The problem with standards is they are intentionally designed to allow print providers to closely match color on a wide variety of media, printed on any device, no matter what technology is being used. That’s great if you want the poster printed on your 12-color inkjet device to match the same image coming off a web press. But often, that’s not the best way to sell wide-format output. If you are covering the side of a building with an image, you want the colors to pop…
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To achieve great prints from your files, you can wait for the planets to align, and say a few of your favorite magic words. Or, you can prepare your files in a logical way using a structured workflow and set up a color-management system that works to better control the color and consistency of your output.

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The last five years have seen an increased emphasis on marketing accountability. Public companies especially must show shareholders a straight line between marketing expenditures and revenue growth, and have put increasing pressure on their marketing departments to deliver with high-ROI programs. The current economic meltdown has increased the emphasis on measurable results, while driving down marketing budgets.

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The idea that today’s color-management technology is capable of giving you “perfect” color is a myth. There’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to color; too many variables are involved that affect how we see color-including viewing conditions, temperature, humidity, paper and ink properties, and so on. Also entering into the mix is the fact that no two individuals see color in exactly the same way; each person’s brain processes and then interprets the various wavelengths of light (“color”) differently.

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Color proofing technology has come a long way in a short time, and it’s still not fully settled down. The definition of a “printer’s proof” in Webster’s New World Dictionary reads: “A trial impression pulled from composed type for checking against the original manuscript.” That proof, product of a bygone day, was based on an image in physical relief, from which the page was printed. In those days…

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