Color Management

Updates to the core Digital Asset Management application include search improvements with exact phrase search, stemming support for singular versus plural metatags and the ability to exclude full text search of Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF documents. The search results sort by “file format” function has been added to group assets of the same file type. Video Asset Management improvements were made to include FFMPEG video transcoding for faster video processing and automatic alternate still previews for embed links videos.

The Dynamic Media Building ad and brochure template building application included updates to allow text blocks to have different font and font colors based on end user selections during the build process. This allows one template to be uploaded with the flexibility for different branding. End users can also upload their own image (if the template allows) during the build process.

Updates to Project Collaboration include the ability to Add Notes on image projects. Notes can be added any place on an image. Multiple notes can be added by all users on the route and are reviewed by the owner(s) of the project. All notes added to or removed from the image are tracked with Project Details.

For more specific information about the Widen Media Collective and 5.5 release visit: http://www.widencollective.com.

This July will mark three years since Apple released the iPhone, forever changing the things we can do with a phone. I still find it difficult to call the iPhone a phone, because making a phone call is somewhere down the list of things I use my iPhone for. Reviewing and writing emails, surfing the Web, listening to or creating music, watching TV shows or movies on the plane, playing a game, checking a map/GPS, calculating a tip, catching up on the news, sports and weather are among the many things I use my iPhone for. With well over 100,000 applications for the iPhone, there is something for everyone. My iPhone even pops popcorn and pours beer (well, digitally, anyway).

The iPhone, especially the iPhone 3GS, is also a handy camera. Yes, I know, all cell phones have cameras in them now, nothing new there. And the iPhone still lacks a flash for low light situations to go along with the 3.0 megapixel camera. But when used in conjunction with many of the photographic editing apps, the iPhone becomes a nice little mobile digital imaging workstation. And with the ability to share the image in an email, Facebook, Twitter or Flickr you can instantly publish your masterpiece for the world to see. I subscribe to the theory that the best camera you have is the one that's with you when you see a great photo in front of your eyes.

So being the shutterbug and pixel junkie that I am, I thought I would do a few quick reviews of some of my favorite image editing apps for the iPhone. These will be applications that excel at one thing or another - color correction, image enhancement, painting, special effects, illustration, etc... To make this a quicker read, I will break them up into separate blog entries, so check back here to The Color Space daily for new reviews.  

Up first:

PhotoForge by Ghost Bird Software - Price: $2.99

If I could have only one app on my iPhone for image editing (I have many - duh), it might be this one. This app contains most of the common tools you need in a photo editor.




                    

Pros:

• It is one of the only editors that lets you adjust levels AND curves, and lets you do so in RGB, CMYK or Lab. Note that It does not actually change the color space of the image.
• It has a good assortment of filters and special effects, including posterize, sepia, dreamy, black and white, pencil, emboss, television, tilt shift generator and more
• It combines a nice brush tool with 8 different brush strokes and other painting functions like smudge
• You have the ability to begin with a blank canvas to create an illustration from scratch
• It is one of the only editors that has a clone stamp tool
• Unlimited undo and redo

Cons:

• Instructions claim you can edit in portrait or landscape, however, I haven't found that to be true
• No instructions or help (although it's pretty simple to figure everything out)
• No layering ability
• Lacks creative border treatments (if you're into that sort of thing)

So last night I was perusing the 12,000 channels that DirecTV beams into my home trying to find something - ANYTHING to watch that wasn't called something like, "Dancing with the Biggest Bachelor Star Looser Next Top Model Celebrity Apprentice Big Brother Housewives of American Idol Survivor Marry my Top Chef Dad in Hell's Kitchen Plus 8".... sigh...

Anyway, while somehow successfully avoiding "reality" TV, I came across a commercial for the new Sharp Aquos LED LCD TV with QuadPixel technology. Introduced at the giant Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in January and hitting the market this spring, the engineers at Sharp have added a yellow pixel to the familiar red, green and blue pixels.

Apparently the yellow that is created when red and green pixels hook up at full power was not saturated enough for Sharp, so they are giving yellow it's very own pixel living right there in between the blue and red pixels. According to Sharp, this expands the gamut from millions of colors to over a trillion. They expect RGBY technology to become the standard in the HDTV industry.



There is a lot of debate as to how many colors the human eye can see. It is generally believed to be under 10 million colors. But every human eye is different, and the truth is, nobody really knows how many colors we can see. The 24-bit computer monitor you are reading this on right now is capable of displaying 16,777,216 colors. I know this because I counted them while you were sleeping last night. And by the way, you should really clean up those dirty dishes piling up in your kitchen sink.

So if humans can only discern between a few million colors, why should our HDTVs show us more than a trillion colors? Isn't that overkill? Well, Sharp claims that the addition of the yellow pixel gives you better yellow and gold tones along with better Caribbean blue hues as well. This is important if you are watching a movie about a treasure chest of gold coins that washes up along a Jamaican beach.

Gillette didn't stop at three blades in their razors, and Sharp says it's not stopping at four pixels in their TVs. They are working on technology that will bring the two subtractive colors left out in the cold, cyan and magenta, to the big screen as well. Rest assured that Sharp is not the only company working on expanded gamut HDTVs. Manufacturers like Mitsubishi and Samsung are also working to perfect 48-bit RGBCMY screens as well.

I wonder what all this R&D in the television world means to computer displays and ultimately digital imaging. With the emergence of tablet computers like Apple's iPad, the entire concept of the desktop computer is being turned upside down. No matter how you slice it, we are on the verge of a technological revolution. Combine all these extra pixels with the emerging 3D TVs that are hitting the market, and we are in for a truly immersive viewing experience.

Now I ask you, do you REALLY need to see CBS's Big Brother 19 in high-gamut 48 bit 3-D color? Of course I would argue that I don't need to see pretentious, back stabbing, twenty-somethings living together in any color, in any dimension.

This is the sixth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Jim Scarlata, Senior Marketing Operations Manager for Knaack LLC. In this segment, Jim talks about the photography and color management capabilities of Widen. Not only does Widen provide DAM software, they provide services to create and manipulate digital assets. During or after a photo shoot, Widen can seamlessly import new photos into the online digital asset library. Widen's history and experience with premedia and color management provides a key advantage in having that knowledge level of the content management and structure of the digital asset management system. 

Many of my premedia / prepress clients have digital assets that require image extensions based on different uses. Their photo studio might have shot a certain scene in horizontal format, and the image is now needed in vertical for a different purpose. Another scenario may be a picture box in a page layout program ( Quark / InDesign ) is expanded by a graphic designer. The newly formed "white space" needs image data created. As is the case below. My client had a very nice legacy image that was retrieved from the image management system. This image needed to be versioned for a new purpose. My job was to use my high end Adobe Photoshop retouching and color correction skills to expand the bounds of the digital image, filling the new required space. The extension of this room scene wasn't as difficult as the image I posted in the prior blog. The wooden floor boards were easily stepped and repeated as necessary. You can see I did some selective masking and color correction on our clients amazing products.

Many of my premedia / prepress clients have digital assets that require image extensions based on different uses. Their photo studio might have shot a certain scene in horizontal format, and the image is now needed in vertical for a different purpose. Another scenario may be a picture box in a page layout program ( Quark / InDesign ) is expanded by a graphic designer. The newly formed "white space" needs image data created. As is the case below. My client had a very nice legacy image that was retrieved from the image management system. This image needed to be versioned for a new purpose. My job was to use my high end Adobe Photoshop retouching and color correction skills to expand the bounds of the digital image, filling the new required space. This particular image may have been the "trickiest" background extension this post processor has ever tackled. Using tricks such as vanishing point, content aware scaling, healing brush, and good ole' fashion cloning. The contour of the tile, light fall-off, and scene elements made this image fierce competitor, but in the end, the results were superb.

Many of my premedia / prepress clients have digital assets that require image extensions based on different uses. Their photo studio might have shot a certain scene in horizontal format, and the image is now needed in vertical for a different purpose. Another scenario may be a picture box in a page layout program ( Quark / InDesign ) is expanded by a graphic designer. The newly formed "white space" needs image data created. As is the case below. My client had a very nice legacy image that was retrieved from the image management system. This image needed to be versioned for a new purpose. My job was to use my high end Adobe Photoshop retouching and color correction skills to expand the bounds of the digital image, filling the new required space. This was on of the more tricky images I have worked. Using tricks such as vanishing point, content aware scaling, healing brush, and good ole' fashion cloning.

Careful selections, masking, and photo composition skills made this image possible. We now have a new media asset repurposed via high end prepress production.

Todays tip will involve using Lab color space in Adobe's Photoshop CS4. We'll make a curves adjustment layer, tweak the a / b channels, adjust the layer opacity, and BAM! Your photo just got more color than a new 64 pack of Crayola's ! Prepress color management and color manipulation done fast.

Step one, open your image and under "Edit" menu, use the Convert to Profile command, and choose Lab.

Step Two go to Layer, New Adjustment Layer, Curves

PMS 356C
48L* -58a* 28b*
92C 11M 98Y 15K
55R 136G 70B
8.57X 17.59Y 6.53Z
131°H 59%S 53%
Hex/HTML 3b8a49
Pittsburgh Paints: 4A-6 Ivy League
Spectral wavelength: 520 - 570 nanometers
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On this St. Patrick's day, I thought I would pause to give props to the cool neural sensation we refer to as GREEN. This is "The Color Space", after all. Did you think I was going to discuss waffle makers here? No, for that you will have to see my blog called, "The Small Home Appliance Space".

As the list at the top of this post indicates, there are so many ways to convey the color green. It doesn't matter if you are a color scientist, color management geek, painter, photographer, school lunch lady, or St. Patrick's Day reveler, green has different meanings for everybody.



"The color green is everywhere in nature, satisfying our spirits and filling us with neutrality and peace. Green comes alive in clover fields, rolling hills, and the leaves of a tall aspen forest. Easy on the eyes and naturally calming, green symbolizes life, harmony and wealth. Soothing as green tea, or invigorating as fresh mint, green will create a restful environment and promote well-being in any home... "

No, I didn't write that last paragraph, thank you very much. It was written by some copywriter in the marketing department of the Pittsburgh Paint company. They want you to buy some green paint to put on your bathroom walls because it's better than that dull taupe color you have in there right now. What are you thinking? That Taupe doesn't even come close to matching the new soap dispenser and tooth brush caddy you bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond last month...

Green is the color of nature, trees and grass.
Green is the color of spring and new life.
Green is the color of Kermit the Frog who often crooned about the difficulty of being green.
Green is the color of money and greed.
Green is the color of envy and jealousy.
Green is the name of the room that Lady Ga Ga waits in before she comes out on Leno.
Green is the color of ecology and conservation.
Green is also the color of those canvas bags at the grocery store that the Prius drivers want me to use instead of paper or plastic. Who needs all that canvas in the landfills? That seems wasteful. I'm sticking with plastic.
Green is the color of youth.
Green is the color we say someone is if they are new to something.
Green is the color of the Libyan flag. That's it. Just green. Really.
Green is the color of the jacket that Tiger left in the hotel room.
Green Day is a good band.
Green Bay Packers are a good football team.
Green is one of the colors of Christmas.



As my friend Kermit the Frog sings, it's not easy being green. So next time you find yourself 89C 10M 98Y 10K with envy, pour a tall frosty glass of 59R 138G 73B beer or a nice cup of 3b8a49 tea, and relax in the naturally calming PMS 356C room. 

RAW presets are helpful little buddies ...

Dry version for the more technical: (scroll past this paragraph if your sleepy or hungover)
If you have ever worked with lots of RAW files under tight deadlines you know how important it is to have a streamlined workflow. Repetitious tasks must be identified and engineered into quick and fast solutions. If not, your going to be up for a laborious all-nighter, and that cuts into late night fun time. Whatever your late night fun time may be ... Recently with the release of Photoshop CS4 (also an earlier beta DNG version) Adobe has finally created a bit of parity between manufacturers in-camera photo settings and ACR's Camera Calibration-Profiles Tab. What does this mean for you? Less grief and head scratching, and more time at the beach. Rewind back to CS3 and before. Unless you did some complicated ACR camera calibrations with Macbeth target measurement and validations, your camera JPEG files never matched your RAW files when imported into ACR for processing. Also, you might have struggled to properly color correct files because of gamut shifts in certain color hues. (Saturated reds and greens) Now Adobe has kindly done their homework and provided us consumers with pre-canned discrete camera profiles.

Short and sweet version:
I have created some camera preset profiles for the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV.

You will find the downloads for each of these below.

Install:
Download and decompress the .zip file. You will see the current preset Adobe is offering per the camera model. This preset has naming parity with the in-camera picture styles. (I also thru in a fun one with more to follow ...) Loading these files is easy. There are a few ways to load these into Photoshop CS4. The easiest is to go to the Camera Calibration tab in ACR and click on the little triangular arrow, select load. Navigate to the decompressed .zip file and select load. Now you should see the loaded presets in the ACR Settings tab (which is right next to the Camera Calibration tab. You can also load these presets into the latest version of Lightroom.
  
Side Note!
These presets incorporate Adobes default ACR settings, except when choosing a camera calibration other than "Adobe Standard".


Here is aslightly posterized animated .gif example visually displaying the differences for your viewing pleasure. I have also included a fun version called "Pseudo HDR" that works quite nicely on certain photos.



Closing:
I hope you find these presets helpful. Anyone can make these, the hard part is finding the time. If your like me, usually your in a hurry and process files from the seat of your pants. I try to slow myself down and hone my workflows for better asset management and processing. You will also find these presets handy for importing a large volume of files into Lightroom. Having the ability to quickly apply a preset on import to many files for fast previewing and cataloging is invaluable. Now, if only I could make presets for all the post processing and retouching that follows. I bet Adobe Photoshop CS5 will take care of that! Be the ball Danny ...

LINK to ACR-Photoshop/Bridge Presets (.xmp) & Lightroom Presets (.lrtemplate) (.ZIP File)

This is the eleventh video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. There isn’t a challenge relating to the catalog production and digital asset management workflow that hasn’t been looked at. Cheryl is amazed that Widen is a company that doesn’t stop coming up with new ideas. “Widen is a color house that doesn’t stop coming up with new ideas.” Watch the video to learn more about meeting client challenges with DAM services.

This is the seventh video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. The most recent addition Widen has provided to Edge is the Project Collaboration application. This application has helped provide a soft proofing workflow to create efficiencies in the collaboration processes and speed up catalog production. Watch the video to learn more about the soft proofing impact of digital asset management.

Saints Win! Saints Win! The 2010 Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts was watched by more than 106 million viewers, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched televised event in American history. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Super Bowl has averaged more than 90 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

That’s a lot of football fans and a lot of consumers that want to be the first to have the apparel the champions wear.

Minutes after the big game, I received this email from DICK’s Sporting Goods announcing the availability of the official Locker Room Merchandise from Reebok, the authentic outfitter of the NFL. No doubt, there are a lot of fans out there who want the Super Bowl XLIV Champion hat and t-shirt worn by their champagne popping locker-room heroes as soon as the outcome of the big game is decided.



How do retailers like DICK’s Sporting Goods get their hands on these images to have their emails and websites ready to go as soon as the champion is declared? More importantly, how does the Sports Licensed Division of The adidas Group make this process efficient, accurate and cost-effective?

With the help of Widen Digital Sampling and Digital Asset Management services, adidas can get official product images in the hands of their retailers who, in turn, get marketing messages in front of the eyes of the consumer as soon as a buying decision is ready to be made.

Widen digital sampling processes and digital asset management tools help ensure the entire digital supply chain is equipped with compelling, consistent and cost-effective content for commerce.

The Widen Digital Sampling process assists in the creation of digital apparel samples and the Widen web-based digital asset management system is used to manage, distribute and provide access to authentic image assets. As the official provider of licensed apparel for the NFL, NBA, and NHL, the adidas Sports Licensed Division (includes adidas and Reebok brands) uses Widen premedia services and DAM technologies to meet hot market demands for the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals.  

Widen-powered technology and processes help retailers such as DICK’S Sporting Goods market championship apparel merchandise as soon you see the players wearing the hats and t-shirts after the big game is over.



What’s all included in the Widen Digital Sampling process? This premedia production process generally begins with photography of one neutral grey apparel sample. Next, digital sampling operators digitally create all color swatches according to league approved team colors. Lastly, graphics are applied according to Reebok/NFL technical guidelines and the final approved images are loaded into the image database where they can be centrally managed and available for download in a working file format.

All Reebok / adidas digital samples are loaded into the Widen-powered web-based image library, which holds the all apparel and headwear styles for the current and coming sports season for the NFL, NBA, and NHL. Since many of the physical apparel styles are not yet available in stores or online (or even physically produced en masse), many of the images are on hold and are tightly controlled using Widen’s governance tools. Styles and logos are often determined 6-7 months in advance of the coming season for the major sports leagues.

When it’s time for these assets to go to market, orders are placed in the DAM system and retailers can download the files according to exact specifications for print or web use. All users are required to sign off on a rights release agreement before they have access to the images. For example, DICK’s Sporting Goods was granted permission to access championship apparel images for the Saints and Colts so they could prepare their email marketing templates in advance of the Super Bowl.

As you can guess, the digital apparel sample production and distribution process shaves weeks off the time to market versus the process of physically producing, photographing and shipping physical samples. Plus, it streamlines a very difficult process—particularly when meeting hot market demands such as with championship merchandise. Besides the time savings of digital sample creation, adidas is able to drastically reduce costs of physically producing each item and team combination and the photography and shipping costs to go along with it.
 
Benefits of using hosted Digital Asset Management:

• Accelerated search and retrieval time in accessing official imagery
• Increased real-time collaboration of assets and approvals
• Cost savings through the elimination of physical delivery of samples
• Elimination of the cost of lost or misplaced work
• Reduction in time-to-market through digital delivery

Here’s an inside look at the market preparedness leading up to the Super Bowl:

1 week before the NFL Conference Championships – Conference Championship merchandise was created for the eight teams in the Divisional Round (Baltimore, Indianapolis, N.Y. Jets, San Diego, Arizona, New Orleans, Dallas, and Minnesota)

2 weeks before the Super Bowl – Super Bowl Champion merchandise was created for the four teams in the Conference Championship Round (Indianapolis, N.Y. Jets, New Orleans, and Minnesota)

What happens to the images for the losing teams that didn’t make it, you ask? Quite simply, those are destroyed.

CMSWire recently posted an interesting poll about Digital Asset Management. For those commissioning DAM projects, “What is your biggest Digital Asset Management challenge?”

The answer options to the poll question include:

• Taxonomy/Metadata development
• Selecting a vendor or product
• Building the business case or defining ROI
• The usability of the system
• User adoption of the system

A comment to the poll provides a good summary of the poll results after 2 days of data collection… “Usability of the system, User adoption of the system, and Taxonomy/Metadata development fall out as 1, 2 and 3…”

This poll couldn’t be more timely as two key areas for DAM development and enhancement in 2010 at Widen are Usability (UI) and Analytics.




Let’s talk “Usability”

Usability for a web based DAM system means that a user who logs in three or four times per year should know exactly what to do to find and retrieve an asset based on experiences working with other common web applications. In Widen’s world of DAM, clients generally have a few different groups of users. There are the power users or Admins who usually represent the smallest group in number but use the full features of the DAM system – ingestion through distribution. There’s typically another tier of regular users that use the DAM library with some regularity, but for more common purposes of finding and retrieving digital assets. Then, there are the hundreds or thousands of users that only login a handful of times each year. It’s that long tail of “once in awhile” users that the system should cater to in terms of ease-of-use. Other bells and whistles for more advanced users should exist, but shouldn’t over-complicate the UI, nor be too overbearing for the general purposes of the system—ingest, collaborate, manage, find, retrieve and distribute assets.

To provide a Widen customer example of user adoption, Steelcase—the global office furniture leader—had over 9,000 logins within the first two months of going live with their DAM solution. Interestingly, Widen serves five of the top 15 office furniture manufacturers. This type of user adoption drives the demand for DAM throughout the supply chain. While CMS Watch, an analyst firm who talks to DAM customers, reported that Widen has a “clean, well-designed user interface that appeals to business users,” we still recognize the magnitude of usability and opportunities for improvements in UI design.


Diving Deeper into DAM Data with “Analytics”

An Analytics application speaks directly to the business case for DAM endorsers and senior leaders who look at how DAM supports top-line revenue growth or impacts the bottom line. Digital Asset Management ROI is measured in a number of ways with hard dollar and soft dollar savings. Common buckets for measuring DAM ROI include: how DAM improves processes, how DAM reduces costs, how DAM increases revenues, how DAM adds new profit centers, and how DAM protects the brand. The time to realizing a DAM ROI is predominantly driven by two things – user adoption and subsequently asset usage and asset repurposing. Leveraging tracking, reporting and analytics tools offers more intelligence and thus greater ability to measure and prove ROI. For that reason, Widen developed four key ratios that help customers watch and evaluate adoption and success:

• Digital Asset Activity Ratio: A comparison between the quantity of assets that have been ordered and the amount of assets stored in the DAM system. This ratio provides insight into the relationship between download activity and all the assets stored in the digital asset library.

• Repurposing Ratio: A comparison between the active digital assets and the quantity of assets ordered. This provides insight into the amount of content repurposing that is taking place over a period of time. Repurposing continues to be a key component of digital asset management value.

• User Activity Ratio: A comparison between the total number of logins and the quantity of users that have logged in provides information about visitation frequency. This metric also provides insight into how frequently users visit to browse or check back on new branded materials.

• Digital Asset Consumption Ratio: Comparing the quantity of files ordered to the users that logged into the system provides information on the amount of data being consumed by each user over a specific time period.

The ratios are further explained in the Business Management article “What Those DAM Statistics Can Tell You.”

So we’ve touched on the metrics for monitoring ROI once DAM is deployed, but how do we build the business case?


Finding It All While Saving A Bundle

If you’re unsure of the costs that come with unmanaged data, consider these factors, and then apply them to your own organization.

• Companies spend an average of $8,200 per person per year on file management activities. These include searching, verification, organization, backup, and security.
• Creative professionals spend an average of one out of every 10 hours of their time on file management. Their prime activity: searching.
• The average creative person looks for a media file 83 times a week and fails to find it 35% of the time.

A digital asset management solution could help alleviate some of these costs. According to findings from GISTICS Research, a DAM solution can cut the amount of time spent on file management by more than 85%. And rather than failing to find a file 35% of the time, users will not find something only 5% of the time.

SOURCE: GISTICS


Visit the DigitalAssetManagement.com ROI calculator for more assistance in putting together a DAM ROI.


Our thanks to all customers who continue to provide feedback and ideas for making the Widen Media Collective more valuable and enjoyable. Widen customers can expect more specific communications to come in the next few months about the User Interface (UI) enhancements and new Analytics application.

The worst-kept secret in consumer electronics history was finally made public last week as Apple introduced us to the iPad. Yeah, it's a funny name, but the iPod sounded a bit strange back in 2001 too. Now that name is woven into the fabric of our technological lives.

And just like the iPod changed the way that many of us listen to music over the last decade, the iPad will change the way many of us read books, newspapers, magazines and maybe even catalogs in the decade to come.

As I covered in the blog I wrote last July called, Pulp Fiction: Is Print Dead? the e-reader concept is absolutely in our future. Amazon's Kindle was not really the first e-reader to the market. E-readers were introduced about ten years ago, but the timing wasn't right for a number of reasons. So they never took off. Speaking about the Apple iBooks application during his speech, Steve Jobs showed a photo of the Kindle and said, "Were going to stand on [Amazon's] shoulders and go a bit further here." 




I believe the introduction of the iPad is on scale with the introduction of color in magazines and catalogs. Back in the 60's and 70's, the body of most magazines were in black and white. Most newspapers did not use much color in their production. The desktop publishing and digital prepress revolution of the 1980's made color in publications as common as sequins and feathers on Lady GaGa. And the brilliant, colorful display of the iPad will make dull black and white readers like the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader show up on eBay faster than you can say "16 shades of gray."

It is not a stretch to imagine that in the not-too-distant future, the heavy backpacks filled with textbooks that our kids tote around will become as odd-looking as a CRT monitor. Five of the worlds biggest book publishers are already online, and as Jobs put it, "We're going to open up the floodgates for the rest of the publishers in the world, starting this afternoon... We're very excited about this."

I'll tell you some that aren't very excited about this... Book printers. Book binders. Magazine printers. Barnes and Noble. Borders. Look at the music industry. Certainly there are many people that still purchase CDs and DVDs. But lots of record stores that were around in 1990, are no longer in business because so many people download their music from sites like iTunes. When was the last time you walked into a Musicland or Sam Goody's? Traditional paper back and hard-cover books, textbooks, and glossy magazines will have a market for some time to come. But each year more people feel right at home downloading electrons in front of a glowing screen instead of buying atoms at a brick and mortar store. Perhaps because they literally are right at home. 

Of course let's not forget that this device is not just for reading. It is a true multimedia player (albeit without support for Flash right now)... It's a web browser, a photo viewer, an email device, a video player, a gaming device, a music player, a calendar, an art canvas, and a lot of other things not yet realized. The iPhone has over 140,000 apps available to download. And it's only been about a year and a half since the SDK release. Expect lots of apps created specifically to take advantage of the iPad. 

But it's the iPad as an e-reader that is perhaps most important from the standpoint of changing cultural habits. When was the last time you touched a photo in a book and something amazing happened? Like a digital equivalent of a pop-up book. Or imagine this... You receive a digital catalog in your inbox, and as you flip through the glowing pages and touch a photo of a model wearing a jacket, a window opens and a video begins playing with the model wearing that jacket in some cool location. A voice-over describes the jacket's details as music plays in the background. It's a mini infomercial that came to life on the pages of a digital catalog. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing...


 

Years ago, in the early days of electronic pre press, we lived among spendy Scitex systems and huge drum scanners with 40,000 buttons, switches, dials, levers, foot pedals, pull cords and miles of rainbow-colored SCSI ribbons. We scanned in transparencies, and worked all the images in a CMYK color space (the four colors we print with - cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Although it was possible to scan into RGB (red, green, blue), almost everyone allowed the computer within the scanner to convert the image into CMYK.

Two important technological revolutions changed all that. The Internet and digital photography. The Internet introduced us to e-commerce. There was no longer a need to have all those images converted to CMYK if they were destined for a web site (RGB display) and ultimatley due to reside in a digital asset management system. And the explosion of digital cameras over the last 15 years has made the drum scanner all but obsolete. All of this means we have digital images that begin their journey as RGB (technically RAW RGB, but more on that in a future blog), not CMYK. RGB workflows are much more commonplace. But if an image is eventually going to be reproduced as ink on paper, at some point it must be converted to CMYK. Where, when and how that conversion happens is often the topic for discussion. 

And one place you can find a bunch of color geeks having that conversation is at the PIA Color Management Conference. The 11th annual conference just wrapped up last month in Phoenix. One of the sessions called "Obstacles to RGB Workflows" addressed the issue of RGB and CMYK workflows. Among the speakers on the panel was Tom Collins from Quad Graphics. He went over the pros and cons of an RGB workflow and what they were doing at Quad Graphics.

Collins began by outlining the reasons why RGB is the preferred workflow over CMYK:

• RGB allows for greatest repurposing
• RGB allows more latitude for color manipulation
• RGB allows easier and more consistent gray balance
• RGB gives you the ability to utilize L*a*b* for even greater control
• RGB allows for consistency of separations for press when converted
• Things like GCR and Total Ink are no longer issues at the color correction level

Then Collins outlined some Challenges with RGB workflows:

• Untagged RGB images
  • Forces the arbitrary assignment of an ICC profile
    
    • He referred to this as "shopping" for the right profile
• Issues with some vintage CMYK color technicians adapting
  • Many feel the need to 'move the black' - counters separation consistency
• Color corrections are different, retouching is the same
• Black-only drop shadows require work arounds
• Workflow consistency - Requires automation

Collins discussed his experience with RGB specifically at Quad Graphics

• Quad began full RGB workflows in 2001
• They were forced to create custom automation for workflow consistency - hands off color management
  • Color technicians focus on image manipulation and quality, not color settings, profiles, BPC, and rendering intent
• Quad customers demanded separation consistency, and had higher demands for color quality

Collins talked about the different RGB workflow strategies in regard to when the RGB file is converted to CMYK

• Early-binding
  • Files coming in are converted to CMYK early in the workflow - color correction and retouching is done in CMYK - CEPS model
• Mid-binding
  • Color correction and retouching is completed in RGB - files are converted to CMYK during an automated conversion before page assembly
• Late-binding
  • RGB files are placed in pages and converted to CMYK in the RIP - PDF/X-3 or PDF/X-4 

Collins said that the majority of the workflows at Quad Graphics are a mid-binding, with color corrections completed in RGB, and CMYK being placed in the pages with PDF/X-1a being used. "If there are any color alterations, we go back to the RGB file and reconvert." Collins added.

Collins said that we need to raise the awareness of the concept of color managed pages in a late binding workflow.

• Rips and color engines are improving - behaving more consistently
• They are realizing benefits
  •  More efficient than early or mid-binding  workflows
  •  Improved color reproduction
  •  Offers the ultimate quality and flexibility with repurposing
  •  

Collins said that there are some challenges to late-binding workflows

• There are transparency and overprint issues with PDF/X-4
• Inconsistencies among PDF versions and RIPs
• Most prep suppliers are still learning and may be reluctant

To sum up, Collins said that CMYK has served it's purpose (and in some cases still does), but early-binding workflows are very limiting.
"RGB (and L*a*b*) imaging provides the best quality, and is preferred to CMYK for the benefit of our customers and the end product." Collins stated.


  

Lately, there has been much discussion in the forums about noise lurking in the shadows of Canon 5D Mark II images. Images that are shot at or near base ISO. Noise that appears under normal exposures with ISO settings that should be clean and free of any such artifacts.

Why are so many individuals identifying a poor trait?... A shortcoming that should never be an issue given the evolution of camera sensors and the perfect competition that exists. Surely there must be some mistake on a users part or on Canon's.

I normally use my own files for investigation, but this time I went to http://www.imaging-resource.com/ and downloaded a widely recognized RAW file (ISO 100) for interrogation. A well composed, technically perfect setup, and properly lit scene. I processed the RAW file thru three popular converters with some default settings.

Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom via ACR 5.6 (I believe to be the most popular)
Canon’s own DPP 3.7.2
Capture One Pro 5.0.1

I applied a levels adjustment to the middle pane, to over illustrate the slight chroma noise that lurks in the shadows.

 

When looking at the differences, you can clearly see the different type of RAW processing decisions being applied. The ACR files clearly show more chroma noise. DPP and C1v5 show considerably less chroma noise. Also, the C1v5 file shows a much smoother tonal transition. I saw the greatest amount of detail in the C1v5 files. This could also be attributed to the default sharpening values in the RAW converters being different (as well as the chroma / lumi noise parameters).

What to take from this? Camera manufacturers know the limitations and shortcomings of their hardware. When you decide to forgo the proprietary software solutions, you also forgo any robust processing and decision making the R&D teams have chosen to implement on post processing. For example, I use to make a big stink about the Nikon D300 files having too much noise. I would take a properly exposed file at base ISO (200) and post process in Photoshop via ACR. Once processed I would visibly see chroma and lumi noise in the blue skies. Why? Take that same file, and process it thru Nikon’s own NX software and BAM! Visible sky noise gone. Also, the colors seem to be a bit more accurate. Proprietary de-mosaicing algorithms (formulas that remove that maze like pattern from the color filter array) seem to produce less artifacts in trouble zones (choppy intricate water, converging fine lines, detailed and  intersecting thin tree branches).

The exception to the rule IMHO is Capture One Pro (v5). Anyone who has used a high end medium format camera in the last decade is very familiar with their software. They have done their homework. Some of the best and quickest results can be achieved using their robust software and workflows. At a price of $399 for an additional outboard RAW processing solution it should work quite well! Canon’s DPP produces excellent results as well. Albeit a clunkier and less elegant interface. Don't get me wrong. I use ACR 5.6 all the time. It’s my status quo tool of choice. But, if you want to go the extra mile to squeeze every bit of detail and quality out of a file in post production, I recommend using the camera manufacturers RAW processing software. You will spend a lot less time retouching out tricky and tedious noise and artifacts.

Final thought.... It's interesting to see the color differences that occur as well!

Some Additional Thoughts:

 

With DPP your limited to sRGB, Adobe RGB, Wide Gamut RGB, Apple RGB, ColorMatch RGB. If your a real gunslinger, you could go with Wide Gamut RGB. Personally, for DPP, I am using Adobe for conversions. If I have a file with a large gamut, I may convert to profile to ProPhotoRGB prior to final post processing.

 

Also, finally snow leopard users can go to DPP 3.7.3 preferences (now without crashing)  and change the color match settings for display to Monitor Profile. (sRGB is default). You’ll notice if you go with the default, and change color space modes, the preview changes not only in slight color variations, but in luminosity. (given the differences in white points and gamma) The afore mentioned preference will fix that visual annoyance.

 

Finally, check out the new processing engine in LR3 Beta. Looks to be absolutely spectacular for those who print large. I hate how acr has used a fractal looking de-mosaicing algorithm in the past. The new option, under Settings, has a granular and less mathematical look. Funny how the new goal is a direction that C1 has been going towards since inception. (more film like) 

 

If you haven't, you should definitely download the LR3 beta from Adobe labs and give it a try. Also, give C1v5 Pro a 30 day free trial as well. The new lens correction features are quite nice.

Keywords: Digital, Asset, Retouching, Photoshop, DPP, Capture One Pro, ACR, Noise, Chroma, Luminosity, Lumi, RAW, Post, Processing, Matt, Anderson, Photography, Canon, 5D, Mark, II

With the season of “lists” upon us, here are the top ten Widen Premedia blog posts of 2009 in the Widen prepress services world of digital photography, color retouching, digital sampling, catalog production, color management, and wide format printing.


1. RAW Presets for Photoshop CS4 & Lightroom: Canon 5D Mark II Nikon D3 Nikon D300 Nikon D700 Nikon D3X, posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

2. Call Me Mr. Biv, posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 by Mark Pajari (The Color Space)

3. Digital Asset Solutions: Adding Micro Contrast and Detail to Digital Images by Matt Anderson, posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 by Matt Anderson  (Industrial Retouch and Color)

4. Smart Objects Part Déux, posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

5. A technical observation of post processing styles, posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

6. Edward Cullen Sparkle... For All You Twilight Fans, posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

7. Assigning, tagging, converting, and embedding ICC profiles in Photoshop, posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Mark Pajari (The Color Space)

8. Hair Mask Quick Tip for Color Retouching, posted on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 by Joy Hamel  (Premedia Arts)

9. Into the Light, posted on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

10. Wide Format Digital Printing at Widen, posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

Watch the interview with Brian Becker, VP of Client Development for Widen Enterprises, as he talks about the prepress production processes performed for a large apparel marketer. Part II focuses on Widen's digital sampling and color retouching services in the life cycle of a digital asset.
 

Intro

Widen recently helped a large apparel company improve quality and streamline creative production processes by utilizing a blend of Widen premedia services and digital asset management technologies. Widen helped the client make the move from showcasing garments currently shot on mannequins to garments shot on live models for a new women's sports licensed apparel campaign. In meeting the goal of going live inside 30 days, Widen created over 500 images with 20-25% of their shots featuring garments on live models versus mannequins.

To get up to speed with the photo shoot and Widen photography workflow management capabilities, check out Widen Premedia Workflow Study Part I - Photography Workflow Management.


Color Production
The image work for the project was done by the Widen Color Production department, which consists of six master graphic artists. They are the ones that go in and clean-up the files… They take the camera raw data and optimize it for the best environment for lighting of the flesh tones, hair color, garment color, detail and sharpness, etc. Widen’s color retouching experts have a knack for understanding the customer expectations, which was very simple and natural for them given the jobs they work on every day.


Digital Sampling
The Digital Sampling department is the group that applies the graphics to the garments shot on the models and mannequins. The color operators take artwork from Illustrator and merge them onto the actual photograph in Photoshop. There challenge and expertise is to make sure the graphics follow the contours, shapes, highlights, shadows and wrinkles in the garments as they apply logos, team names, numbers and names, etc. supplied in the client's technical specs.

Many people don't realize what a huge production process there is that goes on behind the scenes to get garments sent to Widen, put on models, styled, shot correctly, color-optimized, digital-sampled, posted to a database and eventually marketed on a website or print catalog, signage, etc.


Color Management
Consumers only spend a few seconds shopping for garments online, so it’s critical that what they see on the screen is what they’ll get in real life.  We don’t use our eyes to confirm what we “think” we like on a screen, we use technical data that comes from a strong color management umbrella over the top of everything we do in production. From our cameras to our proofing devices, everything is color managed for the desired output – website or printed material.

In the end, Widen created approximately 500 images, which are upload to their digital asset library also hosted by Widen. From there, the images are ordered for placement on any number of websites. Posting images via embed links will help to ensure the most current images are used across all web domains.

The Widen Advantage caters to the life cycle of a digital asset by offering all of the production, management and distribution services under one roof. The blend of Widen premedia services and digital asset management solutions working together help clients in a number of ways, including:

Cost Savings - Increases efficiency in creative/production cycles plus centralization of re-usable assets minimizes efforts re-inventing every process of the creation-production-distribution value chain.

Faster Time to Revenue - Shortens time to market and increases effectiveness of marketing execution by empowering sales channels with on-demand access to use brand-approved digital assets.

Competitive Advantage - Improves brand consistency with quality representation of products and ensures compliance across targeted, multi-channel marketing campaigns.

Better Planning and Strategy - Tracking of usage patterns including reuse and repurposing of assets allows for more effective budgeting, resource allocation and planning of future marketing campaigns.

Check out the Widen Premedia Workflow Study Part I - Photography Workflow Management.