In the move to wide-format output, have your cross-substrate colour matching headaches increased? In today’s printing environment, one of the biggest challenges is the matching of colour across various substrates – from paper, to styrene to wood and more.
Paper mills are responding to global competition and marketplace trends by adding Optical Brightening Agents (OBA) to paper. These agents absorb invisible ultraviolet (UV) and fluoresce-emitting blue light. The extra blue light neutralizes the paper’s yellow cast, making it appear whiter and brighter. However, OBA invariably causes major challenges in colour measurement and colour management.
New generation spectrophotometers now provide D50 illumination that includes a UV component specified in the ISO lighting and viewing standard. The measurement conditions are referred to as the “M” condition. When printing by numbers to match a reference printing condition, the substrate should be as similar as possible to the white point in the ICC profile. If not, the colourimetric aims are difficult to achieve. To compensate for different substrate colours, a mathematical technique called Substrate Corrected Colourimetric Aims or SCCA should be used. In fact, research conducted by P. Cheng of RIT concludes that OBA cause the mismatch between the default soft proof and the OBA-loaded print. Also, source ICC profiles built from both a fully characterized dataset and an SCCA solution, can improve colour matching between the soft proof and the OBA-loaded print. Finally, colour matching between the soft proof and the print is image-dependent in 1/4 quartertone highlights.
If all this sounds complicated (and it is!), Steve Suffoletto, one of North America’s leading colour specialists, will guide attendees on how to use SCCA and M-1 to achieve the best cross-substrate colour matching possible at a conference in Toronto later this month. Suffoletto has presented to the DIA a number of times, and has twice hosted the DIA’s Colour Olympics. He is a graduate of RIT, and a colour specialist who’s been involved in the implementation of colour control at printing plants throughout the world. Of course, he is also a knowledgeable and skilled presenter. If you’re involved in any aspect of colour management, no matter how minor, this presentation is a must-attend for you.
Digital Imaging Association
www.digitalimagingassoc.ca
