6 Steps to Start Your Color Management Success Story

EVERYONE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT color quality is important in the printing industry. We hear terms and phrases such as color management strategy, process control, and verification. But how do you begin to understand and implement a workflow that results in good, consistent color quality?

The following are six steps to start your strategy and ultimately create color quality success.

As with any technical process, color management requires a basic understanding of color concepts.

1. Understand How You See Color and How You Describe It

Blue sky. Green grass. Fire engine red.

When you read those words, you probably can see the colors in your mind’s eye. But those colors only are true to your own color memory. If you live in South Dakota, your perception of the color of green grass likely is different than someone who lives in Louisiana.

Likewise, it doesn’t help to communicate differences in color to others with words. If a client tells you that he wants a color in a printed piece to be redder or warmer, what exactly does he mean?

We also have difficulties assessing color solely with our eyes. Everyone’s eyes are different. Some of us must wear prescription eyeglasses to see well. Others suffer from color blindness in certain ranges. Our eyes have frailties too. We see better in the morning than in the evening, and often we see more clearly when we are younger than older.

Since our eyes always can’t be trusted and words are ineffective ways to communicate about color, that color is best described with math and numbers.

2. Getting a Grasp on Basic Color Theory

To perceive color, you need three things:

• Light: What is the source? Are you outside or in a room with lighting overhead?
• Observer: How are you viewing? Are you looking at it as a human being or using an instrument such as a spectrophotometer?
• Object: What is it that you are viewing?

Human eyes can perceive color between 380 and 720 nanometers on the electromagnetic spectrum. That’s between infrared and ultraviolet light. And the three peak sensitivities for humans are red, green and blue — better known as RGB. Monitors and mobile devices also display color in RGB; but printers produce color in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). However, both RGB and CMYK are dependent on devices. That means that numerical values of RGB or CMYK are not interchangeable and won’t produce consistent color from device to device.

Instead, we use the LAB color space model to describe color. The model is made up of an L* axis from top to bottom representing a high L number for white, and a low L number for black and grays in between. The A* axis describes red (a positive A number) and green (a negative A number) while the B* axis describes yellow (a positive B number) and blue (a negative B number).

Using numerical LAB numbers to describe color not only is more accurate but it also allows for comparison of color using a mathematical formula called Delta E. LAB also is device independent, so it’s possible to achieve consistent color between devices.

Color is perceived differently depending on the light source. The best way to assess color with the appropriate lighting condition is to invest in a light booth or light box.

3. Viewing with Appropriate Light

Color is perceived differently depending on the light source. It’s important to understand where the final printed product is going to be viewed. Will it be on a billboard outside in daylight? Or will it be viewed in a store under fluorescent or incandescent light?

The best way to assess color with the appropriate lighting condition is to invest in a light booth or light box. They come in a variety of sizes (determined by the size of the printed product you need to view) and with different lighting options.

4. Achieving Gray Balance with a Color Management Strategy

Humans can see millions and millions of colors. But while RGB monitors can reproduce about 16.8 million colors, CMYK printing devices only can produce colors in the thousands. The reason you need color management is because printers cannot achieve all the colors you can see or that RGB monitors can display.

Every device — monitor, camera, printer, etc, — has its own unique color gamut. Since printers can’t print every color seen with your eyes or on monitors, you must tell the printer what to do with colors that are outside its color gamut. That’s where a color management strategy comes into play.

Color management takes into consideration the many variables in the printing process such as substrates, inks, printing procedures, final lighting conditions, etc. A good rule of thumb is to calibrate printers to gray balance. Printers that have gray balance generally do a better job of interpreting out-of-gamut colors and achieving a consistent color, even between different devices.

Using numerical LAB numbers to describe color not only is more accurate but it also allows for comparison of color using a mathematical formula. PHOTO: PRINTING United Alliance

5. Color Space Settings in Software

One of the keys to a good color management strategy is consistency. When the same settings and procedures are used throughout the process, it’s easier to eliminate variables when problems arise.

It’s important to remember that color management begins with the file creation. In the often-used Adobe software, the default color space setting for RGB is sRGB and for CMYK is U.S. Coated SWOP. These both are older profiles with smaller color gamuts.

It is recommended that the RGB color space setting is changed to Adobe RGB 1998 and the CMYK space to GRACoL Coated 2006. These same color settings should be changed to be consistent in the printer’s RIP software.

6. Pay Attention to the Print Environment

There is no point in implementing a color management strategy in a printing environment that hasn’t been maintained properly. This includes the printer itself and where it’s located in your facility.

You must adhere to the proper maintenance procedures for your specific printer. If you are unsure what those procedures are, refer to the manufacturer’s manual or ask your dealer.

The easiest best practice in printer maintenance is performing a nozzle check before any big job or calibrating for gray balance. This quick test can tell you whether your printer is in acceptable shape to proceed.

The other factor is the climate of your print environment. Make sure the printer is operating in a room that is about 70˚ Fahrenheit with a relative non-condensing humidity of about 50%. Also, ensure your printer is not near a door that opens and closes regularly to the outside or near other equipment such as heat presses that might affect temperature and humidity.

Understanding basic color concepts and implementing procedural changes to settings and the work environment can put you on the right road to a successful color management strategy. Try taking each of the six steps one at a time to assess your workflow and make the necessary changes for consistent color quality in your print product.