Profiling/Color Management goals

[White Haus]

We have a tech here today and tomorrow to train us on a new Mimaki UCJV300-160 printer and we will also be getting some training on color management using our new i1 Publish Pro. We are using Onyx Thrive 19 and i1 profiler.

What I'm hoping to achieve:
-Understand the basic steps/concept of calibrating, linearalizing, and creating new custom profiles.
-Create custom profiles for our Roland XR-640, Oce 318gl, and Mimaki UCJV300-160 that produce predictable output that matches across all machines (Canned profiles out of Onyx for Roland/Mimaki are very limited to begin with)
-Learn how to scan a color and match it

I guess what I'm wondering is if you guys have any tips/advice on how to make the best of the training? Luckily we got the i1 a week ago so we have had a chance to play around with it. We calibrated a few monitors, created a couple of custom profiles for the flatbed, then weren't too sure where to go from there.
I have to say after only a couple of hours (and zero formal training) the results were pretty damn impressive with the last profile we created. Pantone colors were very close and the test images we were using were significantly better.

Is there a certain order that these things have to be done? It seems like there is some sort of workflow in i1 profiler but we were just guessing. I'm sure the tech will shed some light on this but just trying to get ahead and make the most out of training!

I've spent hours online but have yet to find any sort of detailed description of what steps (and in which order) should be taken to work towards implementing a color management systems with large format printers.

Thanks in advance, any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Fine Line Darrel]

Would you share who the "tech" is and how much the training cost? Also what model of i1 you purchased ( why that one? ) and where from? Am anxious to hear how you make out with your training....best of luck! Fine Line Darrel

 

[White Haus]

Would you share who the "tech" is and how much the training cost? Also what model of i1 you purchased ( why that one? ) and where from? Am anxious to hear how you make out with your training....best of luck! Fine Line Darrel

It's Rob from ND Graphics out of Calgary. He got our Mimaki set up yesterday and has been awesome to work with so far. The color management training alone was an extra $2400.
We went with the i1 Publish Pro 2 and I got it from Amazon. Tried looking online, talked to X-rite and Amazon was by far the cheapest. (Still over $3k, so not really cheap) I wanted to have the most options so chose the Publish Pro over the regular Basic Pro - I don't believe the Basic comes with the standalone software. Might be overkill for our demands but figured I'd do it once and do it right.

I'll definitely keep y'all posted as we progress. Really excited to get going on this training! (And of course play with the new toys)

 

[Andy D]

I would suggest that you have them show you how to profile your computer screens and desktop printer to match
your wide format printer. Life is much easier when the proof, computer screen and actual print is as close as possible.

 

[Andy D]

Also, in onyx there is a way to take a color reading of anything, similar to when you bring a pillow into Lowes and they
read the color to match a paint, have them show you that.
And when you are trying to hit a PMS color but your print color just looks wrong, you can measure the PMS book and the
print to see what the difference is.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

How do you like the printer so far?

 

[ColorCrest]

What I'm hoping to achieve:
-Understand the basic steps/concept of calibrating, linearalizing, and creating new custom profiles.
-Create custom profiles for our Roland XR-640, Oce 318gl, and Mimaki UCJV300-160 that produce predictable output that matches across all machines (Canned profiles out of Onyx for Roland/Mimaki are very limited to begin with)
-Learn how to scan a color and match it

The first step; calibrating.
My dictionary defines “calibrate” as to correlate readings to those of a standard. Being a color printer, the minimum standard is a gray scale which should be included with your i1 package.

You should also have at least two “standard” control files included with Onyx;
ONYX Quality Evaluation.pdf
ONYX_Photo_Quality_Test_Lab.tif

Open the files on your newly calibrated monitors and then print them on your newly calibrated machine to compare the grays against the color checker gray scale from i1. Important to notice; the option in Onyx to check / verify calibration is before any ICC color profiling steps. Therefor, ICC profiles are not invoked when printing the Onyx control files at this time. You're looking for neutral grays in both raster and vector elements.

You can correlate gray readings with the i1 and just visually amongst your group. If the process is not calibrated to gray, what is the process calibrated to as a standard?

 

[Andy_warp]

Colorcrest breaking it down! Awesome advice and concise direction!

Your spectro is not a tool you use to find a color!
It does a few things aside from standard calibrations.

- Shows you the limits of your color gamut. Ink is the direct driving force in this. My current ink sacrifices gamut for runability. It hurts sometimes, but is great in others.
We used to run jteck ink through an old mimaki. Profile was at delta e 1.6, but it was 50 50 if the print would make it.
Communicating these limits to your client establishes trust, and you can quickly preflight art when you know what you're working with.

-It also is the means of getting back to your profile should the environment change.
Like a new printhead/workstation/software app/main printer board

I would just say document everything! It can be redundant, but it pays in dividends.

If your printers are new...you are good. To anyone else venturing in to color management, there are other external factors to consider.

You must be getting perfect jet tests. If you build an awesome profile with a bad head, it dies and you install a new one you're kind of hosed.
Ink is flowing unobstructed. Flow can have a lot to do with overall print sustainability.

Make sure your media can handle the inkload, and your ink delivery system can keep up with the profile's demand.

Make sure your drying is working at full function. Note the humidity and document...it can bite you in the arse, seasonally.

It's great to test on 2' x 2' but to REALLY know if your profile is sustainable, try and print something bigger than typical.
For me it's typical to run a solid 10' tall x 30' wide fill of PMS 368C. Engineer your profile to avoid dropouts!

I have a test file I print every day that uses color combos drawing from all color channels. I use it every time I create a new print condition so I can always see where I started.

The other beauty of profiling is that once you have created a baseline of color control, even if you switch hardware you will be in the same ballpark.
You'll never perfectly match a print off of an old printer but way better than starting at ground level.

The last thing to remember is that canned profiles really bite the big one. Many people online will tell you workarounds, but if you want to get serious about your job go full on at it.

Congrats!

 

[Bly]

Onyx profiling is easy.
It guides you step by step.
The only step you need to look at a swatch and make judgements from the print is ink limits.
Your trainer should give you tips on that.
Also a few settings might need to be changed in the icc profile creation at the end.