Color Management

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 I focuses on Widen's digital photography and photography workflow management capabilities 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.

This is a case of having a DAM customer, in which Widen provides the technology and service to manage thousands of images, take advantage of Widen’s expertise in premedia services to create their digital assets for this particular campaign.


Models and Apparel – Connecting one DAM Customer with another DAM Customer
Since this apparel customer wanted to use live models for the photo shoot at Widen, we were able to help because we have another DAM software customer that is a model and talent agency. In essence, we were able to connect one DAM client with another DAM client to complete the photo shoot. To get started, the apparel company was able to browse model shots by viewing assets from the Rock Agency online image management system and select the talent for the shoot.


Digital Photography, Review and Approval
When it came time for the shoot in Widen's photo studio, we brought in the models, photographer, and did all the make-up and styling so that we could capture a single garment before it was off to our digital sampling and color retouching departments to create all of the products and get them ready for the customer’s campaign.  (Learn more about Widen digital sampling and color retouching services in Part II.)

Leveraging Widen's online photo approval application, Widen could post the best shots for client approval before the models had even left the studio. Widen’s photo approval system allowed for same-day sign-off by the client who was over a thousand miles away.


Color Retouching, Image Management and Distribution
Once the preferred shots were selected, Widen’s Digital Sampling department created the other variations of the garments by applying logos, team names, numbers and names, etc. supplied in the client’s technical specs with Illustrator files. Widen's Color Retouching department also created the one-of-a-kind pieces by taking a photo of the garment on the mannequin and applying color retouching techniques to create quality digital apparel samples optimized for e-commerce websites. All of the final images were organized and managed in Widen’s online photo asset management system where the client could select the best shots for executing the campaign.


The end result helped the client achieve superior image quality and color consistency for the product images on the web to best represent the real-life garment.


Check out the Widen Premedia Workflow Study Part II - Digital Sampling and Color Retouching.

Desert Training

While reading an on-line forum recently, I ran across an interesting quote that somebody had placed on the bottom of their post. It went something like this, "It is better to train people and risk they leave - than to do nothing and risk they stay."

In the spirit of that quote, I thought I'd devote a few words to one of the best investments in training that any company with a color critical workflow can make. Whatever corner of the industry you call home - printing, prepress or premedia services, photography, graphic design, color retouching, packaging, brand management... If it involves the need for accurate color reproduction then you should consider a presence at the upcoming PIA Color Management Conference.

To be held again at the beautiful Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort overlooking the sparkling desert city of Phoenix, The 11th annual PIA Color Management Conference runs from December 6th through the 8th, with a special pre conference program on Saturday the 5th. Each year the advisory board, working with the PIA (Printing Industries of America), assembles some of the top speakers in the industry that address all aspects of color reproduction and color management. Among the many excellent speakers scheduled to present this year are Steve Upton president of Chromix, Don Hutcheson from HutchColor LLC, Dave Hunter, president of Pilot Marketing, Steve Smiley from Vertis, Dr. Abhay Sharma from Ryerson University, and Kelly McCathran from Adobe Systems. 

The conference this year includes almost 60 sessions and hands-on labs. Among them...

Color Meets the Frontier of Electronic Paper
Dr. William Ray with NthDegree Technologies Worldwide, discusses how color management is applied in the developing field of Printed Illuminated Paper which lights up and creates the illusion of motion. He has created a unique color model for emissive color that draws on both RGB and CMYK.

How to Compete in the Global Marketplace with Monitor/Softproofing
This session covers how adopting soft proofing will help you save money on materials, labor, time and transit costs. This session will give examples of companies that made the switch from contract proofs to soft proofs and saved themselves and their customers money.

Real World RAW from Large Format to Digital SLRs
Steven Johnson, world renown photographer and last year’s excellent keynote presenter takes a look at where we are in color management and where the technology is going as it relates to the uninterrupted stream of data in RAW workflows. 

RGB Working Spaces
Don Hutcheson discusses the difference between RGB working spaces and how to choose the correct space for Web, publication, fine art photography, RAW export, image archives, etc. He will talk about the benefits to wide-gamut spaces, and if there is one perfect RGB space for all work.

The program this year also includes two great keynote sessions...

Delivering the Color for Broadway
Representatives from King Displays, a Manhattan printing company, will discuss how they produce 90 percent of all the signs and displays for the Broadway theater market. Everything they produce is color critical and they will show how they meet the needs of a distinct clientele with demanding color needs and quick turnaround times.

Forecasting the Right Colors
James Martin, the president of the Color Marketing Group, will discuss how his group of color designers comes together each year to collaborate and then interpret their shared information into salable colors that will ultimately make up the color directions for all industries, manufactured products, and services.

I can speak from experience that this valuable, one-of-a-kind conference is very much worth attending. Color management technology is still in a state of evolution. Whether you live in the world of print or the Internet, every year new products, best practices and procedures are developed that benefit everyone involved in the exchange of color. See the PIA Color Management website for more information.

Follow my tweets and updates from the conference December 5-8 on twitter @widenpremedia.

Mark
        

The CMO Council released information today regarding marketers lagging in optimizing their supply chains.  Digital asset management is mentioned as something that 30.1% of the respondents have already embarked on as part of their online strategy.  The lack of visibility is one element of the challenge where Widen DAM SaaS has provided insight to CMO's.

As part of the relationship with Widen, we are providing customers with visibility into the critical measurements of Digital Asset Management programs.  These critical measurements include the repurposing ratio, a way of monitoring how frequently digital assets are reused in the marketplace.  These statistics provide CMO's with a higher level understanding of their digital media assets and how they can leverage more value from them.

Mike Perez, Vice President of NVISION, also makes a reference to SaaS by stating the following: "Marketers are clearly recognizing that they can gain significant efficiencies and cost-savings, which will allow them to re-direct spend and resources to more gainful programs. But to do this, they need the right information systems, process controls, knowledge, expertise and physical infrastructure to implement process improvements and better handle procurement, warehousing and just-in-time delivery of marketing materials worldwide. Often this is a competency that can be more cost-effectively outsourced."

That quote strings together beautiful words.....gain efficiencies, cost-savings, invest in better programs, need the right I.S., JIT marketing materials worldwide, more cost-effectively outsourced.  It all fits the value of Widen digital asset management with a high-powered service model and 62 years of business operations at the core.


The CMO Council press release, also available below, can be found here: 
Marketers Lag in Optimizing Global Supply Chains; Big Opportunities Exist to Reduce Cost, Improve Yield and Increase Accountability


PALO ALTO, CA -- 11/16/09 -- Nearly two-thirds of senior marketers have never undertaken a comprehensive audit of the costs and processes that contribute to their marketing supply chain and most admit their resources and suppliers are poorly integrated across global networks, reports the Chief Marketing Office (CMO) Council.

The milestone "Define Where to Streamline" study (www.marketingsupplychain.org/report) provides a comprehensive assessment of how well marketers are managing, controlling and introducing sustainability practices across increasingly complex global supply chains. These include hundreds or thousands of printers, exhibit and merchandise suppliers, warehouse and fulfillment operations, communications agencies, media channels, independent contractors, as well as creative and digital service providers.

The online audit of more than 300 senior marketers conducted by the CMO Council found marketers are inadequately positioned to introduce new efficiencies and waste reduction programs into their marketing ecosystems. The study is the first initiative in a sweeping program under the umbrella of a new think tank, the Marketing Supply Chain Institute, which is dedicated to examining the economics of spend in the marketing services sector. The study was conducted with the support of NVISION®, the Marketing Supply Chain Group of North America Corporation.

While only 25.2 percent of respondents have undertaken a comprehensive audit and analysis of costs and process efficiencies in their supply chain, the study found that roughly the same number -- 25.9 percent -- track obsolescence on marketing and event management consumables. However, just over 50 percent of the marketers audited acknowledge that ROI could be the greatest reward from an optimized supply chain as a streamlined process will likely speed time-to-market and time-to-value from marketing spend. These numbers reflect a lack of visibility into marketing supply chain operations and poor tracking and accountability of marketing materials and merchandise inventory, which often involve millions of printed items, including product packaging, corporate brochures, sales literature, premiums and point-of-sale display units.

"Auditing the effectiveness of producing, storing and shipping marketing consumables is the first step towards a more integrated, efficient and streamlined marketing supply chain," said Mike Perez, Vice President of NVISION. "Marketers are clearly recognizing that they can gain significant efficiencies and cost-savings, which will allow them to re-direct spend and resources to more gainful programs. But to do this, they need the right information systems, process controls, knowledge, expertise and physical infrastructure to implement process improvements and better handle procurement, warehousing and just-in-time delivery of marketing materials worldwide. Often this is a competency that can be more cost-effectively outsourced," he added.

Interestingly, the CMO Council study suggests that a trend toward greater sustainability and carbon footprint reductions may lead many marketers onto the right path for gaining a deeper understanding of their supplier network and value chain. More than two-thirds of respondents -- 63.6 percent -- said they are targeting print production, warehousing and delivery of marketing consumables and 37.1 percent said they were targeting transportation and logistics with an eye toward realizing sustainability gain and carbon footprint improvements. Delving into these areas will enable marketers to exact cost-savings and efficiency improvements from many of the greatest areas of spend within their marketing supply chains.

"The marketing supply chain is clearly not a strategic area of focus for many marketers, yet there are significant improvements that can be driven by change-minded executives willing to dig deeply into the operational side of the marketing function," noted Donovan Neale-May, the CMO Council's executive director. "You are going to see a much tighter linkage between the CMO, CFO and CPO (chief procurement officer) going forward and more involvement by the CIO to integrate back-end information from ERP systems to better synchronize marketing supply operations and partners."

Other key findings from the report include:

--  With 89 percent of companies indicating they are not generating real
    economies or efficiencies in their marketing supply chain process,
    marketers are further challenged as one third of respondents indicate they
    have no internal resource of expertise in supply chain management.  In
    fact, 47.8 percent of marketers surveyed indicate that marketing supply
    chain management is an evolving functional area that needs more attention
    or a discipline growing in importance of value.

--  30.4 percent of respondents said they weren't fully realizing the
    value and potential of the Internet and instead are managing partners
    through traditional means while 30.1 percent clearly have adopted an online
    approach, saying they were seeing major improvements in workflow,
    collaboration, content access and digital asset management.

--  Marketers acknowledge that a streamlined supply chain can improve go-
    to-market strategy and speed time-to-value from marketing spend, and play a
    critical role in managing the potential variance in customer experience.
    The delivery of accurate and relevant content, the uniformity of
    communication and consistency of message, and the timely provisioning of up-
    to-date sales and marketing messages and materials are the top three
    critical values an optimized marketing supply chain to go-to-market
    strategy.

--  Creative, once an area often left in the hands of agencies or
    advertising, may come under greater scrutiny as a significant number of
    marketers -- 40.5 percent -- identified creative design and development as
    an area in the marketing supply chain with the greatest potential for
    process, productivity and performance improvements.

There are a lot of companies that will say “now is the time to gear up for the new year so that you can hit the ground running,” but this customer video compilation goes to show why top marketers implemented Widen digital asset management programs to improve their marketing operations. See why these marketers have made the investment in Widen’s hosted DAM software to create efficiencies, improve productivity, and increase brand consistency throughout their marketing channels.



Is now the right time for you to implement Digital Asset Management programs?

• Are you wasting precious time and resources managing and fulfilling requests for brand assets?
• Are you looking for ways to improve marketing efficiency, effectiveness and agility?
• Are you seeking fool-proof ways to achieve brand consistency across all customer touch points? 
• Do you want to empower sales channels to be more effective?

In the first segment, Jim Magruder, Senior Marketing Communications Manager at InSinkErator, talks about their growing problem managing and distributing brand assets. He explains what a problem it was to regularly get calls from customers, sales reps, ad agencies and PR firms needing digital assets and there was no easy way to provide them what they needed in a timely matter. Sound familiar? He knew they needed a more efficient digital media asset management system so he wouldn’t lose precious time having to duplicate the same process over and over again fielding requests such as “I need an image and I don’t know what format I need.” Each time, he would have to stop what he’s doing to find the asset, convert it, ship it, etc. Widen DAM asset management services changed all that and removed the burden of having to manage and distribute assets “the old way.”

In the second segment, Jim Scarlata, Senior Marketing Operations Manager for Knaack LLC, explains that there was one gatekeeper to their digital asset library and there was no easy way to achieve brand consistency across all marketing channels, ensure the most current brand assets were always available (and used), and make assets easily available to all channel partners. With Widen’s help, Knaack has a single online location for all of the most current digital content to be globally available to any approved user.

In the third segment, John Wernecke, Global Marketing Manager (Former Public Relations Manager), Motorola Mobile Devices talks about the ease of use when it comes to digital assets management with the help of Widen. The Widen Media Collective provides Motorola with enterprise-wide ability to share and collaborate interactively 24 hours a day, which has allowed marketing and creative groups to come together at a central location that is always accurate and working.

In the fourth segment, Michele Bedard, Vice President of Marketing, Sub-Zero, Inc. and Wolf Appliance, Inc., explains how Sub-Zero and Wolf is all about the brand and making sure customers have  a consistent brand experience across all touch points. The Widen online digital asset management tools provide the people in the field with access to the most current assets so Sub-Zero and Wolf brands look the same from whatever source anyone would see it.

In the fifth and final segment, Michele Kowalkowski, Catalog Manager North America, Brady Worldwide, Inc., talks about how the Widen corporate image library empowers sales people to carry out their jobs and supports relationships with their distributor networks. Without always having to be reliant on the marketing team, they have a digital asset library they can trust to be accessible when they need assets and get them instantly in the format needed to complete their project.

To get more takes from the pros, watch more Widen Customer Interviews.

I think there is a bit of a brand misconception that has brewed for years. I’m not here to say one is less mushy than the other. I think the proof is in the pudding. Even more so, I dare say a global statement like “Nikon’s colors are this or Canon’s colors are that” is a bit ... ah, um, well, ignorant. How can you summarize a whole brand of various product and technology in one quick categorization? That’s like saying “all GM cars are slow gas guzzlers” or “everyone from California is a pretty movie star.”
 
In my humble opinion, the mushiness stems from lack of skill from camera to output. Sure Canon or Nikon might have weakend the CFA for better transmissiveness. A less dense CFA means possibly having less separation between hue and less defined chroma details. If you have ever worked in prepress or premedia, most of the time you don’t have the luxury of controlling the capture stage. All too often you’re handed a digital file that has suffered from bad decision making from the start. No matter. Get this file into the hands of a skilled color production artist and stand back! Like the Army, a savvy color correction specialist knows how to let the file “be all it can be.” Gazillions of tricks have been created to solve every image problem possible. This is the part where I typically insert before and after images of various wars and miracles I have courageously battled thru. Well, not today mister. No Sir, Today I’m going to give you a RAW file you can do your own R&D with. Today I let you, this here blog reader, download one of my precious RAW files to examine for yourself. (Just don't take credit for the shot and distribute it please!) Today you can process the file however you deem appropriate and make your own assessment(s).
 
Does Canon have mushy colors?
 
I would recommend you process the file in DPP, Canon’s proprietary RAW processor. In doing so, you will have honored all the integrity of the file and the decisions I made at capture time. Yes I know, not everyone has DPP, unless you bought a camera from Canon, you won’t have access. That’s why I also am providing you a full res JPEG to boot! A JPEG that has been exported from DPP with all the nifty decisions I made. (Hopefully I didn’t select the mushy color button!) And, just so you know, I also shoot with a Nikon D3, D300, D200, and medium format. I’m no fan boy. My loyalty is not to some camera making company. So for those of you who want to dig and find out, “Does Canon have mushy colors”, feel free to download the zip file located at the end of this rambling, and make your own assessment. Good-day-mate!

Download: Zip file containing the RAW Canon 5D Mark II Image and Jpeg Exported from DPP


Keywords: Photography, Color Manipulation, Correction, Retouch, RAW, Processing, Digital Image Management, Image Distribution, Canon, Nikon, Digital, Photo, Professional

Do you want all the latest and greatest news and updates about Widen digital asset management programs and premedia services?  Become a Fan of Widen on Facebook.

The Widen Facebook fan page provides a central location for everything “Widen” with links to all of the latest articles, news, blogs, videos, photos and more.

Become a fan of Widen on Facebook and join in on the conversations.



Introduction to the main features of the Widen Facebook Fan Page:

The Wall – View a log of the latest article placements, mentions in trade publications, press releases, blogs and member commentary.  Some of the more notable recent postings include links to Widen articles in Adotas, ebizQ, DM News, Corporate Media News, Multichannel Merchant and the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Power.com. You can also find Widen quotes and client successes in recent trade publications including KMWorld, Processor.com and Big Picture Magazine. 

Info – Catch a glimpse of Widen with a short company overview, mission and product snapshot.

A sample of the Widen Product snapshot:

Widen Media Collective - A web-based digital asset management software application for creating, managing and distributing photos, videos, marketing materials and other digital media.

Premedia Services - photography, color retouching, digital sampling, catalog production, color management and wide format printing.

Photos – Check out Widen photo albums including Widen magazine covers from the premedia open house, Widen company kickball, black and white historical images of Widen Engraving Co., and portfolios of Widen Digital Sampling, Color Markups and Color Retouching.

Videos – Watch Widen’s latest photoshop magic premedia viral videos and get 1-on-1 with Widen’s CEO and other subject matter experts.

Other areas of interest on the Widen Facebook page include RSS feeds of all the latest blogs covering  Widen’s areas of expertise, links to other industry resources, and favorite pages linking to the fan pages of Widen Customers.

To learn more, become a Fan of Widen on Facebook.

As a marketer who markets products and services to fellow marketers, I thought it might be fun to share some best practices and or open up the conversation on the topic of using email as a primary communication method for B2B sales & marketing communications. Below is a list of resources and best practices for utilizing the email signature block to reinforce your message and brand, introduce your personality and further engage your intended target in 1-to-1 communication.     

Signature Block Marketing Best Practices and Resources

1. Contact Info. Stating the obvious, it’s the standard element for continuing the conversation. Who are you and why should I care? And, how do I get a hold of you if I do care?  Include:  name, title, company, phone, email, address, etc.  Also, a link to your Website helps people learn more about your company. As a bonus, a LinkedIn profile link helps people learn more about you, your background, and provides another opportunity to connect.

2. Company Logo. Reinforce your business branding and helps your organization maintain top of mind presence for continued brand recognition. People remember images more than words… so if your name, need, product or service comes up, your logo should be one of the first things that come to mind.

3. Tagline or Mission. What does your company stand for and how can I understand it in as few words as possible? 

4. Statistics. Stats resonate well with people and strengthen the message. Statistics help to quantify your message and better compel people to take action.

5. Quotes. Quotes humanize your message and add credibility to you, your company and your product. Quotes should come from your customers, 3rd-party trusted resources, company leaders or notable public figures. 

6. Links to Additional Resources. Use any combination of three resources where people can learn more, make a justification or get more proof. Any more than three resources is overload, but a diverse group will help answer more questions and connect you with opportunities sooner. It’s important to keep your list of resources fresh and select them based on the level of engagement. Examples include whitepapers, videos, articles, press releases, blogs or other links to something like a demo, trial, ROI info or other key web-pages or brochures.

7. Social Networks & Social Media. Social networks and social media are a great venue to provide more intimate details about your organization and yourself. They help build community and make users feel more welcomed. Plus, if they like what they see, they’ll pass it along… Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube are among the most popular.

Bonus – Rich Media. Images and Videos speak volumes. A profile picture will help you connect a name with a face. Friendly images such as cartoons help you build a connection and bridge a communication gap oftentimes difficult to achieve without a conversation. Videos further enhance the user experience and accelerate communications.  

If there are other experiences or methods that come to mind when you think of Signature Block Marketing Best Practices and Resources, please feel free to share.

Will Apple's long-rumored tablet device be another nail in the coffin of print?

It appears that the latest rumors swirling around Apple's yet-to-be-announced hardware is that the device will be primarily positioned to move people away from traditional printed media and towards next-generation media. Instead of a device to watch a movie or play a game, it will be more of an e-reader. Essentially a Kindle on steroids with a beautiful touch screen and links to dynamic media in the form of videos, audio and websites that support the content of the publication.

In a recent post on AppleInsider, Gizmodo reported that Apple has been reaching out to publishers of newspapers, books and magazines in order to get their content on iTunes (If that's true, I suspect Apple will have to rename iTunes at some point. Maybe they already should with podcasts, iPhone apps, movies, etc. all currently available). If the Apple tablet takes off like most products from Apple do, it can only serve to confirm an eventual end to certain forms of printed media. As I pointed out in a blog post from last June called, Pulp Fiction: Is print dead? the day of a digital device delivering dynamic media to your palms is coming soon. Certainly one could argue that it is already here with devices like the iPhone. But many people find the display too small to do any serious reading, That is where the tablet will come in.

With that said, I'm thinking about my previous post on Print 09. Attendance was down. In order to boost attendance and breathe some new life into a graying trade show, The Graphic Arts Show Company (the group that produces the show every four years along with Graph Expo), needs to rebrand the Print show. Certainly many of the exhibitors have already embraced new media with technology like Web to Print and other emerging sectors such as thin film printed electronics and RFID. It can still maintain a print focus, but needs to expand into other areas of electronic publishing in order to remain relevant in the years to come. Or at least as long as trade shows in general are still relevant.

Back to Apple... They reportedly plan a January 2010 announcement of their tablet device with an availability sometime in June or July. Indeed they recently hired back Michael Tchao, one of the developers of their initial touchscreen tablet - the Newton. He figures to help develop the marketing strategy for the new device.

In the mean time, I will continue to bask in the smell of the CMYK inks on the paper pages of my Wired magazine.

From Way Up On Top of the Carpet Padding...

Just like the opportunity for voters to find new users of the official White House stemware, the mammoth Print 09 trade show blows into the windy city every four years. Chicago's cavernous McCormick Place was once again the site for the six day event that showcases press, converting and finishing equipment manufacturers along with premedia and prepress service providers.

From most of the exhibitors that I talked to, attendance during the event started off slow on Friday, but picked up as the show progressed. Many did think that overall the attendance was down substantially from Print 05. However, when I was there on Monday (day 4), it was at times difficult to talk with some of the vendors, as many booths I visited were packed with attendees. I suspect the same would not have been true on Saturday or Sunday given the beautiful weather in Chicago.

Whether it is Graph Expo or Print, I think the square footage of the floor space that some companies occupy is in direct proportion to the amount of padding that is placed under the carpeting in their booth. Take a few of the larger exhibitors like Heidelberg, Xerox, or HP for example. I actually had to use a rope ladder to climb onto their floor space. Once I was up there, I had to crouch my 6' 4" frame at times to keep my head from coming in contact with the structural support joists for the McCormick Place roof. And then it was like walking on a Tempurpedic mattress. 24 feet of memory foam under foot takes its toll eventually. I heard several people were taken to the hospital for falling off of the carpeting.
 
Okay, on a more semi-serious note, here is some random thoughts from just a few of the 650+ exhibitors that occupied the more than 460,000 square feet of floor space...

                  

A lot of the buzz I heard was based not on what was there, but what was NOT there. Namely any equipment from Kodak. In a bold move, they instead chose to fill their booth with a bunch of interactive information kiosks. They also had a large set, called the K-Zone, where they conducted interviews of various industry leaders in a talk show format. It was exactly like "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", except a lot less funny. I thought the Kodak booth was well designed and it seemed to be pretty crowded every time I walked through it. Some people where a bit put off that they did not show any equipment. I give them credit for at least trying something different. At the very least, they generated a lot of buzz throughout the show.

                           Kodak also had a pretty cool handout at the show...Their magazine called "One" had a 5 mil clear polyester outer cover printed on a Gallus EM 510 S press. What was unique about it was that it showed an image on the outside printed (from the inside) with 20 micron stochastic screening and another image printed with a 200 line screen on the inside. It was essentially four color process, two hits of white, and another four color process on top of that. A nice flexo project showcasing their Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System.

FineEye Color Solutions (formerly known as Chromaticity) introduced the ICE (intelligent color engine) technology in the form of the ICEserver. The ICEserver is a Mac based application that processes PDF files before imaging on a CTP, inkjet or color controller RIP. It takes a different approach for converting files from RGB to CMYK. It recalculates color conversions with new algorithms, accounting for paper color values. Programmed Color Reformulation (PCR) is built into the ICEserver which functions in a way like GCR - replacing some CMY with black. They claim ICE yields a 20% increase in gamut with existing CMYK inks; 25% average reduction in ink use; increase in dynamic range and contrast; faster makereadies and it equals gray balance and tonality of GRACoL and SWOP. The before/after color samples they displayed in their booth were impressive. They intend to have another ICE product out early next year - ICEmaker which will be a Photoshop plug in using the same technology for color separation. Hmmm, that makes me think... maybe Widen should OEM their ICE technology and incorporate it into our digital asset management software. We'll call it ICEdam. And we'll call our Widen Appliance server ICEcube. And then there will be ICEberg to sink large ocean liners carrying Leonardo DiCaprio, and... Okay, I'll stop now.

What was the deal with the AT&T coverage in the McCormick Place exhibit halls? Can't a guy get a decent Internet connection on his iPhone so he can tweet? And don't get me started on the $12 burger in the Plate Room food court that tasted like a sweaty shin guard.

                   Just Normlicht, the German manufacturer of light booths and desktop viewers was showing off their new LED Color Viewing Light. The desktop viewer uses new LED technology to replicate almost any standardized light source. The new LED technology also offers the ability to simulate any light source with or without the UV spectrum allowing for easy viewing of the effects of optical brightening agents found in many commercially available substrates. The consistent color in these booths can be maintained for 25,000 hours - 10 times as long as a standard booth containing fluorescent tubes. They had these new LED products on display along with their line of Just colorCommunicator booths which are equipped with a USB interface for calibrating the intensity of the standardized lighting along with the monitor. For more information on the pricey new Just LED booths, see my previous blog post called, Let there be LED.

GMG introduced the ColorServer Plus - A new color management solution specifically designed to allow companies to consistently print to an industry standard (GRACoL) on a digital press to achieve color accuracy. At Print 09, GMG announced the use of GMG ColorServer Plus driving an HP Indigo press. ColorServer Plus uses GMG’s iterative profiling approach to establish a precise calibration state of the digital printer as well as conformance to a specific industry or in-house print standard.

I think I'll skip the $12 burger at Graph Expo 2010.

Widen recently published a new “Brand Standards” document in efforts to maintain a consistent face to the marketplace. This exercise has been quite a grueling process as we work to gather, catalog and manage all of our logos and templates to enforce consistent use of our branding. (Go figure, a Digital Asset Management company has many of the same frustrations as the customers we serve!)

Like many organizations, the most public facing and prominent marketing touch point is the corporate website. We launched a new website in Q1 of this year and just recently updated our brand standards document that is three years removed from the last major update. (I’m sure you can relate!) Besides our website, we have several other forms of digital media channels that we try to maintain consistent with our corporate brand—landing pages, blogs, social networking pages, print collateral and corporate documents.   

The part of this process that became particularly complicated was managing all the different versions of our logos… 

Widen has 35 different logos from 13 different styles of the Widen logo:

1. 3-D Reflected versions
2. Flat versions
3. Black & White 3-D Reflected versions
4. Black & White Flat versions
5. 3-D Reflected versions with the tagline “Empower Your Digital Media”
6. Flat versions with the tagline “Empower Your Digital Media”
7. Black & White 3-D Reflected versions with the tagline “Empower Your Digital Media”
8. Black & White Flat versions with the tagline “Empower Your Digital Media”
9. 3-D Circle W Icons
10. Powered by Widen stamps for customer sites
11. Widen Media Collective product stamps
12. Widen Appliance product stamps
13. Widen for Appexchange logos for our Salesforce.com apps

Portfolio View of the Widen Logo Library

As users of our own digital asset management tools we can control which formats are convertible and what conversion options are to be configured within our DAM SaaS application. Most of the 13 different styles have RGB (for web or print conversion), CMYK (for print only) and PMS (for print only) versions so that’s why we total 35 different logos. There are 4 "for print only" logos that can be downloaded only as the CMYK or PMS file in the original .ai file format, meaning there is no conversion.

The RGB versions hold the integrity of the file the best—particularly with the reflected red 3-D Circle W that has several different colors in it. The RGB files can be converted to any file format for print or web use. Conversion options include: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and EPS (configurable to each client’s specifications). Therefore, instead of having on file and keeping track of more than 52 additional logos in different file formats, we only need to keep track of the 13 master logos that can be converted to any format using Photoshop conversions on-demand within our own Widen Media Collective DAM system.

Logo Conversion Options Configured Specific to the Widen Corporate Internal DAM System

Are there any other marketing people that can relate to the vast challenges in managing a logo library?  We’d love to hear your story!
 

For this example I will show you how to create some cool chrome effects on a digital asset. A high end furniture store wanted a nice looking catchy banner created for display. My direction was a certain color palette along with a neat chrome effect. To accomplish this task I used the powerful possibilites of Photoshops layer effects. At the end of this blog entry I will actually let you download the final .psd digital asset. (It has been resized.)


Achieving this effect required just about every trick that layer effects offers.

Step 1 - I type set both lines of copy
Step 2 - I created an upper and lower bar with the path tool
Step 3 - I created a midnight blue background with an inner shadow effect
Step 4 - I applied a drop shadow, inner shadow, inner glow, bevel and emboss, color overlay, gradient overlay, satin and stroke to the text and bar layers
Step 5 - I also applied a Hue/Saturation and Curve adjustment layer to each of the type layers for additional color correction and contrast.
Step 6 - Using an air brush that fades, I painted white strokes for a nice catch light


*Hint* an easy way to copy and paste layer effects between layers is to control(Mac) click on the layer effects you want to copy (in the layer palette) and select copy layer style. Next, select the layer(s) you want to apply the layer effects too, control(Mac) click and select paste from the layer style option. Now your layer style is quickly applied to the new layer.


Click here to download the layered Photoshop file.

Keywords: Color Retouching, Color Manipulation, Color Management, Brand Recognition, Photoshop, Creative Software, Layer Effects, Chrome

For this next example I am going to use layer effects to recreate a mirrored look on some expensive trendy glass tiles. My client provided me a digital asset of mirror glass tiles that reflected a dark room. The ambient room lighting provided a dark and unattractive reflection. To create a more appealing and marketable appearance I recreated a traditional mirror reflection using Photoshops layer effects.

Step One - Using the pen tool I masked off all in interior contents of each fragment.
Step Two - Using the pen tool I masked off all the glass tile from the grout.
Step Three - I made a selection from my glass tile path to mask off the layer effects.
Step Four - I made a selection of the grout and with color manipulation I neutralized the warm cast of the grout.



To accomplish this layer effect I did the following:
(Tiles are masked on their own layer)

1. Created a Drop Shadow
2. Created an Inner Shadow
3. Created an Inner Glow
4. Created a Color Overlay
5. Created a Stroke

Using these settings in tandom provides a reflection more in line with what consumers are use to seeing in brand marketing of reflective pieces. (The soft white neutral cloudy nature.)


My final step was to use the grout selection and desaturate the warm casted grout.

Keywords: Color Retouching, Color Manipulation, Color Management, Brand recognition, Photoshop, Creative Software

Here is one of my clients high quality pieces of furniture. My task was to take this digital asset and create a sense of motion for the self closing door feature. Accomplishing this task required digital media management of three separate exposures. The door is strategically placed in various positions. Using photoshop, I digitally sampled the opacities to 55%. Color correction and color retouching had to be performed identically to each layer.

The first layer represents the slightly open door at 100%.
The second layer I have added a slight ghost of the door in it's closed position.
The third layer I have placed the door in it's 2/3 closed position at 55% opacity.
The fourth layer I have placed the door in it's 1/3 closed position at 55% opacity.
The final layer I masked off the door in it's original position, allowing the motion portion to be seen underneath. When done correctly, the color manipulation will yield a natural looking temporal scenario for the auto close feature.

Keywords: Color Retouching, Color Manipulation, Color Management, Digital Media Management

Looking back 20 years

While I usually like to keep my eyes gazing to the future, this industry changes so fast that it is sometimes fun to look back and see where the printing, publishing and prepress world has been.

When it comes to trade journals and magazines I can be a bit of a pack rat. A couple weeks ago while going through some things in my office, I ran across a Graphic Arts Monthly issue from September, 1989. Remember 1989? The Berlin wall came down. A gallon of gas was 97 cents, A postage stamp cost 25 cents. Batman and Twins were featured on the big screen, while MacGyver and The Cosby show glowed on the small tube. Homer Simpson got his own show. And Microsoft introduced the Office suite of software.

So as I look toward the upcoming Print 09 show in Chicago, I thought I would look back 20 years and share a few things I found in that issue of Graphic Arts Monthly that previewed the Graph Expo 1989 show.

                                 
The September 1989 cover of Graphic Arts Monthly featured a cool 3-D image of downtown Chicago. A pair of 3-D glasses was included inside. In 1989 the large building in the foreground was known as the Sears Tower, not the "Whatchoo-talkin'-bout-Willis" tower as it is known today.


The Outlook section where GAM looked at current and future economic trends affecting the industry claimed in 1989 that "Consumer income and Savings are rising and consumer debt is on the decline. Printing and publishing enjoys continued growth, outpacing growth in the overall economy. Newspaper output continues to grow (2.1% growth), as measured by the industrial production index." Wow, how times have changed.

As further evidence of a bygone era, I offer the 10 page article on color drum scanners that begins, "In today's graphic arts industry, the color scanner is widely seen as a symbol of scientific up-to-dateness."  The story went on to say "...there are around 2,400 color drum scanners in North America, with 150 more to be installed by years end." I wonder how many of those scanners are still around today? The article pointed out that the DS 757 scanner sold for as much as $384,500 (!!). How did we ever see a ROI on that? Of course, in 1989 there were very few digital cameras in use - everything was film or reflective art. Everybody came to printers and prep houses with their film because desktop publishing was still in its infancy. CEPS systems from companies like Scitex and Hell ruled the land and Adobe Photoshop 1.0 would not ship until February of 1990.
                   
CEPS (color electronic prepress systems) were the way imaging and pre press production was done in 1989. This Kodak Designmaster 8000 system was featured in a GAM ad.


And speaking of desktop publishing, an article titled, "Design Software Comes of Age" pointed out that "Despite substantial improvements in computer hardware and accompanying strides in software, only about 10% of the design community has made the computer an integral part of its business." Looking ahead, the author wrote, "In the future, high computing power will be used to provide features now found only on half million dollar machines." The story outlined 1989 technical limitations to desktop publishing by adding, "To get an idea of just how much memory storage is required, consider that a single 3.5" x 5" full color, high resolution image alone can consume four to six megabytes (Oh my!). It is only comparatively recently that even 40 MB disk drives have been commonly available on microcomputers." Yikes! 20 years later, I have almost 16,000 times that capacity on my computer, and over 800 times that on my iPhone alone.

                 
Raise your hand if you remember the Kodak Signature color proofing system. This system was one of the first proofing systems that delivered a proof imaged on the actual press stock. But it was a giant, multi-step process that never caught on (thankfully). The GAM ad that the image above ran in also hinted at the upcoming Kodak Approval system stating, "... and in the near future, true halftone direct digital color proofing products." were on the way. The Kodak Approval DDCP system would become a digital proofing standard for more than a decade.


Another article on New York City separation house Kwik International Color also pointed out how expensive workstations were the norm back then.... "A visitor cannot help but be impressed by Kwik's high-technology environment. The company has two complete Hell Chromacom Systems, supported by a room-filling twenty drive units each providing 300 megabytes of image data storage."

While many things have changed in the industry over the last 20 years, the specific art of putting little dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink on paper remains essentially the same. It is an analog, good-old-fashioned chemical reaction. Speed and quality have increased, presses are more automated, and the entire route the content takes from creation to the printed page has changed incredibly. Then there is this whole internet thing. In 1989, we were still about five years away from typing "www" on our keyboards for the first time.

Any guesses on where we will be in 2029?

Follow my tweets from the Print 09 show on Monday, September 14 @widenpremedia. 

Last year, the IPA introduced a new educational program aimed at certifying individuals responsible for color management and color reproduction. The IPA Color Management Professional certification program begins with an extensive course on Color Management Fundamentals. This acts as a prerequisite to three additional courses focusing on different areas of expertise: Color Managment for Photography, Color Management for Prepress and Color Management for Premedia.

These courses were developed by noted industry color experts including Dave Hunter from The Pilot Marketing Group, Lou Prestia of Prestia Color Consulting and Steve Upton with Chromix, among others.

Each course contains a series of online videos totaling 2 - 3 hours in length. After completing the videos, students take an online exam based on the information presented in the videos. The initial CMP-Fundamentals exam consists of eighty questions selected from a randomly mixed question “pool” so no two exams are alike. Students must answer 80% of the questions correctly to pass the test and become certified.

Individuals that have a good base knowledge of color management can opt for the exam-only option of the Color Management Fundamentals course. I recently took this 80 question exam and I can tell you that it was a challenge (and YES I passed, thank you). The questions spanned across all aspects of color management, and often were situational. Some questions made me scratch my head and really think it through. See a complete list of individuals that have achieved IPA CMP certification here.

                                     
If you are responsible for color reproduction in any way - from photography, design, prepress production, premedia services or any similar areas, I highly recommend pursuing color management certification. It serves as not only as a great learning experience, but also to reaffirm your knowledge level. This is the first time that the industry has had such a comprehensive program in place. I applaud the IPA and the professionals that put this course together.

If you would like to learn more about the IPA Color Management Certification program, check out their website: http://www.ipa.org/knowledge/cmp

Here's a quick tutorial on how to create better detail in your images. It's similar to the clarity function in the ACR RAW dialogue, without enhancing unwanted noise. This is a technique on how to do this type of effect on a fully editable layer in photoshop. The key is using a blending technique called "Linear Light". Linear Light Burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the brightness, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the digital asset is lightened by increasing the brightness. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the digital asset is darkened by decreasing the brightness.Let me know if you find this helpful. I may share more goodies.



Final Notes:
a) If you inverse the final effect, you will have created a perfect skin tone fixer.
Gauss blur radius will hold the actual skin pore. Highpass will control the radius of the "blemish" removed. Typically .2-1.0 for blur, 5-25 pixel for High Pass blemish size.
b) If you use the above effect on skin (without inversing), you can create a similar effect to that of the incredible Andrej Dragan.

Keywords: Digital Asset Optimization, Digital Image Management, Sharpening in Photoshop, Adding Detail and Retouching in Photostop, Micro Contrast, Digital Media Enhancement, Digital Asset Retouch, Brand Retouch, Digital Media Services, Premedia Services, Matt Anderson

In my previous blog, You can have my last roll of Kodachrome, Paul Simon., I discussed the recent announcement by Kodak to stop manufacturing Kodachrome film. That made me think about a promotional video I saw a couple years ago. Kodak was the sponsor of a keynote address at the 2007 PIA Color Management Conference in Phoenix. At the beginning of the presentation, the representative from Kodak played the video to get the message out that the old Kodak has left the building and they are now poised to play a major role in the future of digital photography... If you believe that... I don't. Kodak came late to the digital photography party, instead putting too much stock in their lucrative film business.

Anyway, the video received a great response from the audience. See it for yourself below - it's actually pretty funny.

From capture to distribution, Widen helps marketers save costs, improve efficiency and speed time to market with its array of digital production services. 

Photographic Capture

Specializing in tabletop and lifestyle digital photography, particularly for the apparel industry, Widen is able to reduce photography time and costs by capturing only a neutral color garment of a particular style instead of photographing every color swatch needed to bring that product to market.  This method dramatically reduces photography costs and model time because it greatly reduces the amount of products to shoot.  Products are captured according to the client’s pre-determined product display standards.  For example with these apparel garments, Widen photographers shoot three-quarter front and back views of the item on a mannequin.  Captures are tagged and instantly delivered to Widen’s digital production team who then create the full line of products. 

Digital Production

After the captures are taken, Widen color retouching specialists apply the necessary colors and special markings according to the client’s technical specifications, thus creating all color swatches and product variations.  This process is formally referred to as “digital sampling” for the apparel market.  This process is manual versus automated for the purpose of producing superior quality hi-resolution images that accurately represent the physical product.  Final images are created for both print and web use.  Benefits derived from this process include: reducing physical sample cost by marketing digital samples without physically producing all of the products, improving time to market with a process that previously took weeks or days to one that now takes only a couple of days to a couple of hours.  Intangible results for the client include improving brand consistency by accurately displaying all products available for sale in addition to improving market penetration by marketing the full line of products.

Web-based Collaboration, Management & Distribution

Widen also develops web based digital asset software for collaboration, approval tracking, management and distribution of digital files, an industry defined as digital asset management (DAM).  Widen speeds the approval process by allowing clients to instantly review the digital samples (digital assets) online and make comments, annotations, and order immediate changes.  Once the digitally produced file is approved by the client, they are available in a web-based, password protected, client-branded website where key internal marketing teams and external sales / distribution channels or retailers have access to download official product images.  Based on the level of permissions, users can download hi-resolution CMYK images for print use or lo-resolution RGB images for the web.  All files are instantly converted to the necessary output type from one master file type so that multiple formats of the same file do not need to be stored.  The Widen online DAM system is equipped with a number of features to manage images rights and access levels.  One of the hottest features and trends is publishing digital samples to online sources using digital asset embed links where the master file displayed online is referenced in the Widen DAM, which is the master repository.


 

Making a panoramic photo in Adobe Photoshop has never been easier. For this example I used four supplied digital asset files from one of my clients, the Madison Mallards baseball team. The images were taken from a high point of view. I’m not sure if a tripod was used, my guess was that these images were hand held. A conservative, but consistent, exposure was used.



Step 1: When shooting your panoramic try to keep the horizon level, a tripod is recommended.

Step 2:  “Lobotomize the camera”. Shoot with your camera on manual mode if possible. Assign the focus, exposure and White Balance so each image is consistent with the next.

Step 3: If shooting RAW, process the files with identical settings.

Step 4: Load the files into photoshop. Menu:file:automate:photomerge...

Step 5: For most images the “Auto” setting works with great success. Select “Blend Images Together” for a seamless composition. If your digital image files have dark corners, select “Vignette Removal”. Photoshop CS4 will automatically lighten those dark corners. If your photo has some lens distortions (barrel, pincushion, fish eye) select the “Geometric Distortion Correction” option. Photoshop will manipulate the images automatically.

Step 6: Click “Ok”.

The time it takes to generate the panoramic image is dependent on the number, size, and content of your host files, the options you select, your computer, etc... Most images are processed within minutes, if not faster.

When completed your panoramic image will be in a blended but rough format. From this point you will want to crop your file to a pleasing rectangle. You may also need to clone a bit in the corners to add image for a complete composition. Lastly, the image is now in a perfect state for any final post processing, color correction, digital manipulation, and artistic flare.

Keywords: Photoshop, CS4, Panoramic, Blending, Automation, Digital, Asset, Image, Alignment, Auto, Color Correction, Madison, Mallards, Color Retouching, Photography, Pano, Creative Software, Corporate Image Library, Digital Sampling, Digital Media Management

Since my last post in regard to Widen apparel marketing technology, An Inside Look at How NBA Hot Market Demands Are Met by Widen Digital Sampling & Digital Asset Management, I received emails from DICK’S Sporting Goods when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup Finals and again when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Finals.  (I’d like to think my previous blogs featuring the Penguins and Lakers had an impact on the outcome of the series, but I’m sure they didn’t!)  These timely marketing emails from DICK’S Sporting Goods announcing the availability of the official locker room championship merchandise use digital samples created by Widen. 

Widen Digital Sampling Process:

1. Photograph neutral color physical apparel samples
2. Digitally create all color swatches according to league approved team colors
3. Apply team and league graphics according to Adidas supplied technical guidelines
4. Upload final digital samples to web-based digital asset library for retail access

Using the online digital asset management workflow tools, Widen personnel route completed samples to the Adidas Sports Licensed Division marketing teams for approval.  Once approved digital samples are available for download, online retailers and catalogers use the Widen digital media conversion wizard to send and receive the images in the exact file formats and resolutions needed for web or print use.  That’s how digital samples for the championship hats and tees go from design to delivery just in time for you to purchase the merchandise online during the locker room celebration! 

How Apparel Digital Sampling Uses Consumer Buying Preferences

Notice how the Reebok and Adidas apparel styles are displayed with the three-quarter front view of the apparel sample on a mannequin.  Widen assisted a Reebok research study to understand consumer buying preferences for apparel sample images displayed in print and web media.  Widen compared which views were most preferred by sports apparel consumers and the three-quarter view was most preferred over the full frontal view (as displayed above in the DICK'S Sporting Goods email template).  By running reports on image distribution and access through the Widen image tracking system, Adidas is able to measure what styles are most popular.

Official Championship Apparel Samples Created by Widen

Displayed below are Reebok and Adidas hot market digital apparel samples (created by Widen premedia services and color retouching experts) for all three major sports champions declared in 2009: NFL Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, NHL Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins and NBA Finals Champion Los Angeles Lakers. 



For more information about Widen apparel marketing technology and services, check out the Widen Digital Sampling webpage.