Re: SWOP proofs grade 3 paper colour
Re: SWOP proofs grade 3 paper colour
- Subject: Re: SWOP proofs grade 3 paper colour
- From: Todd Shirley <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:22:49 -0400
On Jul 8, 2009, at 7:48 AM, Graeme Bulcraig wrote:
Hi list,
I find the paper tint on SWOP3 proofs very strong/dense.
L*91.2 a*0.0 b*0.2
What do you mean? Those are almost perfectly neutral numbers. A bit
dark, perhaps.
Yes, I realise that in my haste to post, I really meant to say that
it feels very dark / dull.
Looking at many web offset printed magazines I have here, the paper
colour looks a lot whiter than what this SWOP 3 proof shows.
I read online somewhere that people in US were turning off paper
simulation on proofs (even though that makes them invalid).
Hi Graeme
For what it's worth, the official target numbers for SWOP Coated 3 are
L*92.5 a*0 b*0, so your numbers are a pit darker than the paper color
defined in SWOP2006_coated3. The problem with turning off paper
simulation (other than not being a "certified" proof) is that then
your white is whatever color the proofing stock is, and in my
experience this can vary wildly from stock to stock. The point of
picking a paper white color and sticking to it is that the color of
the paper is a huge factor in the overall appearance of images, so
just going to the color of the stock invalidates the concept of going
to a known visual specification. The proof becomes meaningless.
Quote:
Also while I lived in the US, proofing systems were always required
by their buyers to be "SWOP certified". But the first thing they
then requested were either a custom made profile or to turn this
strong paper tint off "
Also, the Fogra 39L paper simulation is a bit lighter than this.
L*93.5 to be exact. But I have seen some GMG 39L proofs coming from
Repro houses with the paper tint turned off fully.
I just wondered with the US paper colour is so dark, and if it was
common practice (albeit wrong practice) to turn off the paper tint
sometimes.
Sure, people have been cheating the system for years, and will
continue to do so, but that just moves away from accepted standards.
One acceptable cheat is that the ISO 12647-7 tolerance for paper white
for a "certified" proof is delta-E of 3, so you can get away with
bumping up the L value a point or so. Just remember that part of the
tolerance is to account for differences between different spectros, so
something that might be close to tolerance for you might read as out
of tolerance for the printer you send the proof to.
Regarding that actual paper color, I agree that it seems a bit darker
than most actual US publications. We've prepared ads and sent proofs
to hundreds of pubs, and we spend a lot of time reviewing the actual
printed magazines to see how well they reproduce. On the whole, a
certified SWOP 3 proof (paper white and all) is actually a pretty good
representation of how the piece will look. Some pubs use a brighter
paper, but some are right around 92-93 and there even a few with paper
down around 90 (NYT Magazine and Interview come to mind), so 92.5 is a
pretty good average to shoot for.
I say stick to the spec! It works well for us.
-Todd Shirley
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