Producing a consistent color across such an array of technology can leave one’s head spinning.
I love color. Color is my world.
As Senior Production Artist at DKY, one of the ways I serve our clients is by matching one color source to another. Simple as that may sound, it can be painful at times.
We work with a lot of variables in this field. Even within a fairly “standardized” environment, we work with a wide variety of printers and display screens. Producing a consistent color across such an array of technology can leave one’s head spinning. Adding to the confusion, there are also a wide variety of color matching systems, each with a slightly different color matching method.
Recently, for example, we worked to calibrate our Epson machine with Quantum Graphics, a trusted printer with whom we partner. P2P charts, iT8 charts, countless ICC profiles, and a number of iterations later, we finally reached the consistency we wanted and needed. This partner was immensely helpful in giving us the data necessary to create the ICC profiles that would eventually bring our printer into the same color profile as theirs.
Having printers that match means we can create design files and produce work that meets our clients’ brand and quality requirements. This also lets us send files to the printer with full confidence that the final proofs will match.
While this kind of in-depth work doesn’t always take center stage in high-level client conversations, our clients do ultimately see (and appreciate) the time and work that is needed. After all, quality is in the details.