Color Management for Prepress

Color Management for Prepress
(Prerequisite for certification: "Color Management Fundamentals")

The CMP for Prepress course is designed for those seeking to understand how to properly color manage a digital graphics workflow through the prepress area.

This Color Management Professional course is comprised of four video lessons totaling about two hours in length. The course describes the principles of color management with a focus on prepress workflow.

The student should also consider taking the Color Management Professional - Premedia course. Together, these two courses will provide an excellent education on color management throughout the complete graphic communications workflow.

The student should be famaliar with basic color theory, graphic communication workflows and print production processes. The student should have also completed the Color Managament Professional (CMP) - "Fundamentals" course including passing the Exam to achieve their "CMP Associate" certification.

"Color Management for Prepress" is one course in a series of color management education and certification, including:

• Color Management Fundamentals
• Color Management for Photography
• Color Management for Prepress
• Color Management for Premedia

Lesson 1: Color Management at the Print Stage
Lesson 2: RIP Strategies for Color Managing Platesetters
Lesson 3: RIP strategies for Color Managing Proofing
Lesson 4: Repurposing Data

Lesson #1: Color Management at the Print Stage

This lesson will cover the application of Color Management to output devices.

To ensure the expectations of the content creator or print buyer are met when delivering the printed product, we will learn that applying the proper approaches during digital capture and content creation will allow us to create digital files with the appropriate file size, resolution, and the most appropriate color space for repurposing, as well as embedding profiles for color communication downstream.

We will also learn at the production stage, we need to ensure color rules remain intact are correctly submitted to the Postscript Interpreter or RIP.

Postscript and PDF are the two most commonly used file formats used for printing. However, there are quite a few differences in the way these formats work within the RIP’s when specifying color.

In this session we will learn about these file formats and how they interact with the RIP.

Specific discussion items include:

• Applying color management for the output device
• How to understand and achieve color expectations
• How and when to use or ignore embedded profiles
• Creating PostScript or PDF files with output in mind
• Different flavors of PDF
• Preflighting PDF files

Topic #2: RIP Strategies for Color Managing Platesetters

This session reviews the importance of calibration and linearization of digital plate imaging devices as an essential link in a process-controlled print workflow.

Screening methods will be discussed in relation to calibration requirements and the effect of various halftoning techniques on printed color appearance. Black generation will be explored, especially the benefits of using Gray Component Replacement (GCR) to enable greater control on press and to reduce ink costs.

Problems with commercial printing processes will be reviewed along with troubleshooting strategies for these problems. Gamut differences from press to digital proof device will be presented and discussed. Choosing the target reference space and using this in a color managed proofing workflow will be explored, as will the configuration of Rendering Intents.

Device link profiles for enhanced color precision will be discussed. Vendor-specific solutions for matching the G7 standard necessary for G7 provider certification will be presented and compared.

Specific discussion items include:

• Specific discussion topics include:
• Calibration vs. linearization
• Impact of screening technologies on Color Management
• Press Calibration - 3 strategies
• Applying ICC profiles in the RIP
• Device Link Profiles and their Application

Topic #3: RIP Strategies for Color Managed Proofing

RasterImage Processors (RIPs) and associated RIP technologies are used for color proofing. We will examine Proofing RIP's in detail in order to fully understand their use in a graphic communications environment.

Specific discussion items include:

• What is a RIP ?
• Drivers versus RIPS
• RIP Qualification
• RIP Calibration
• RIP Characterization
• RIP Conversion
• Quality Assurance
• Verifying a Color Proofing System

Topic #4: Repurposing Data

Repurposing data provides the ability to capture or create digital content in order to deliver in a wider variety of formats or medias.

The premise of data repurposing is very important in today’s workflow in order to design and create content that will ultimately be delivered via various medias, e.g. offset press, web presses, web pages, etc. Likewise, artwork may be created for a magazine, used on billboards, printed on color copiers or beverage napkins.

There are different rules of engagement when delivering content to these diverse media’s including file size, resolution, color spaces, file formats, and more.

In this lesson, we will define how ICC Profiles are used to communicate color expectations for these varied media.

Specific discussion topics include:

• Digital capture considerations
• File sizes and resolution
• Color space considerations
• Assigning, converting, and embedding profiles
• The advantage of an RGB Workflow

(Note: this lesson is also provided in the CMP-Premedia course)

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