ASMP Lecture at Ray Street Studios

ASMP Lecture at Ray Street Studios
Originally uploaded by colorcritical.

I will be speaking to individuals from the American Society of Media Photographers at Ray Street Studios, 3426 Ray Street, San Diego in North Park on Tuesday Februrary 28th. The lecture will be about color management, including Microsoft's recent development in Vista to evolve the current color management system. This new system is called WCS, Windows Color System. I will also discuss The Mysteries of CMYK, do a CS2 Color Managed demo, talk about today's photographic roles, discuss the questions photographers need to ask their clients, and finally give some personal recomendations. If your interested in attending this informal discussion pplease vsit the ASMP-SD site.

ASMP promotes photographers' rights, educates photographers in better business practices, produces business publications for photographers and helps buyers find professional photographers. ASMP was founded in 1944 by a handful of the world's leading photojournalists and is recognized internationally for its leadership role. ASMP has over 5,000 members, including many of the world's greatest photographers, in 40 chapters nationwide.

Thanks to Jamie Smith, William Morton, Fred Greaves, and Ray Street Studios for making this event possible.

Integrated Color Management with GMB Profilemaker- 4 Day GIA Seminar

Integrated Color Management
Originally uploaded by colorcritical.

This week I taught the 4 Day Seminar entitled Integrated Color Management with a full house. The attendees were from all over the world including Columbia and Indonesia. Thanks to Neil, Sen Wei, Tanya, Wesley, Juan, Jon, and Carlos. This comprehensive 4-day program is the best way for graphics industry professionals to learn all of the components of color management. From calibration to workflow, attendees fully understand the creation and integration of profiles for cameras, scanners, monitors and printers to get outstanding color throughout their workflow.

In a small classroom workshop, we covered all aspects of GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker, including profile creation, tweaking and judging. We also address workflow issues including matching Pantone® colors, setting up desktop applications, batch conversions and using color measurement instruments.

Attendees created their own color-managed workflow at their own fully-equipped workstation and was able to get matching colors from original to final print at the conclusion of the course. We also discuss how to communicate color management with your customers and eliminate color workflow bottlenecks. Whether you have a desktop inkjet or are going out to press, this class will help you get the color you expect every time.

Participants receive a certificate of completion, presentation handouts, GIA’s Need to Know: Digital Basics and Need to Know: Color manuals.



Who Should Attend
Anyone with color issues should attend! That includes: photographers, digital print shops, commercial printers, graphic designers, resellers, color consultants and manufacturers.


Agenda

Color Management Review
• Basics of color
• How the color management process works
• Human perception issues

ProfileMaker
• Capture Profiles
• Camera
• Scanner
• Display Profiles
• Monitor types
• Settings
• Viewing conditions
• Output Profiles
• Calibration
• RGB profiling
• CMYK linearization and ink limits
• CMYK profiling
• n-color
• Advanced Profiling
• Press
• Grand Format

Measure Tool
• Correcting for print variation
• Calibration issues
• Verification

ProfileEditor
• Using ProfileEditor tools to tweak profiles
• Updating CMYK profiles
• Evaluating and comparing color gamuts

Setting Up Applications
• Adobe® Photoshop®

• Acrobat®
• QuarkXPress™
• OS options, Mac OS X
• Handling capture to application
• Customer file to application
• Embedded profiles
• Client coordination

Soft Proofing
• Adobe
• Quark

Working Spaces to Print
• Adobe
• Quark
• RGB Driver
• CMYK RIP
• RIP vs. application color management
• Proofing

Spot Color Matching
• Using ICC profiles to build Pantone color libraries
• Matching actual Pantone vs. process colors
• Application setup
• RIP options
• Eye-One Share / Color
• Color Picker
• CXF color sharing

Batch Processing
• iQueue

Case Study Workflows
• Photo lab
• Sign shop
• Commercial printer

Daniel J. Cox of Natural Exposures - Bozeman, Montana.

Daniel J Cox of Natural Exposures
Originally uploaded by colorcritical.

I had the pleasure this last week to working with celebrated photographer Dan Cox of Natural Exposures. Although Dan was on a shoot in Africa I worked with his very knowledgable internal staff setting up a comlete color managed workflow. Printing to a hp Designjet 130nr and an hp Photosmart 8750, Natural Exposures hopes to get the absolute best quality in printing. I along with Kimberly Brown-Azzerello of hp implemented and audited a workflow of custom ICC conversions and soft-proofing. Bozeman Montana is absolutely beautiful and thanks to Beth and her team of smart and capable interns for making my stay so pleasant.

Thanks Everyone for a Wonderful 2005!

Christmas 2005
Originally uploaded by colorcritical.

I want to personally thank a few people and organizations that have helped COLORCRITICAL have the best year ever. First I want to thank my lovely wife Justine and son of 3 years Lucas for putting up with my crazy travel schedual and for letting me know that being a father and husband is the greatest job anyone can have and that the true secret to life is balance. So here is to you Ag Clan!

I want to thank the GIA and GMB for their incedible belief in my services and for the wonderful opportunities COLORCRITICAL has been offered. The GIA and GMB are wonderful companies who have nothing but integritiy in everyting they do. In particular I want to thank a few individuals at the GIA. Eric Harsh, thanks for believing in my abilities as a consultant and trainer. Will Holland, thanks for your unbeleivable presence in being an educated speaker, your ability to woo a crowd is inspiring. Thanks Rick Scrimger for the new business and the new music... and Ben Wolf, thanks for endless business and the tour of suburban London, you drive like a real man! Morgan Cox, thanks for your contribution to my knowledge base, you are a Rock Star! Andy Scrimger, you will be missed...I appreciate all the help you have given me. I only wish for my sake you didn't get a better job. Juniper Sage, thanks for being a great Seminar Cordinator...you have yet to let me down on the road. John Bryson, I can always count on you to bounce ideas off of and enjoy our conversations immensly. Mike LaRocca, thanks for being organized when sending me to an on-site, it makes the job that much more successful. And thanks to Terri Bell for your pateince and for being on the ball when it comes to money. You are a gift to any organization. And seriously thanks to the whole GIA East staff for being so helpful to myself as a contractor. Your professionalism is amazing. I also want to Thank Bill Merritt and Paul Hultgren of GMB for their advice and direction. I appreciate our relationship immensly.

I also want to thank my team here at encompus : a creative collaborative. We have done so much this year to build the new studio and it's looking great. So here is to US! Marc Hedges, thanks for just being you, I am sure you are my unoffical brother. I love the energy you bring to the group. It's so friendly and open. Terry Parish thanks for being the "Spark" in the group, you really get us all thinking in the right direction and that has made all the difference. Fabrizio Scippa, thanks for your relentless perfection and amazing design sense. I will done anything for you! I love the direction you went with the studio, it's is really top notch with every detail considered. Jorge Naranjo, you are the superstar designer of the group and please never change a thing. Steve Stadwiser, you are a rock. I respect your work ethic of "Nose to the grindstone" - "Get it done" they should be everyone's daily motto. Finally thanks to Manuel Martinez, our brilliant Architect and Designer, without you, the place would look so unfinished. You have a great eye for deisgn and form.

I also want to thank a few particular clients who have made our year fantastic. Phel Steinmetz of UCSD Visual Arts, thanks for the support you have given to me and for believing I can make a "perfectly" neutral profile for greyscale printing. Thanks Marshall Williams and Tim Mantoani for being a great client who actually listens to the advice I give you. You both do amazing photography. Thanks Jackie Siragusa and Chris Hardy at the San Diego Padres for the opportunity to work with such a great place and team. Go Padres 2006! Thanks to the individuals at APA, ASMP, AIGA, PIDE, GATF, PMA, PhotoPlus East, and HOW conferences for making a talk about color go so smoothly.

I can go on all day but wont. Just know that if you have are a current client of COLORCRITICAL then you are appreciated, seriously. I could not have been in business without you. I know we will continue to build a great relationship in the years to come.

Here is to 2006! Have a safe and wonderful holiday!