Re: generic CMYK (Marco Ugolini)
Re: generic CMYK (Marco Ugolini)
- Subject: Re: generic CMYK (Marco Ugolini)
- From: Marco Ugolini <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:34:21 -0700
- Thread-topic: generic CMYK (Marco Ugolini)
In a message dated 4/12/10 6:54 PM, J.M.Lennon wrote:
> Marco,
>
> When faced with situations like this, I (as you recommend) try to talk
> with the prepress people/printer. But when that is not possible, is
> there any advantage to providing, for example, a US Web Coated (SWOP)
> v2 (or US Sheetfed Coated v2) rather than submitting a generic CMYK? I
> have a client who requests (IMHO) nonsense specifications *and*
> instructs me *not* to contact the printer/prepress ("because it isn't
> necessary"). I have been creatively getting around this, but there is
> no guarantee that I will be able to keep finding out who is printing
> the job.
Jim,
A few years ago I would have said that, yes, in the absence of clear and
precise specifications, you could have handed off files converted to US Web
Coated (SWOP) v2, because at the time it was possibly the most plausible
point of reference in North America. (When sending files to other countries,
the situation gets more complicated, though a number of North American print
conditions do get matched elsewhere as well, on occasion.)
But after the relatively recent introduction of GRACoL profiles, things are
now in a state of transition between the old and the new. More and more
print shops are becoming G7-certified, which is an excellent thing, and it's
possible to use GRACoL profiles with them when proving converted CMYK images
(though one should have a talk with them first).
So, choosing a "safe" CMYK print condition has become a bit more difficult,
but it's never easy to guess which specifications would be most appropriate
for any given vendor.
If the job is printed on a web press, a "safe" choice would have to be made
among 3 possibilities: US Web Coated (SWOP) v2 or GRACoL's
SWOP2006_Coated3v2 (for grade 3 paper) or SWOP2006_Coated5v2 (for grade 5
paper).
If the job is printed on a sheetfed offset press, the the "safe" choice
would be between US Sheetfed Coated v2 and GRACoL's GRACoL2006_Coated1v2
(for paper grades 1 and 2).
The GRACoL profiles can be freely downloaded from this URL:
<http://tinyurl.com/y8o87uy>
Note that both scenarios presented above (web press and sheetfed) assume the
use of COATED paper, not uncoated.
An additional complicating factor is that a number of print providers
probably do not truly match any of the commonly-accepted specifications
reflected by "standard" ICC output profiles like the ones I mentioned.
Instead, they end up producing final separations based on guesswork, rather
than ICC color-managed workflows, and then attempt to "edit" the results on
press (by changing any of a number of press controls). This often ends up
producing inferior results due to compromises which sacrifice the quality of
certain images and details for the sake of others deemed "more important"
across any individual printed sheet (the so-called "signature").
Sorry, but I do not see an easy answer to your question.
Best.
Marco Ugolini
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