There will come a day when most of our OS, applications, devices, and browser experiences are color managed. Right now, we are close in some respects but still pretty far in other respects. If you read my prior post on browser compatibility, you found out that with respect to images, they should be embedded with sRGB, but that only helps if your viewing the images on a browser that supports embedded profiles (otherwise the display profile is used as source).
Let's say we were talking about non image elements, like gray backgrounds or orange headers. How should those elements be color managed, especially if your designer is using Photoshop for conceptual layout? If the web designer uses sRGB as the "Working Space" as he/she is supposed to do, what happens at the level of the Web Producer.
The Web Producer does the splicing of the PS file and makes PNG or GIF files out of the individual elements or he codes directly the hex values into CSS. However, one can not embed a profile into a PNG or GIF. This is where CSS3 comes in. CSS3 will allow the Web Producer to set the color profile for the entire coded page, in this case sRGB. That way when the designer and the producer compare the published beta site and the Photoshop preview the two match (of course right now only in Safari).
It will be great day when all modern browsers use embedded profiles and CSS3 becomes a common standard. If your looking for a fantastic tutorial on the subject check out gballard.net.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
San Diego Padres
Chris Hardy is staff photographer the Padres and uses a Fuji Pictrography 4500 and Epson 7800 for output. The San Diego Padres are a long time client of ours. Here is the profile I built for the 4500 on Fuji Glossy if anyone cares to test it or use it in their system. 1-PG4500-Glossy.icc
The real story is in the path it took to get there - just to make a profile. Chis updated his Dual G4 to Leopard and his Adaptec AHA 2930CU SCSI card which is his primary connection to the Pictrography 4500 lost it's driver. Because Chris did a complete reinstall of Leopard, the SCSI driver was not installed and destroyed. Unfortunately Adaptec stopped supporting the Mac OX with their SCSI Adapters long ago - so a quick check on the website led me into a dark corner. Luckily a google search of "Adaptec AHA 2030cu Driver for 10.5" yielded this Adaptec driver from Version Tracker and it worked!
Another mystery solved! Thanks Chris for lunch and your continued support and we will see you next time! I have a good feeling about the Padres this year!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
ColorGeek2 Forum
I guess I am a color geek, although I prefer color freak. What better a place for a color freak to browse and compose than in a forum dedicated to color management. Sure there are lots of forums but because ColorGeek2 is moderated by The Dans, Dan Gillespie and Dan Reid, two true geeks. I had to join and participate.
The ColorGeek2 Forum will no doubt be populated by us consultants who really know their stuff. This is a good thing, because no one consultant can know and or have experience in all areas. In my first glance I learned of an issue in EFI ColorProof XF and it's connectivity with a HP Z-Series Printer. I myself posed a question about the latest from SWOP.org
If your looking for answers give the forum a try and as it matures I am sure you will find the answers to many color mysteries.
The ColorGeek2 Forum will no doubt be populated by us consultants who really know their stuff. This is a good thing, because no one consultant can know and or have experience in all areas. In my first glance I learned of an issue in EFI ColorProof XF and it's connectivity with a HP Z-Series Printer. I myself posed a question about the latest from SWOP.org
If your looking for answers give the forum a try and as it matures I am sure you will find the answers to many color mysteries.
Friday, January 25, 2008
X-rite Corporate Consultants Summit
This winter I had the opportunity to visit with the New X-rite Color Services team in Grand Rapids Michigan. The weather was a bit cold but that didn't stop a few us us from playing a game of disc golf (thanks to Mike LaRocca).
The summit was started by a great speech by CEO Tom Vacchiano. He was energized and passionate about where this industry is going. With the recent Pantone merger this big ship is headed toward interesting times and I am just glad to be part of it.
The technical representation from the consultants was also a breath of fresh air. From color management in textile and apparel to G7 certification we all learned from each other.
The summit was started by a great speech by CEO Tom Vacchiano. He was energized and passionate about where this industry is going. With the recent Pantone merger this big ship is headed toward interesting times and I am just glad to be part of it.
The technical representation from the consultants was also a breath of fresh air. From color management in textile and apparel to G7 certification we all learned from each other.
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