Production Color Management Guide

Transcription

1 Production Color Management Guide Unlimited options. Unlimited benefits. Services Guide

2 Ricoh Color Management Services Ricoh s new suite of color management services were developed in direct response to the consistent feedback we were getting from customers like you. Across the board, businesses are seeking new ways to maximize their investments and utilize their equipment to the fullest without having to make new investments in software and hardware. They re seeking color strategies that are fully aligned with business goals and that make sense for their particular environments: Run up productivity faster Reduce waste Retain and generate revenue Consistently achieve outstanding results Color management can be an art, science and engineering challenge. Our Color Management services were designed to obtain greater value from your technology investments, improve cost effectiveness and enhance quality and consistency by standardizing output across a fleet of color devices. Automating color management also helps drive productivity by decreasing operator intervention and increasing turnaround times. In short, proven processes and our expertise will improve your color accuracy, brand integrity and help build managed color workflows and image and application color. In the following pages, you ll have an opportunity to learn more about four new Color Management Services that can have a significant positive impact on your business. Our Advanced Color Management Service yields a customized color solution tailored to fit your specific business goals. A Ricoh Color GAP Analysis is a one-day service designed to uncover strengths within your facility and highlight opportunities for improvements as they relate to color management. The Color Conformance and Assistance service is an annual subscription to an ongoing quarterly or monthly Color Management Service, in which a Ricoh Color Expert establishes initial setup criteria and works with you to ensure that they are maintained over time. Lastly, Ricoh s G7 Master Printer Qualification is a 2-3 day service that trains operators on how to achieve G7 output and guides you through the official process of achieving G7 Master Printer status. None of these new Color Management Services are exclusive to customers who own or lease Ricoh equipment. In fact, any printer, with any type of color reproduction equipment such as printers, cameras, scanners, monitors, and even measurement devices, can take advantage of these unique services.

3 1 Ricoh G7 Master Printer Qualification G7 is a method of calibration based on a neutral gray scale printed with CMYK. G7 calibration is applicable to all CMYK printing processes from offset, to inkjet, toner, flexography, gravure and even screen print. A G7 Master Printer is a site or facility that has proven to be capable of producing high quality results with G7 calibrated equipment. G7 calibration can preserve the gamut of each printer, while achieving a visual appearance match on a variety of media on any CMYK printer. In other words, print buyers who use a variety of printed material, such as marketing collateral, direct mail, signage, packaging, hats, and t-shirts want a similar visual appearance throughout. G7 is one of the most efficient ways to achieve a common appearance across all CMYK printing technologies. Smart ways to apply G7 Wide and grand format printing devices typically have a much larger gamut than conventional offset or toner based devices. While it s possible to color match grand format and conventional offset, it rarely leads to pleasing results. Clipping the gamut of a grand or wide format printer to the gamut of a conventional offset press leads to banners and signs that lack in saturation, punch, or pop. G7 can be applied to not clip a device s gamut, yet still achieve a common visual appearance across all CMYK printing processes. This means that banners retain high saturation, but still match the look of brochures or flyers printed on conventional offset or toner based equipment.

4 The qualification process Only one print device per site or facility is required to become a G7 Master Printer, but including additional printers to the qualification process will lead to additional benefits in operating procedures and equipment utilization. The qualification service typically takes two to three days, but may vary depending on the type of equipment, the number, and the condition of devices included in the service. A Ricoh G7 Expert will train your operator on the most effective way to achieve G7 output on all included printers. Ricoh s G7 Experts will also guide you through the process of printing the required test targets and will generate all paperwork for the submission of the final documentation to IDEAlliance and RIT. Once the qualification service is complete, the print site or facility will then be designated a G7 Master Printer proving itself capable of producing accurate results with G7 equipment, and opening doors to countless new opportunities. There are a multitude of benefits in becoming a G7 Master Printer, ranging from new ways to market your business to improved, internal standard operating procedures to baseline the environment and to minimize waste of time and resources. The following are a few examples of what it means to join the ranks of G7 Master Printers: G7 Master Printers stand out from the competition with their G7 Master designation the only business qualification in the industry related to color management excellence. G7 Master Printers can promote their G7 color excellence qualification on company business cards, point of purchase signs, and websites, and drive new business. G7 Master Printers join an elite group of printers listed on the IDEAlliance website THE resource for print buyers who need to connect with an expert printer. G7 Master Printers can produce consistent results on any of their CMYK printers a valuable skill for producing marketing campaigns on multiple printing technologies. G7 Master Printers are able to achieve color consistency on multiple platforms in various geographic locations, which saves time and shipping costs, and increases engine utilization. G7 Master Printers have the potential to increase profits by running up to productivity faster with minimal waste of time and material, reduced press checks, more accurate proofing, and faster color correction. Ricoh s G7 Master Printer Qualification service is not exclusive to customers with Ricoh equipment. This service is available to customers with conventional offset, web, inkjet, large, wide, and grand format, flexo, gravure, screen print, toner based, and any other CMYK printing device. At the end of the G7 Master Printer qualification process, you will receive the official IDEAlliance G7 Master Printer designation and your operators will have the knowledge to maintain and operate all G7-calibrated printers based on the correct G7 methodology. * Note that a network membership with IDEAlliance is required in order to become an IDEAlliance G7 Master printer.

5 2 Ricoh Color Conformance and Assistance Service Ricoh s Color Conformance and Assistance Service is an annual subscription to either a monthly or quarterly color management service. As part of the initial setup, you and a Ricoh G7 Expert or CMP Master work together to determine achievable color management goals based on your requirements, environment, staff, and equipment. Once those initial setup criteria have been established, a set of procedures and recommendations can be made so that you consistently hit specific business goals every time. Also, depending on the desired level of service selected, a Ricoh Color Expert will assist you on an ongoing basis, either monthly or quarterly, to help maintain that initial setup over time. This service is not exclusive to customers with Ricoh equipment. Customers with any type of equipment from any manufacturer can subscribe to this service. In addition, criteria for initial setup are not limited to printing devices, and can also include or be exclusively based on any other color reproduction equipment, such as cameras, scanners, monitors, and even measurement devices. Examples for initial setup criteria include: State of device at start of service (i.e. device snapshot) Simulation of industry standards or specifications (i.e. SNAP, SWOP, GRACoL, G7, etc.) Based on accuracy of spot colors (i.e. Pantone, HKS, custom named colors) Standard Operating or Design Procedures Monitor/Display QC and Soft Proofing Accuracy With a subscription to Ricoh s Color Conformance and Assistance service, you can achieve the highest quality results with the equipment you already own. The guiding nature of this service allows you to learn color management tasks specific to your environment throughout the subscription service term, and ultimately leads to self-sufficiency. Additional benefits of this service include: Neutral, objective, vendor independent service Achieve a custom-built color management at reasonable costs Get outstanding results with minimum effort, and without having to purchase expensive new hardware or software Get the most out of your existing equipment Achieve incredible results without any previous color management knowledge or experience Save by not having to send staff to training or needing to hire additional color savvy employees

6 3 Ricoh Color GAP Analysis The Color GAP Analysis is a one-day service, designed to uncover current strengths as well as highlight opportunities for improvement within a print facility. It begins with an initial interview with the business owner(s) to gain a broad overall view of the print operation s color processes, gain perspectives and insight, and identify specific color management goals. Following the executive interview, your Ricoh Color Expert will explore the effectiveness of your current operating procedures, equipment and staff as it relates to color management. Depending on your equipment, the Ricoh Color GAP Analysis may include some or all of the following: Stakeholder interviews Meetings with design staff on current design practices Production staff meetings on current production procedures and color verification processes Equipment and material evaluation Printing equipment (conventional and digital presses, proofing systems, etc.) Scanning equipment Photography equipment Measurement devices Standard house stocks and other substrates Consumables (plates, proof material, ink sets, etc.) Evaluation of software used (versions, updates available, etc.) Staff evaluation Color deficiency and color blindness tests with main operators and design staff Color tolerance tests with operators and designers Environment evaluation Workflow and job ticket process analysis (MIS, planning, estimating, purchasing) Test lighting and viewing conditions Quality control process inspection Supplier and procurement inspections The results of the Color GAP Analysis are then documented in a detailed report along with a best practices recommendation to achieve the highest level of color accuracy and repeatability without any additional investments in hardware, software, staff, and environment. The report then compares the outcome of the analysis with the goals from the initial interview and outlines recommendations to improve workflows, standard operating procedures, environmental conditions and staff education if necessary. As with all other Ricoh Color Management Services, this service is not limited to customers with Ricoh equipment. It is applicable to any environment with any color reproduction device from any manufacturer.

7 4 Ricoh Custom Color Management In order to develop customized color management solutions, Ricoh USA partners with major industry leaders, such as Xrite, Pantone, CGS Oris, EFI, Kodak, JUST Normlicht, among many others. These partners and their industry leading products, paired with Ricoh s nationwide force of certified color management experts, enables us to provide you with the best solutions the industry has to offer. All Ricoh Custom Color Management Services are completely customized solutions, and they re tailored and scaled to fit any business goal in any individual environment. A Ricoh Color Management Expert will develop a customized color management strategy and lead the Ricoh project team through the implementation. The goal is to provide a solution that may include professional services, standard operating procedures, software, and hardware to achieve any color management goal in the most economic way. Custom color management solutions can be aimed at reducing production time and waste, increasing productivity, improving color verification processes, unifying decentralized stakeholders, the education of design and production staff, or simply ensuring existing equipment performance. Examples for Ricoh Custom Color Management may include, but are not limited to: Unified color management in multiple locations nationwide or worldwide Development of customized design and standard operating procedures Cloud-based, automated reporting of production site equipment status and environment including temperature and humidity for trending analysis Simulation of same appearance on multiple output devices with master gamuts Desktop and remote soft proofing Development of quality control procedures to hold vendors and suppliers accountable Custom color workflow development from image capture, through design, to production Customized training for operators and end users Reducing your carbon footprint

8 Ricoh Americas Corporation, 70 Valley Stream Parkway, Malvern, PA 19355, RICOH Ricoh and the Ricoh Logo are registered trademarks of Ricoh Company, Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Ricoh Americas Corporation. All rights reserved. The content of this document, and the appearance, features and specifications of Ricoh products and services are subject to change from time to time without notice.