own characteristics that can influence color output. We’ll give you the information you need.

 Your Software

Both the design software and the RIP software you use will have lots of options to use color management. Understanding those options is essential to a predictable workflow for printing. We will discuss some of the more common design and RIP software in the market and of course cover the essential settings you must know.

 Your Files

Files for your job will come from numerous places. You may design some yourself, but likely your job will contain elements from customer, downloads, photos etc. These elements can influence the output to printers.

We will spend a little time talking about some of the considerations when using files and what you can and cannot control regarding color output.

 Your Environment

The temperature, humidity and even the lighting in your shop can all influence you printer output as well as your ability to judge color. Where you’ll be placing the final product can be completely different from where you judged the color in the first place.

We’ll cover how you can control some of the environmental factors that can influence color printing.

YOU!

The final factor in color management is YOU!

Men and women see color slightly differently. Your age, your physical condition and many other factors can affect your judgement of color.

We’ll talk a little about how most judge color and what you can do to try to become more objective in judging color output.