Digital imaging standards

Before digital workflows, the handling of colour was for the experts. The photographer captured the colour , and sent the image unaltered through the workflow to pre-press, who tweaked the colour for press. The technical stuff happened at the beginning and the end of the workflow, and everyone in between just handed the picture to the next one down the line.

The colour of a digital image is not so easy to read. What you see depends on whose computer you use and how your software is set up. Many people have no idea how an image is going to look in print. Judging an image by eye is not enough. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the challenges of a fully digital RGB workflow can be addressed with training. If people have an understanding of how colour works in the digital file and can grasp the basics of colour profiling, they will have a much better idea of what they are looking at when they open up an image in Photoshop.

One of the problems is that the process converting an image to CMYK, the area of skill of the pre-press house, has become largely automated in the RGB workflow. What’s need now is for the image to be assessed at a much earlier stage in the workflow, so that problem images can be picked up and dealt with separately, while the majority flow through the automatically. This means monitoring and checking of images at an earlier stage.

The digital workflow has changed the landscape. The people ‘in between’, the editors, designers and researchers now need to understand the nature of what they are handling. Photographers, pre-press (or what is left of them) and production staff need a good grasp of the basics before they get too deeply into the subject. The workflow has to be properly joined up to work properly.

As the bean counters do their sums, repro is increasingly coming in-house. At this point, managers are left wondering where to turn for advice and training on handling colour.

The first port of call has often been the repro house, but, with some honorable exceptions, this can be like grasping at straws. Repro is not the CMYK issue it once was, and many repro people are in need of retraining themselves. Most companies already send their staff on Photoshop courses, but that in itself does not convey the skills required to manage images and colour.

Colour management training is another obvious route. But look closely and it becomes apparent that much of the training on offer is conducted by companies who have hardware or software to peddle. It’s true they are experts, but it is questionable whether the training they offer is suited for people who hardly have time to raise their eyes from their computers. Production staff and photographers may need to know about rendering intents, and different types of ICC profiles, but the sad fact on the ground is that most people haven’t even got their hardware and software set up correctly. First things first.

For people dealing with images every day, the question to answer is ‘what steps do I need to take to ensure that the colour I see on my screen bears a realistic relationship to what was supplied. How do I handle it so that it prints as intended.’ In simple terms ‘What colour is the picture?’

An easy way out is to blame the supplier when things go wrong in print. ‘Clients don’t know much about colour management, and some don’t even know it exists’ says Miffy Wilson, Director of Production at Image Source in London. ‘They are buying a product. They expect the same result in print as they see on screen.’

Image Source manages expectations by supplying files in the narrower gamut sRGB colour space, which at least provides a better match in print when there is no colour management at the conversion stage. It’s about avoiding disappointment in an imperfect world. The need for this common workaround, indicates the need for training among publishers.

Staff at Image Source have been through their own training process and Wilson understands the problem. ‘People get scared by the idea of colour management’ she says. ‘They glaze over when it’s mentioned. But its really very simple.’

Correct colour settings, an understanding of how profiles work, and suitable viewing conditions are the pre-requisites for a decent colour workflow. With an understanding of colour balance and colour cast you can assess incoming images and pass them on in good shape. The lack of training in these basic areas is a source of frustration for many staff, who have no idea what they are viewing or how it should appear in print.

There’s no magic wand, as Chris Young, Deputy Editor of ‘The Garden’ at RHS Media explains when describing the process his department went through to take repro of the RHS flagship publication in-house. The training provided by Electric Lane started with digital skills classes, and became an ongoing process of on the job training and consultancy over a period of months in the run up to a full switch to in-house repro.

‘It’s important to have confidence in the person doing the training’ he says. ‘The training was specific, and tailor made. It made us feel secure in what we were doing, and gave us a dispassionate view of what an image should be like.’

Success of a training programme relates to how the knowledge gained is embedded in the workflow, he says. ‘We were working in real time, which meant things took longer, but it It has meant we have a sense of ownership of our own production. It has changed our relationship with our suppliers.

The switch to an RGB workflow is the trigger for extra training in colour, but that is just the beginning of a learning process. Phil Hall, Design Services Manager at Oxford University Press where around 50 staff were trained by Electric Lane, agrees.

‘Our training gave us a basic understanding of what’s needed and what’s possible’ he says, ‘and we have convinced some people who doubted an RGB workflow was possible. But we are still discussing the detail of who does what in the workflow.’

With production under pressure a focussed approach is important. ‘There isn’t time for extended training for everyone’ says Phil Hall. The emphasis should be on how easy it is to put things right.’

Most training on offer is software specific rather than workflow specific, and that’s why many companies employ industry specialists for a mix of training and consultancy, catering to their own workflow. But there are general image management skills which can set participants on a constructive path to change and development, and courses like this are few and far between. It isn’t easy to find independent training by industry experts.

The industry needs basic skills and understanding, and with ongoing in-depth training for key staff. Managers need to engage in training too, so that they are in a position to make good decisions about workflow and resources. The challenge for training companies as well as for clients is to structure courses that recognise the changing roles in the workflow, and the need for key skills for everyone handling images. If the result is a smarter workflow, training is a sound investment in hard times.

First published in Print Media Management, September 2009

Colour Skills for Print Media 2009

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