Next Generation Color Management Process Modeling for Digital Printing

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of applied International Color Consortium (ICC) predefined color rendering intents on the digital printing solid colors output (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black ((CMYK]) hue and gray output (Overlap of CMY: 50%, 40%, and 40% tints) hue variation among the four ICC standard color rendering intents in a color management workflow (CMW). The experiment analyzed the effect of four ICC-specified color rendering intents (absolute, perceptual, relative, and saturation intents) on the digital color output hue of gray and solid colors. The objective of this study allowed testing of an accepted color management practice to gain a better understanding of the presumptions associated with the application of rendering intents. The experiment examined the four ICC color rendering intents as independent groups (K = 4) using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with equal n’s method (at α = 0.05) to determine the significant colorimetric variation (COLVA) of hue between the (K = 4, n = 15, and N =60) group means (averages) color deviations of these intents. With four rendering intents (groups, K = 4), a one-tailed, non-directional hypothesis was established. The conclusions of this stilly arc based upon an analysis of ANOVA test data and associated findings. The data from the ANOVA reveal significant differences in the gray hue deviation of the reproduction among the multiple ICC color rendering intents (CRT). The colorimetric data suggest that selection of a rendering intent is an important activity in a CMW as it relates to obtaining accurate output colors for a desired purpose.

This paper describes the development and implementation of a color management system at Warner Bros. Feature Animation (WBFA). The need for consistent and repeatable color matches between reflective artwork, scanned images viewed on monitor displays, and film print is explored, while presenting the various practices currently in place. The paper illustrates how the color management system was implemented, in accordance with the International Color Consortium's framework, and describes how it was introduced into a production environment. Results from measured data, demonstrating the benefits of the system, are presented.

In pigment ink digital printing, the color difference between the original and the printed product can be visible due to the varied color gamut of devices and the impact of fabric characteristics on the color-presenting effect. To improve the color reproduction accuracy of digital printing, two methods, the full-process optimized (FPO) method and the neural network aided original adjustment (NNAOA) method, were proposed to reduce printing color difference during the color-transferring process. The FPO method, based on accounting for the fabric type and the characteristics of the printing machine, was proposed by optimizing the printing parameter settings in the color management process. Here, the optimal single-channel ink limit was determined and dot gain was compensated using the inverse function correction method, and then the International Color Consortium profile was generated. After using the FPO method, the color difference between the printed sample and the original was reduced from 20.8 to 5.254 compared with performing the original color management. To reduce the reliance on personal experience in color adjustment, the NNAOA method was proposed and implemented for 20 color patches with the largest color differences in the FPO method, allowing the color of the originals to be adjusted with the establishment of the general regression neural network model. This method predicted the input CMYK values of the original using measured L*a*b* values for the printed sample. The results showed that the color difference of the 20 color patches was reduced from 8.54 to 6.60. Consequently, both methods offered distinguishable improvements in the color reproduction effect.

Digital tools have impacted traditional methods employed to reproduce color images during the past decade. The shift from a purely photomechanical process in color reproduction to colorimetric reproduction offers tremendous opportunity in the graphic arts industry. But good things do not necessarily come to all in the same package. Printing processes possess different reproduction attributes: tone reproduction, gray balance and color correction requirements are as different as the ingredient sets selected for color reproduction. This paper will provide insight toward understanding advantages and limitations offered by the new digital technologies in printing, publishing and packaging. For the past five years the Clemson University Graphic Communications Department has conducted numerous color projects using the new digital colorimetric tools during the previous decade. Several approaches have been used including experimental research and typical production workflows. The use of colorimetric data in color reproduction has given an opportunity to realize real gains in color use, predictability and consistency. Meeting an image's separation and reproduction requirements for a specified printing process can involve disruption of the anticipated workflow. Understanding the printing process requirements and the fit within the specifications of a colorimetric workflow are critical to the successful adoption of a color managed workflow. The paper will also provide an insight into the issues and challenges experienced with a color managed workflow. The printing processes used include offset litho, narrow and wide-web flexography (paper, liner board, corrugated and film), screen printing (paper board and polycarbonates), and digital imaging with toner, ink and inkjet systems. A proposal for technology integration will be the focus of the presentation drawn from documented experiences in over 300 applications of color management tools. Discussion will include the structure of specifications, standards and the issues faced during the discrete steps of color image reproduction.

Information System for Administrating and Distributing Color Images Through Internet

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the lessons learned from two kaizen events for productivity improvement in a printing company. The paper suggests how to organize lean tools to improve productivity through the use of organized kaizen events in the printing industry to meet defined targets.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a field study involving participant observations. The relationships among the three specific tools, line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout that are used in a kaizen event of a printing factory, are examined.FindingsApplication of a mix of lean tools resulted in significant productivity improvements of 10-30 percent in the assembly area of the printing company. Based on the outcomes of the lean tools that are applied in various work areas, the best combinations of lean tools are identified and several key considerations are discussed.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that a combined set of lean tools such as line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout can be applied to improve productivity in the printing operations, which is identifiable with a mix of processes that are both labor intensive and equipment flexible.Originality/valueThe paper fills the literature gap on the use of specific lean tools: line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout in the printing industry. The findings from this research can be applied to other assembly systems that are similar to the printing industry.

Our laboratory has investigated the efficacy of a suite of color calibration and monitor profiling packages which employ a variety of color measurement sensors. Each of the methods computes gamma correction tables for the red, green and blue color channels of a monitor that attempt to: a) match a desired luminance range and tone reproduction curve; and b) maintain a target neutral point across the range of grey values. All of the methods examined here produce International Color Consortium (ICC) profiles that describe the color rendering capabilities of the monitor after calibration. Color profiles incorporate a transfer matrix that establishes the relationship between RGB driving levels and the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) XYZ (tristimulus) values of the resulting on-screen color; the matrix is developed by displaying color patches of known RGB values on the monitor and measuring the tristimulus values with a sensor. The number and chromatic distribution of color patches varies across methods and is usually not under user control. In this work we examine the effect of employing differing calibration and profiling methods on rendition of color images. A series of color patches encoded in sRGB color space were presented on the monitor using color-management software that utilized the ICC profile produced by each method. The patches were displayed on the calibrated monitor and measured with a Minolta CS200 colorimeter. Differences in intended and achieved luminance and chromaticity were computed using the CIE DE2000 color-difference metric, in which a value of ΔE = 1 is generally considered to be approximately one just noticeable difference (JND) in color. We observed between one and 17 JND's for individual colors, depending on calibration method and target. As an extension of this fundamental work¹, we further improved our calibration method by defining concrete calibration parameters for the display, using the NEC wide gamut puck, and making sure that those calibration parameters did conform, with the help of a state of the art Spectroradiometer, PR670. As a result of this addition of the PR670, and also an in-house developed method of profiling and characterization, it appears that there was much improvement in ΔE, the color difference.

© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/tqem.20141 Despite advances in knowledge and practice within the area of strategic environmental management, we have very limited knowledge about the adoption of environmental strategies in the printing industry. As has been found in other industries, it is likely that printing companies can gain competitive advantage through formulating and implementing proactive environmental strategies. The benefits can include cost reduction, improved product quality, and enhanced relationships with external stakeholders (such as customers, regulating agencies, and local communities). In fact, there is evidence that some printers have been able to significantly reduce environmental impacts, production costs, and compliance liability by adopting proactive eco-strategies.1 The existing literature on environmental management in the printing industry, however, mainly focuses on regulatory compliance and technological solutions. It is likely that many printing firms have not yet fully discovered the benefits of taking a strategic approach to environmental issues.

Custom color transformations for images or video can be learned from a small set of sample color pairs by estimating a look-up table (LUT) to describe the enhancement and storing the LUT in an International Color Consortium profile, which is a standard tool for color management. Estimating an accurate LUT from a small set of sample color pairs is challenging. Local linear and ridge regression are tested on six definitions of neighborhoods for twenty color enhancements and twenty-five color images. Excellent results were obtained with local ridge regression over proposed enclosing neighborhoods, including a variant of Sibson's natural neighbors. The evaluation of the different estimation methods for this task compared the fidelity of the learned color enhancement to the original sample color pairs and the presence of objectionable artifacts in enhanced images. These metrics show that enclosing neighborhoods are promising adaptive neighborhood definitions for local classification and regression.

A color calibration process and system for CMYK printing with black preservation is described in this paper. This approach is used to create a 4-D lookup table (LUT) off time for a closed-loop workflow or a deviceLink ICC profile at real-time by a smart color management module (CMM) for ICC color management workflow. The output K' in the 4-D LUT or the deviceLink profile is decided by the lightness or density mapping between the input K and the output K' and the black usage of the output printer, and K' is proportional to K. The calibration processes are: 1) to convert the input CMYK (e.g. SWOP CMYK) into a device-independent color space (e.g. CIE CAM97s Jab, CIE L*a*b*, or MLab); 2) gamut mapping; and 3) to convert the in-gamut device-independent color into the output CMYK color space. A major difference of this approach over existing methods is that the input K is carried to the second and the third steps to determine the amount of the output K. Therefore the input K information is not lost during the color transformation. This approach can be applied to both closed-loop color architecture and ICC color management.

<p>The print industry has a reputation for being wasteful, especially within the printing processes, and it uses significant raw materials and energy to produce custom products that often have a limited lifespan. However, paper is one of the most recycled materials, and considerable efforts in R&D and policies push for transition efforts in sustainability across all five stages of a product's environmental life cycle. Life cycle assessments (LCA) are being executed to establish a baseline and comparative analysis of print operational systems' ecological impacts and seek improvements in planning approaches, technologies, and manufacturing. Government and regulatory bodies are implementing new policies such as end producer responsibility (EPR), whereby manufacturers are responsible for the end-of-life and disposal of their packaging. This leads to efforts in the design of recycling and circular economy-focused development strategies. This research paper will highlight many aspects of the initiatives undertaken to make the printing industry more sustainable, environmental frameworks to benchmark with, and ways forward for the industry to make changes starting today.</p>

Strategy and technology in the Toppan Printing Company

In order to increase the efficiency of economic activity of printing companies, the authors of the study have identified the following features and promising directions: reorientation of management tasks for the development of printing companies in order to ensure their competitiveness; determination of strategic directions of development of printing companies; optimisation of the appropriate level of information, resource and organisational support of printing companies for the successful implementation of development strategies; diversification of activities of printing enterprises; corporatisation of printing enterprises; ensuring investment development of printing industry enterprises. The implementation of strategies aimed at optimising processes, reducing costs, using advanced technologies and increasing the efficiency of interaction with consumers is the reorientation of management tasks for the development of printing companies in order to ensure their competitiveness. The strategic directions for the development of printing companies include: European integration, improvement of product quality in accordance with international standards, use of information technology to optimise production processes, innovation, expansion of production links, environmental friendliness and solving the problem of qualified personnel. The successful implementation of development strategies depends on optimising the appropriate level of information, resources and organisational support for the activities of printing companies. Information support is concerned with determining strategic directions through the analysis of internal and external information. The focus of resource support is on the efficient management of resources for the achievement of production efficiency. Organisational support involves creating an effective structure and motivating staff. Diversifying printing businesses in the current environment requires adopting the latest technologies and using information and communication technologies. This makes it possible to expand the range of products, increase the efficiency of production, optimise management and improve customer relations. The corporatisation of printing companies is important for business development, enabling companies to consolidate, implement large projects and expand markets. The integration of ICT contributes to the optimisation of production processes, the improvement of management efficiency and the creation of competitive advantages for printing companies. Using ICT in the printing industry plays a key role in increasing the attractiveness of companies to invest. The integration of ICT enables the optimisation of internal processes. It reduces costs, develops innovation and attracts new investors.

Four major toners are used in the printing industry, cyan, magenta, yellow and black (Key) for making color images on paper. Paper brands suitable for printing have thin mineral/latex coatings, and toners are applied on top of the coating in the printing process. Chemical compositions from toner to toner, as well as from coating to coating, vary according to the needs of the end user. Interactions between the toner and the coating define the final color formation of the images in printing. Hence, it is important to study characteristics and dynamics of toners on coated papers. In this paper, we have used laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIBS) to provide information on elemental distributions of the toner and the coating layers on three coated papers and the base paper at a sub-micrometer resolution. Ablation crater depth profiles in the three different material layers were converted into metric scale by combining elemental information from the LIBS measurements and optical profilometry. Ablation efficiencies for a toner of 150 nm/pulse, for a coating of approximately 350 nm/pulse and for a base paper of approximately 1 μm at a fluence of 0.6 J/cm2 of an ArF excimer laser were determined. Using these results, the average layer thicknesses of the toner and the coating layers were evaluated. The detailed analysis of the elemental profiles of the two cyan toners studied revealed strong accumulation of silicon and titanium compounds of the toner on the toner–air interface but also on the toner–coating interface, but to a much smaller extent. The observation reveals the significance of toner component diffusion due to substrate–machine interaction in the printing process. Such diffusion processes must have an important role in final color formation of the images in printing. The method developed provides a unique and accurate means to study toner diffusion processes in coated papers under printing conditions.

There are rapid technological changes and the printing industry has been gradually transformed from a low-tech labor-intensive to a high technology industry with a better quality and efficiency. This transition is one of main concerns when developing a vocational high school graphic communications major curriculum in Taiwan. The research started with a comprehensive literature review regarding to the competencies based on the curricula. Meanwhile, the Competencies Needed of Vocational High School Graphic Communications Major Student Survey questionnaires were developed and Taiwan Printing Industry Association members were the survey target participants. Through the survey and analysis, this study constructed a total of five professional major competency categories, 39 indicators, for vocational high school graphic communications department curricula. The five categories are design, photography, prepress, presswork, and finishing capabilities. The results showed that within the five major competencies, prepress is the most important competence recommended by the printing industry.