Printing Consistent Color More and more printers are implementing the G7® specification and color management while profiling their monitors, proofing devices, and printing presses. There is no doubt that this process works, providing accurate, predictable color from proof to press. What should not be overlooked, however, is the notion of maintaining consistent color balance throughout the pressrun. Have you ever had a customer fan out a job, revealing that the colors don’t match from sheet to sheet (as close as possible) to the last sheet of a pressrun? Maintaining consistent color throughout a pressrun is a difficult task. The press operator must maintain a multitude of print variables at any given time; things like ink density, dot gain, gray balance, and print contrast, to name just a few. More often than not, these jobs are being printed on less-than-desirable paper stock, further complicating the process. The ability to maintain consistent color of images during the pressrun begins with the color separation process. Image conversion, that is, changing images from an RGB of LAB to a CMYK color space, is not as simple as a mode change in Photoshop. Considerations must be made for ink, paper, and the condition of the press, to name just a few. To read the complete Tech Talk Paper, download the PDF by clicking on the following link: DPC Tech Talk/February 2012. You can also learn more about achieving consistent color through Printing Industries of America’s Training Programs. Click on the links below to learn more. G7 Digital Operator Training ProgramApril 17–18, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PAPresented by Printing Industries of America, a training program endorsed by IDEAlliance Optimizing Color from Your Digital PressApril 24–25, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PAPresented by Printing Industries of America G7 Offset Operator Training ProgramJune 14–15, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PAPresented by Printing Industries of America, a training program endorsed by IDEAlliance G7 Expert/Professional TrainingJune 11–13 in Pittsburgh, PAHosted by Printing Industries of America and Presented by IDEAlliancePlease call 800-910-4283, ext. 731 for more information and to register for this program. PIA Blog Opt-Out: ...

The following post was written by  Harvey R. Levenson, Ph.D., Professor and Department Head of Graphic Communication at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. I joined the graphic arts industry in 1961. Including my education in the field and work experience, that makes it 51 years. Egad! Could that be? I feel like I am just getting started! Over the years I’ve attended hundreds (no thousands) of graphic arts conferences, seminars, workshops, expositions, and related meetings. If I had to select common concerns often heard at these events over the decades, they are: When will the graphic arts industry economy turn around? Where can we find bright people to drive our industry in the years ahead? How can we reverse the trend of media buyers moving their advertising dollars to non-print media? How can my company find employees who understand new media and how to integrate it into a traditional printing company? Where can I find talent who understand how to market new technology to traditional-thinking companies? In consulting I’ve done for more than 250 printing, publishing, and related companies worldwide, I’ve observed that the answer to such questions lies in strategic planning focusing on building a staff mindset that looks to the future—not to the past—in securing a company’s success. Who will survive and who will not, and who will flourish and who will decline, rests in the mindset of those who understand and love our industry and want to join it. One typically does not select the graphic arts or printing as a career choice in the way one elects to become a doctor, engineer, architect, teacher, lawyer, minister, and so on. Such professions are often selected at a very young age. However, one elects to study and join the graphic arts or printing industry after experiencing some favorable aspect of the field, usually in one’s high school or college years or beyond. Some select the field because of family involvement in it, but most do not. As concerned professionals wanting to preserve and grow the graphic communication industry, we have a responsibility to expose young people to the most positive and promising facets of our field—creativity, new technology, science, but most of all smart, inspirational, and great people dedicated to our industry. Where are these people found? You encounter them at all of the important industry conferences, expositions, and meetings. However there is no greater opportunity than at the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) annual technical conference where the world’s leading graphic arts scientists, technologies, engineers, managers, and thinkers meet to learn about and discuss the inventions and research that will define our industry in the future. For many years the annual TAGA conference...

Here’s our first video in a series of Color Management Q&As. We’ve collected a number of questions from the community and we’re excited to put our staff at work to answer them. We have more on the way, but if there’s a question you’d like answered add it in the comments below.  If you want to learn more about color managemenet, be sure to check out the Color Management Conference coming up this December 3-6 in Phoenix,...

Training your employees and having them leave your company is a pretty scary thought… But, not training your employees and having them stay with your company is much, much scarier!!! Don’t make 2012 a spooky year for your company; be sure your staff is well-trained. Check out all of the workshops Printing Industries of America has lined up for the upcoming year at...

Bernard Martin, a speaker at the upcoming Integrated Print Forum, talked to me for a bit about how getting started in social media is like building a house. Trust me, it makes much more sense when you listen to the Audioboo.  Bernard Martin, a speaker at the Integrated Print Forum, gives some LinkedIn and social media pointers. (mp3) If you’re looking for more social media resources, Bernard has an extensive social media FAQ available for free. It’s great to see more and more printers embracing these tools and we are always looking for stories about how social media has expanded business or found printers opportunities. If you have a social media story, share it in the...

Can you believe GRAPH EXPO is less than a week away? Look, they’re already setting up the show floor.As we ramp up for the conference, I’ll do my best to highlight some of what Printing Industries of America is bringing to the show.  In this Audioboo, Mark Bohan talks with me about the seminars our staff is putting on at the show as well at the InterTech Gala. Enjoy!    Talking with @markbohan about his @Graph_Expo plans....