Step 2 in Color Management: Printer and Media Color Gamut

In Step 1 of the color management to-do list we discussed how the quality of your monitor impacts the precision of your output. Step 2 of 3 focuses on understanding how your printer and the inkjet media choices affect color.

Print accuracy doesn’t rely solely on your use of a custom profile and an accurate monitor, though these two components guide you toward the closest possible result. There are two additional variables that can have a big impact on the types of colors you can hit with any printer…

The first is the gamut of the printer. How an ink is formulated in order to print a Coca-Cola red or a Pepsi blue, for example, may differ slightly from technology to technology.

These days I field a lot of questions about choosing between an 8-color system and a 12-color system.  Or, should I use the 9-color or the 11-color printer? Is there a noticeable difference between them?

The answer is yes, there is a noticeable difference any time you add colors. However, the next question I usually follow up with is, “What are you using the printer to print?”

When considering printing technology, there are printers made for higher-speed production (HP Z5200, Canon S Series, Epson T Series, to name a few) that can print a sellable photographic image, but would not be the ideal to use for an artist, photographer or fine art reproduction house. These printers have fewer inks, which cuts down on gamut but improves on speed in most cases.

If you’re in the market for a printer, talk to a LexJet customer specialist and explain the market you are in. We will make sure that you are using the right equipment for the job.

If you are seeing a color that is in your photograph or art piece that you just can’t nail with your printer, it may be out of gamut for the printer or out of gamut for the media you chose to print to.

If you’ve calibrated the monitor, make sure your printer is running at 100 percent capacity, that you’ve soft-proofed the image with the chosen rendering intent, and used a specific printer profile to print. If it still doesn’t portray what’s on your screen, then either of the above mentioned may be at fault.

Now I just spit out a bunch of jargon that may be foreign to you, so click on the links to the tutorials here to find out more…

Download and install ICC Profiles:

PC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W-F-k8z5io

MAC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuOhztAqoyY

How to Softproof before Printing using Photoshop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahf9yEPO4zA

How to print using ICC Profiles (find your printer and computer combination):

http://www.youtube.com/user/LexJet/search?query=Printing+Through

Color gamut difference between a gloss and matte photo paper.
Figure 1 shows the difference in gamut between a gloss and a matte paper in the high, mid and low range of color (top to bottom). The gloss paper is our Sunset Gloss Photo Paper (red line) and the matte our Premium Archival Matte Paper (green line) as profiled on the Canon IPF8400 with the X-Rite DTP70. Click on the image for a larger version.

You can’t do anything to increase the gamut of the printer, but you can make the right decision based on your needs at the time you purchase the equipment. Making sure you use the right equipment for the type of work you are doing will dramatically increase the quality of your print.

Our second extremely important variable to understand is the media with which you choose to print. The less reflective the media, the less light that reflects back into your eyes, and therefore, the lower the gamut and detail your print will realize (see Figure 1).

Artists have come to love matte watercolor papers and canvas, yet always demand the best color on those surfaces. This is where the owner or production manager at a fine art reproduction house runs into the biggest conflict.

The reflectivity of your media is not the only aspect of the printable supplies that affects color outcome.  White point can change your gamut as well. The brighter the white point, the more gamut you’ll pick up, not to mention an increase in that lovely term the experts like to use, Dmax, which is the darkest measurable value your printer-media combination can hit.

For canvas, Sunset Select Gloss Canvas has the highest dynamic range and color gamut of the canvas offerings LexJet produces. The highest-gamut matte canvas is our Sunset Select Matte Canvas, which has a very punchy white base. Partnering the Sunset Coating line with Sunset Select Matte Canvas has been a very popular choice amongst artists and photographers.

If you are trying to appease the artist crowd who prefer fine art papers, the highest-range matte paper is Sunset Fibre Matte (a very smooth bright-white fiber cellulose paper). If you need 100% cotton with a smooth finish, Sunset Hot Press Rag will be close behind.

If they would like texture on their cotton paper our latest addition to the line is Sunset Bright Velvet Rag.  This paper has the highest Dmax of our cotton line and prints very elegant-looking velvet-textured prints.

On the photographic side of media options, all of our bright white glossy and semi-glossy fibre-based papers put out a phenomenal range. They are all meant to emulate different versions of old-style air dried chemical bath papers that film photographers were used to exposing in the darkroom. These papers include Sunset Fibre Gloss, Sunset Fibre Elite and Sunset Fibre Satin.

Our newest paper in this category is Sunset Fibre Rag, which is 100% cotton and has a warm tone to the base. Even though it is warm in tone, the range is very large and the texture is very fitting to that style of paper.

For RC photo-based paper replicas, nothing tops the gamut of the Sunset Photo Gloss Paper. It reflects the most light, has a high-gloss wet-looking surface like one you would receive from a photo lab providing chemical-style glossy prints.

Also ever so popular for printers looking for a beautiful thick luster paper (e-surface) is our Sunset Photo eSatin Paper. This paper has a very cool white point and the surface is the most popular amongst the RC-emulating class of papers.

LexJet will provide you with the ICC profiles for every media above mentioned. If we do not list one here for your technology we will happily make one for you free of charge! Next time, we’ll tackle Step 3 in the color management to-do list: understanding ICC Profiles and settings. In the meantime, feel free to call us any time at 800-453-9538 with questions.

Museum Wall Murals Made Simple

Triad Creative Group Produces Wall Murals for a Museum
Triad Creative Group printed historical wall murals on LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Vinyl laminated with LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Gloss UV Laminate. Triad applied subtle duotones to the images to complement the general color scheme of each exhibit.

 

Illustrating history can be tricky, but that’s why you leave it to consummate professionals like Triad Creative Group, Brookfield, Wis., which specializes in producing brilliant displays for museums and trade shows.

Museum Wall MuralTriad Creative Group won the bid to provide graphics for the Wade House Visitors Center and Carriage House shortly after the opening of the 38,000 square foot facility in Greenbush, Wis.

The specifications for the 18 wall murals depicting horse-drawn apparatus and their use throughout history originally called for prints produced with eco-solvent inks. Triad Creative Group took that specification to the next level with the purchase of an HP Designjet L26500 latex inkjet printer from LexJet.

“We had been in conversations with Kara Work [Triad’s LexJet customer specialist] about upgrading to the HP latex printer. I discussed latex-based prints on vinyl as a way to meet the specifications with our designers and this project pushed us toward purchasing the printer. It was such a huge job it virtually paid for the printer,” says John Toth, project manager for Triad Creative Group.

Museum Wall MuralsOnce the printer was selected, installed and ready to go, the next step was choosing the right material.

Toth was looking for something economical, that would image well and would be simple to work with at the installation site. Work recommended LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Vinyl laminated with LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Gloss UV Laminate.

“It’s a very nice material; it’s very forgiving on a multi-panel project like this. You need the ability to stick it down and pull it back up, which this allowed us to do with its air-egress liner. The color gamut and imagery looks incredible. All the archived photographs that we scanned and put into use with Simple Flo really popped,” says Toth.

Inkjet Printed Wall MuralsMost of the murals, which ranged from 8′ x 10′ to 12′ x 15′, were applied to wood frames with primed MDF faces offset from the wall, another was applied to Sintra and a few were applied directly to the walls. “The Simple Flo adhered beautifully to all the surfaces. It was also easy to trim, so I was very pleased with how it performed,” says Toth.

Mural application began in February and the rest were installed as the exhibits were finalized throughout the museum, with the final wall mural applied last week. It was essentially a year-long project as plans were made and Triad scanned and touched up the historical photos that would be used.

Donor Wall Graphics
The donor wall consists of LexJet Sunset Velvet Rag SUV applied to 6mm Sintra with 1/4″ glass stood off the image an inch. The glass has second-surface vinyl lettering. The portrait panel is Sunset Velvet Rag applied to Sintra.

“The photos weren’t in great condition, so we had to re-touch them in Photoshop. Depending on the location within the museum, each area has its own color designation. They’re all grayscale images, but a duotone was applied based on the color scheme of the area in which they were installed. The reddish ones, for instance, were tied to a firefighting theme,” explains Toth.

Triad also used LexJet Sunset Velvet Rag SUV for the donor wall that Toth says was a nice complement to the overall project.

“Kara was very helpful with finding the right media for this project. She is awesome, not just from the sales end, but from a technical support aspect. She’s very knowledgeable about media for different applications. She’s always been there for us,” adds Toth.

Next-Generation KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Papers Introduced

Brand Management Group (BMG), which signed a trademark licensing agreement with Kodak in Q4 2011, introduces the next generation of KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Papers, Glossy Finish and Lustre Finish.

New luster and gloss photo papersBoth papers have been updated to take advantage of the wide color gamut and improved ink technology of the latest generation wide format inkjet printers from Canon, Epson and HP. They are expected to be available at LexJet by the end of the month. To find out about availability and to pre-order, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

“Photographers and imaging professionals who have relied on the quality and consistency of KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper, Glossy Finish and KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper, Lustre Finish will get that and much more from these next-generation papers,” says Justin Lehman, Brand Management Group vice president. “And, they retain the Kodak Professional watermark so the discerning end use customer knows they’re getting the high quality they expect from Kodak photo papers.”

Wider color gamut with photo paper
Color testing with Monaco Gamutworks reveals a larger color gamut and higher Dmax to ensure that colors captured in-camera reproduce more accurately, while producing deeper, richer blacks, an expanded dynamic range and additional detail in shadow areas.

Color testing with Monaco Gamutworks reveals a larger color gamut and higher Dmax to ensure that colors captured in-camera reproduce more accurately, while producing deeper, richer blacks, an expanded dynamic range and additional detail in shadow areas.

Moreover, the next-generation inkjet photo papers have been engineered to lay flat with little to no curl for smooth, trouble-free print production for a variety of photographic, fine art and display applications. Both inkjet papers are instant-dry with a bright white point and are compatible with dye and pigmented inks.

KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper, Glossy Finish weighs in at 255 gsm with a smooth, high-gloss finish for maximum impact. KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper, Lustre Finish weighs in at 255 gsm with a satin finish similar to E-surface papers used in traditional darkroom printing.

Both resin-based inkjet photo papers are available in various sheet and roll sizes up to 60 inches wide from Brand Management Group’s network of worldwide distributors, which includes LexJet.

Epson SureColor S30670 Printer Review

Wide format inkjet printer reviewLexJet’s director of technical support, Adam Hannig, has been putting Epson’s new SureColor S30670 low-solvent inkjet printer through its paces over the past few months.

“With great image quality, better print speeds and improvements in media loading and the take-up reel system, Epson has taken a big step forward with its second generation of solvent printers,” says Hannig.

The new SureColor printer includes a variety of new features to aid in faster, more efficient and higher fidelity production printing, such as a take-up reel system designed for unattended production of large print runs, a LiftAssist that allows one operator to handle heavy roll media, a high-capacity ink system and print speeds of up to 619 square feet per hour in draft mode, and more.

Though there are improvements on the GS6000 found in the SureColor S30670, Epson’s Reed Hecht says the printer is not designed as a replacement. Rather, the GS6000 is geared toward applications for print shops that require a wider color gamut and need to hit specific spot colors, while the SureColor is geared more toward high-quality production at an entry-level price point.

You can hear more from Adam about the S30670, and its new features, in the video embedded below. If you have any questions about Epson’s newest printer technology, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Gambling on Wall Graphics

Inkjet printing wall murals and decor

They say (whoever they are) that, one way or another, the House always wins, so there’s nothing better than a situation in which everyone wins. Such was the case with a recent wall graphics project Imagine This Banners completed for a casino in West Virginia.

Casino decor and wall graphicsImage This Banners, headquartered in Charleston, W.V., covered four walls at the casino, effectively transforming those spaces and setting a unique atmosphere. Two of the walls were 50 feet long by 6 1/2 feet tall, another was 22 feet long and 8 feet tall, and the fourth wall was 15 feet long by 10 feet tall.

Imagine This Banners used Photo Tex PSA Fabric from LexJet for the project, and owner Greg Harpold says it was the first time they installed an adhesive-backed wall mural of this size though he’s been evangelizing on behalf of this application for years.

Applying inkjet printed wall graphics“When I first got into the large-format business in 2005 I was attending a lot of trade shows like SGIA and I was intrigued by the wall wraps. I come from a theatrical, stage lighting, film and television background and it was a natural thing for me to latch in because digital inkjet printing makes fantastic backdrops, as well as the ability to change and create atmosphere quickly,” says Harpold. “I’m hoping that it will run like wildfire and open the door for more of this type of application.”

Image This Banners, by the way, is the design and large-format printing arm of an international multi-media company with additional offices in Toronto and London that includes Jaguar Education, which produces educational materials for schools. “Large format printing was a natural spinoff for us; we enlarged our basic formats for posters, mascot banners, floor graphics, wall graphics, pole banners… you name it,” Harpold says.

Installing interior wall decor imagesHarpold adds that he had previously pitched the casino on wrapping the walls a few years ago. The casino finally came around, designed a concept and called Imagine This Banners to see if they could pull it off.

Harpold admits to being a bit nervous about the project since, as mentioned earlier, they had not completed a project of this scope with adhesive-backed materials. Fortunately, the choice of Photo Tex soon put any misgivings to rest.

“I have learned a lesson or two when it comes to installing large adhesive graphics and some materials are very unforgiving. If you drop them or position them wrong you might be starting the entire install over or damaging the surface that you are applying to, but Photo Tex is a blessing for its ease of application since it’s repositionable and can be easily corrected if it sticks where you don’t want it to stick,” says Harpold. “I would totally suggest using foam-covered squeegees when it comes to applying Photo Tex. This technique really helps protect the artwork and allows you to focus on the job at hand.”

Greg Harpold
Greg Harpold, owner of Imagine This Banners, Charleston, W.V.

Harpold says the client is “absolutely stoked,” all the way through the organization from top to bottom. Part of its success, beyond the relatively easy installation, was the color gamut provided by the Canon iPF9000 printer, which Harpold says is especially important for hitting flesh tones.

“My production manager and righthand gal Tracy Rogers was completely floored by the print quality of Photo Tex and the ease of its application. She has been with me through thick and thin and said this job was, by far, a total success because Photo Tex gave us such latitude in both printing and installation,” says Harpold. “Also, working with Jaimie Mask [Imagine This Banner’s personal customer specialist] and the valuable information she provided regarding the product really helped us move toward Photo Tex as our choice of material for this project.”

Best of Both Worlds: New Sunset Photo Paper Combines Fibre and Cotton Rag

Fine art printing on a fibre based cotton ragLexJet has just introduced Sunset Fibre Rag 335g as an answer to the call from photographers and fine art reproduction companies looking for the high-end air-dried look and feel on a 100 percent cotton rag base.

“This paper has a great Dmax, the color gamut is pretty amazing and the surface is nice,” says Jon Scott, owner of JS Graphics Inc., a fine art reproduction company based in Chicago. “It also comes in various sheet and roll sizes, which is great, because it gives us more flexibility in our printing. I also like working with LexJet because the pricing is fair, I like the products and I can get what I need tomorrow. I love that. We can’t afford to keep everything on the shelf, so we basically order on-demand when we need it.”

Sunset Fibre Rag is available in 8.5″ x 11″, 13″ x 19″ and 17″ x 22″ sheets and 17″ x 50′, 24″ x 50′, 36″ x 50′, 44″ x 50′ and 60″ x 50′ rolls. It has a subtle gloss finish with a very subtle textured surface with no optical brighteners, though it has a very bright neutral white point.

“Like all of our Sunset fine art and fine photo inkjet papers, this latest addition was developed to maximize the latest ink and printer technology from Canon, Epson and HP,” says LexJet product manager Alex Ried. “Sunset Fibre Rag builds on the Sunset Fibre line, applying the inkjet technology used in that line to a cotton rag base; that’s the secret sauce that makes this paper an excellent addition to anyone’s arsenal of inkjet printable materials.”

Sunset Fibre Rag 335g, like all LexJet and Sunset products, comes with a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee, as well as $9.99 flat-rate shipping from LexJet’s nationwide network of distribution centers for quick, economical and hassle-free product delivery.

For more information, and to order, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.