Prepress Color Management

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. 

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.


  

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.

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
        

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Some of the color retouching work that comes across my plate is high end furniture. (Baker, Pennsylvania House, Canac, Durham, Thomasville, Broyhill, La-Z-Boy, Flexsteel, are all clients I have done extensive color correction and retouching for) If you have ever worked furniture you will know it’s tricky and tedious. Wood tones are tough to photograph and a considerable amount of prepress color correction is necessary for good quality separations on press (GRACoL, Swop 3, Swop 5, etc.). Every piece typically needs its own mask and the furniture group requires multiple asset versioning because of the countless possibilities of wood and finish types. I’ve quickly assembled an animated gif file showcasing some color manipulation for a typical furniture sell sheet. This particular scene is a file I worked many moons ago for Pennsylvania House. The scene required color and texture changes. Additionally, the customer required prop alterations and a window added.


The wood furniture was masked with a path via the pen tool. The plant was masked off using the green alpha channel with some dodging and burning. The rug textile was edited with vanishing point. Also, the window was added with vanishing point with additional cloning. The bed spread and pillow cases had shaping and bending via liquify. The shadow on the bench was created using an air brush with a fade. The final file on this particular shot was printed at approx. 9" x 12" at 300 dpi, 175 line screen, GCR 320 on a coated sheet fed stock.

Keywords: Color Retouching, Color Management, Catalog Production, Color Manipulation, Photo Composition, Premedia Services, Prepress Production