Re: Color "matching"
Re: Color "matching"
- Subject: Re: Color "matching"
- From: Kim Christiansen <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 09:13:55 -0700
Stephen,
Color matching, whether to a PMS chip or to a piece of clothing is a
billable service. It has always been so. When I worked at a color pre-press
shop we had a standard price for a page with so many scans. Each scan over
that was so much extra and each color match was billed separately as a
special service. The only way your client never "paid" for this service was
a billing trick by another vendor. It's in there if you get a break it down
and look line by line. Cost of scans is $5 or $10 more per scan, page price
is more, proofs are more, whatever. If they didn't charge for that service,
they probably are not around any more.
As you probably know, it's hard to color-match under the best of
circumstances. In the "old" days, we had a guy who was our color matching
guru and he had quite a few years experience with YMCK process when I met
him. We output film of the loose color, pulled Waterproofs and started the
process of three to four rounds of internal color plus at least two rounds
of composed color to the client. Not cheap by any means. Pantone matching
was a little easier, but we matched PMS colors to our proofing system only
and we had a book we made to use as a reference. So we charged for it
because the book, made from Waterproofs, was more than a little expensive to
produce.
To get close with ICC you HAVE to have a neutral viewing environment, very
good profiles, very tight quality control on your output device (i.e. -
linearized, optimized whatever you want to call it in a stable environment),
and a good profile editor so you can match your proofing device to the CMYK
output space your aiming to hit. It's a little easier to get a close match
if your final output space is an inkjet as the gamut is larger on those
devices. But it still is not easy by any means and you should charge for it!
As for designers, well, I worked for an design agency as well. What can I
say, logic doesn't always work with creative types. But if you show them the
results of a viewing space with more neutral walls and a properly calibrated
monitor they may grasp the concept then. They may not change their wall
colors or position of their monitor, but they may learn to trust your output
more than their screen or comp, or maybe even buy a viewing booth to look at
their comps in.
Kim Christiansen
The MacSmith
Studio Systems Consulting
Member: Apple Consultants Network
www.themacsmith.cc
Tel 206-229-7725
>
From: "Stephen P. Clark" <email@hidden>
>
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 16:15:57 -0500
>
To: email@hidden
>
Subject: Color "matching"
>
>
Admittedly, today's ColorSync technology is much better than what came
>
before.
>
>
Confronted though by clients who insist that "we've never had this
>
problem before & we've never had to pay for color matching," then
>
supply digital files in CMYK, frequently with Pantone Solid Coated
>
colors called for & chips included, I wonder what others experiences
>
are: do print providers (offset, service bureau, wide-format, photo
>
lab, whatever) routinely absorb the costs associated with color
>
matching?
>
>
Is it reasonable to ask an additional fee for getting a close match to
>
a supplied color sample when the cost of doing the project is proposed
>
on a "print the file as received" basis?
>
>
Add then senior designers who insist on red-painted office walls and
>
south-facing windows behind their monitors, who buy the Pantone-to-RGB
>
color equivalent swatchbook & wonder why, when they choose a color &
>
plug the corresponding RGB values into an Illustrator file, don't get
>
matching colors back on their comps?
>
>
SP Clark
>
Chicago
>
_______________________________________________
>
colorsync-users mailing list | email@hidden
>
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives:
>
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/colorsync-users
>
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
_______________________________________________
colorsync-users mailing list | email@hidden
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives:
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/colorsync-users
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.