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If you are one of the millions of folks who assume that we are producing more accurate files for print today and that Adobe’s CS3’s conversion profiles reflect current printing technologies, you might want to think again. 
First, realize that the US Web Coated (SWOP) v2 profile is currently used for most of today’s print projects, regardless of [...]

I was just reflecting on the last decade of technological advancement in the publishing industry and thinking of all that we have accomplished. Let’s review:
Faster computers. Processing speed has increased exponentially. We process enormous-size files in mili-seconds. There are virtually no limits to our ability to push pixels around. I have 4 gigabytes of [...]

 
          In case you hadn’t noticed, printing images in the newspaper is an abysmal undertaking. While pretty much everyone knows that this morning’s newspaper is tonight’s birdcage liner, few people truly understand the stark reality of newsprint’s (lack of) dynamic range let alone what to do about it. [...]

What does unsharp masking have to do with image sharpening? Well… very little in one respect, but a lot quite a lot in another. The term originates from a very unlikely source. Check it out—
In the lithographic pre-digital world of color separations, continuous tone CMY negatives were produced by placing red (#25), blue (#47B), and green (#58) Wratten [...]

Not all printing presses operate the same. There are many different printing processes, each requiring a unique machine, and each transferring ink onto paper in a unique manor. Therefore, for best results, each of these presses deserve unique file preparation (profile conversion) to produce their best results. Press speed, paper quality, and ink viscosity play [...]

Have you ever wondered why printing companies request that files be sent to them in pre-separated CMYK format? Well, wonder no more…
While printers claim that they don’t want the responsibility of converting files to CMYK without the customer seeing the files after conversion from the larger RGB color space to the always-smaller CMYK space, that [...]

While you may have a different opinion about this, hear me out.
Digital cameras and scanners deliver RGB images for good reason… RGB images (of all persuasions) contain MUCH larger color gamuts than any CMYK color space on the planet. There is a very good reason to keep it this way all the way through editing [...]

 
When it comes to specifying an exact color, nothing beats the Pantone Matching System. Today this is more true than ever before. The transition that Pantone has experienced over the last two years has brought this already world-respected company into the digital twenty-first century. The company has completely reinvented itself with new digital specifications for [...]

 Sound like a silly question? Just look at what your computer screen calls white compared to a sheet of paper from your printer. Now look at the newspaper today. How about that white shirt in your closet. All slightly differing shades of white. 
Why is this important? Because in color management all measurement is based on [...]