Ten Significant Thoughts and Questions About the Reasons to Read this information.

1.  What is Color Management?
   
2.  Why is color management so much like the black arts? At least Harry Potter's black arts was more fun.

3.  Why can't anyone simply explain how it works without having to become a "Geek?"

4.  I have read a number of Color Management Books and still don't get it.

5.   I have not read a number of books and  I don't get it.

6.   I bought a monitor puck and an expensive monitor and still don't get it.

7.   I don't know what monitor to buy.

8.    How much damn money do I need to spend on this stuff to make it work?

9.   Can anyone really make the concept of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) work?

10.  If I get to understand how to apply color management, will I truly be able to make better prints and set up         my images so they reproduce properly?

The answer to question 10 is, you bet! You won't believe how good you can make it.

Color Management has been thought of as black magic that only masters understand. Once you go through this article, you will see a whole new light to how to make Color Management work for you. The intention for this article is to show you how to make it work for you without becoming a nerd or a geek.

What has frustrated me in the past, is the fragmentation of information in high tech terms that never simply goes to the route of what you need to know.

Years ago my Uncle wrote a book on printing that I felt was boring to read. You see I was a photographer not a techi-nerd, so I did not feel it was important to know.

Knowing how to use color management is as important as it was to know how to choose the right shutter speed and F stop on your camera. 

So, let's get right to it.

There are three elements to understand to get started.

            1. Image input (camera) Color Space.
            2. Monitor Color Space.
            3. Printer Color Space.

An digital image must be linked to a color space in order to be viewed and printed. This color space is defined as an ICC Profile, which is a file that when attached to the image structures the image color characteristics into that space. When you open up an image in Photoshop the image is viewed through the color space chosen by you or Photoshop. The appearance of Photoshop is controled by the Monitor Profile and when the print is made the image color space is converted to the print color space. So you see all these color spaces are linked together.  

Color Space in this discussion relates to the amount of the visible spectrum apllied to an image. Look at the color profile Adobe 1998 ICC Profile and see the coverage of the color spectrum below. You see the outer structure of the universe of color and there in the middle is how much of the space is being applied to the profile. Adober 1998 is considered the most popular color profile for photographers and is said to be a very wide color space for images. This does not mean that your image actually utilizes the entire space. Most photographs hardly use the entire color space. 

Adobe 1998

Printer Profiles

Epson Enhanced Matte

You can see that the Monitor Color Space does not cover the entire spectrum, but instead only a portion of the color space is covered, not any greater than Adobe RGB 1998. In fact Adobe 1998  RGB extends in areas of Yellow and Green beyond the Monitor's Profile. If this is a profile from a top Monitor,should we not expect less from a less expensive Monitor? Actually not too much lower. That is the good news but there are other reasons to buy a good moniotor that is discussed under monitors. Remember, all monitors are not created equal or accurate. They must be calibrated to accurately portray the output viewing conditions of Color Temperature and Brightness. If the image is viewed on the monitor set at a 65K (daylight) and the output image is viewed under warm lighting this mismatch will cause you to improperly color correct.

It is also important to understand that a monitor transmits the image, while the output print reflects the image. Transmitted images are more lively than reflective images. So unless you create accurate profiles between the monitor and output, "what you see is NOT what you get."  To purchase a monitor spectrophotometer, go to Monitor Calibration

After you captured the image you want to view it on your computer monitor. As you can see from the above profiles the color space of a monitor may not reach the color space of the input profile. So, it is important to choose a monitor that can be calibrated to offer the widest color space.

Lets discuss a little bit about monitors. I have said that not all monitors are created equal. We are now looking at images on LCD monitors and most of them are made for gaming. The few that are made for Graphic Applications, such as Photoshop, are more expensive. These monitors such as LaCie and Eizo have color control built into the monitor. They are capable of storing several configurations. To create a monitor profile with other monitors that do not have built in calibration, Xrites's Gretag calibrator and software can be used to accomplished the task. Many of the less expensive monitors can be profiled very well. Note: Not every monitor on the market can be used. A monitor needs to have a brightness of at least 300, contrast of 700+, control of each of the RGB colors. Do not get a monitor with over 2000 contrast. The software walks you through the settings on the monitor and sets the color density curve on the video card. Monitor Profiling is fairly straight forward. The profile made  is directly related to the settings on the monitor  of brightness, contrast, and color. Only one setting on the monitor can be used per calibration.There are some good choices of less expensive monitors that you can calibrate and will portray a very good spectrum. Go to monitors for our recommendations.

The monitor calibration controls the color  and brightness of the White point of your chosen color Temperature, such as D65 (daylight), and the black point. Then it forms a smooth curve between those points.

The choice of Color temperature is extremely important. It relates directly to how the output image will be viewed. But here is the rub! If you are printing for a gallery that views their prints by incandescent lighting (3400K), no monitor today can be calibrated to that low a Kelvin (color temperature). You will have to choose a point that a monitor can be calibrated to, such as 5000K(D50) and you should purchase viewing lights that match that temperature. Ideally, you should measure your lighting and set that temperature of the lighting during calibration.

Printing press viewing conditions have been for years D50, but it is advisable to check with the printer as to his settings.

As you lower the Kelvin temperature on the monitor from D65 to D50, you also lower the monitor's blue setting. Blue contributes greatly to contrast, therefore you need to choose a monitor with high brightness and contrast around 800.

Once the monitor is calibrated, you now have the ability to view the image as it will print. But there is a missing element the output profile. 


 Will we be able to print the colors in our image?

3 Output:
How does a digital printer know how to reproduce that image? Can the printing press accurately reproduce my page colors? Can the Poster or Sign reproduce the Pantone Colors I have chosen?

T he answer is that each device on to its own has no intelligence. Ink, paper, and the printer are all dumb. A digital camera can offer you a raw color space or a designated one. There are hundreds of monitors and video cards that give you a basic image, but while the monitor and video card have preset color settings, they are not color accurate and not necessarily portraying the correct tonal value and shadow detail.

Basically, you bring intelligence to it all. through color management.

So far we chose an input profile and made a monitor profile. Now we have to make an output printing color profile. This is accomplished by printing a set of color patches that represent gradations of the color spectrum and then reading them in with a spectrophotometer. Color management software takes the difference between the color of the patches sent to be printed and the color that was printed and creates a profile that when used in printing or soft proofing corrects the color of the output to match the color of the input. I call this complimentry non linearities. However, if the output inks and media controled by the printing software can not reach the color of the input image, then the output will not match the input. So, it is important to choose a wide gamut rich ink set and media that can reflect color extremely well. This is where the discussion of what ink to use comes in, whether a standard ink set is good enough or whether it is necessary to use multi channel ink colors. This explanation is found on  Inks sets, 11 and 12 color inks on the menu.

Output color profiles are made to the printer's color i.e. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, and any other color or colors such as Green, Red or any others. That is where you have heard this is a CMYK profile.  If you are printing through Photoshop with the Epson Driver, you will need to make a RGB proofing profile that links the input image profile to the output profile set up by Epson. If you are going to use a full Rip that directly relates to the output color inks, then you will be making an CMYK or a multi-channel profile. This type of profile offers far greater control. When you purchase a Rip and Color Managment Software you will learn the step by step proceedure. Go to Rip Symphonic Evolution to see the controls offered.

Why do I need a RIP? Isn't what is supplied by the print manufacturer good enough?

Each printer may have different characteristics do to the fact that the print heads are not made to matched standards. The atmospheric conditions of each location can effect the performance. Low altitude, high altitude, and variances in humidity are some factors. Each batch of print media can have coating differences. 

Printer manufactures do not support third part materials or ink and do the best to prevent you from using them and being creative. Each of us has our favorite media and most of the time it is from a third party company.

To think that you can adjust for all the differences by working Photoshop curves is foolish. While you might find a few media that you can work with the same profile, most of the time you the differences are too great.

A third part RIP allows you to work with any combination you want. It gives you complete control and by choosing cost effective media and ink you can save a bundle, well beyond the cost of the RIP in a year. 

What is the part a RIP plays in making a profile?

I cannot tress the importance of a good RIP. The RIP has many functions of which the control of the amount of ink lay down is one. The RIP must be able to limit the amount of ink laid down to prevent excessive use causing blistering, blotching, and blocked up shadows. Each RIP handles this task a little differently. Ideally you want to limit each color ink independently to its highest density on each media to obtain the widest overall gamut. This means that Cyan might have to be limited by 15%, while magenta might be limited by 25% in order to reach its highest density before the densities flatten out. 

After limiting the ink, you must linearize the amount of ink from 0 to 100%. This is basically like a stepped  gray scale of each color. 

How is a profile made?

The Making of a Profile: After the RIP has been linearized, a  chart of colors is printed out and with the use of a spectrophotometer read into the color management software. The printed data is compared to the original data sent by the software and a map data file of the entire printable color spectrum of your media and ink is created. This map is called an ICC profile. 

How do I control the black ink?

The new color management software has a feature that allows you to control black independently from the color channels. You can control the black to enter only in the shadows and vary the percentage of black from zero to 100 percent. All this information of control can only be used in making CMYK or multi-channel profiles, not in RGB. 

What must I know about black ink control?

Black ink is used to replace color in the shadows in order to reduce the amount of total ink used aiding in the increase of shadow detail. It is also used to increase the density of 3/4 tones. Solid Colors may not be deep enough without the addition of black ink. If too much black ink is used it may overpower color resulting in abnormal looking over darkened shadows.

Can there be too much or too little black used?

Too much black used will decrease color gamut. Too little black used can cause a flatter image.

How do I know how much black to use and how it should blend with color?

The answer relates to the dynamics of the media and ink; not to mention experience. These are some of the special topic that we teach in our seminars.

Where do I place the ICC Profile?

The profile may be used in either Photoshop or in the RIP. The conversion engine (software) contained in Photoshop and in the RIP applies that profile data to the image file in order to correct the file for printing.

It is sometimes thought that you can simply gray balance the ink and avoid making a profile. Please be aware that even if you can set curves to create a gray balance it does not mean that all or any colors will print accurately.  

For example: If, in order to produce a middle tone gray, more magenta ink is needed, and in order to produce a middle tone brown, more green ink is needed,  the profile will map the colors to accomplish this result. However, this can not be accomplished by simply using color correcting filters, because while you would be correcting one color, you would be adversely effecting another, or in this case, if you add green and then you add magenta you have effectively cancelled each one with the other. 

Another example: If a media appears to have a yellowish white, the image will tend to print neutrals more yellow and light shades of blue will not print accurately. The profile will have the ink heads print more blue to compensate for the yellowish media.

Color Management Packages

Color management packages come in different degrees of control and range in price. We have put together packages that will fit your need at the best price. Our packages come with road maps to success. The idea is that we have taken the guess work out of the system for you. We are always testing new technology. You will be seeing new information from our studies on our site .

Let's look at the profiles below:

There are several RGB profiles that have been created to allow the image to capture all the existing color. Adobe 1998, SRGB, ColorMatch, and ProPhoto are some of the most popular. All images must live in defined color space. What this means, is when you bring an image into a graphic program, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, the program needs to define the image structure in order to portray that image correctly. The larger the color space, the more difficult it is to reproduce. ProPhoto is the largest color space, while Adobe 1998 is the most popular for Photography. It accentuates Yellows and Greens. For many years ColorMatch offers a balanced color space used by reproduction houses. You will see below the color space of each input profile. Note ProPhoto has the widest color space. The last two color spaces are output color spaces, Epson Enhanced Matte and Printing Press Swop. You can now see the relationship between input and output. This is why unless you use soft proofing, what you see is NOT what you get.

There are numerous color profiles that have been created for different reasons. Each of these profiles covers  a specific amount of the spectrum which is shown below in the charts. Below are just a few of the Color Profiles  used. They illustrate the different spectrum that they encompass.

This is where the confusion occurs. You may want to ask the following questions.

How much of the spectrum do we need in order to reproduce the captured digital image?
Which Color Space should you use? 

It will start to make sense shortly.
 
1. Image Input:
The color space,  (spectrum of color), of a digital capture file is portrayed in  RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) therefore, the profile that will be used to describe that image will be a RGB profile just like we described above. Input profiles offer the largest space of the three Color Spaces. This brings up an issue. If the input image offers a greater color spectrum than the Monitor, how can I view my image accurately?

Most images do not utilize most of the color space and can be portrayed accurately, but there are images that do go beyond the monitor color space. 

Should we use a very wide color space for our original or should we compress the image to a smaller color space that can be view and printed accurately?

I would not convert the image if it going to be printed via inkjet, because each year the color space of the printing increases, but if the image is going to be printed via printing press then you may want to compress the image for the printing company. We will be discussing the importance of soft proofing which will explain how to view the relationship of the image profile to that of the printing profile. This is an extremely valuable feature Photoshop offers. This means that you will be able to see how the image will look before you print it. If an color can not be accurately reproduced you will see it, but it is important that the monitor that you are viewing the image on is calibrated correctly.

Let's look at the monitor color space.

2. Monitor Color Space.
A monitor by its structure is an RGB device. This means that all the colors you see are made up from Red, Green, and Blue. A good monitor is suppose to portray millions of colors, but does it? Let's look at a high end monitor profiled to see its spectrum. 

COLOR MANAGEMENT 
  Explanation

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