Colour management is the controlled conversion from one colour standard to another and between various devices such as monitors, proofing systems and print presses. Its primary goal is to obtain a visual close match across any output medium, and to meet expectations established when the image was initially approved. And this is where colour management often fails, subsequently causing additional correction cycles.

In fact, the click on a camera is the first step of colour management and, far too often, is underestimated. The initial approval after an image was taken is by far the most important part of media production. If taken seriously, it can make further correction rounds unnecessary. Insufficient contrast range as well as highlight and shadow detail often originate in the light settings and could be better resolved at their source than by colour correcting at a repro house.

Viewing an image in RAW or Adobe RGB on a monitor may raise the wrong expectations, as the conversion to a final output colour space would certainly influence the picture areas. Another challenge of colour management is gamut mapping, which is either the clipping or shifting colour points of a large colour space into a smaller one. Hence, image reviewing based on the output medium's standard space, instead of Adobe RGB, allows a photographer to compensate for losses immediately.

Printing colour spaces, however, varies greatly in size and corner colours; this is why GMG developed its ColorMaster concept based on its own colour space definition. This colour space works like a shell that covers the imaginary entirety of all international output colour spaces very closely. Reviewing image files in ColorMaster allows for the estimation of image quality independently of the final output colour space, yet with a clear indication of what would happen to contrast and colour range. It is important to understand that ColorMaster only is used for viewing purposes. All adjustments are always performed in an Adobe RGB working space.

During the final step of a media production, images need to be converted to the actual output colour space (such as Gracol 2006 and Fogra 39L). For this purpose, the ColorMaster concept provides conversion profiles to any international printing standard. Each separation profile has been meticulously adapted to match the ColorMaster colour space as closely as possible.

Brand owners and service providers share one common problem, which seems to be the only constant in the graphics production industry: cost and time pressures. Today, we see more printing at less value – shorter print runs to the benefit of multi-channel advertising. Here, proprietary colour management platforms provide solutions that help to identify errors and consequent, unnecessary rounds of corrections. By saving time and cost for print media production, repro houses, printers and publishers can broaden their services to a world of content that is getting faster and much more diversified.

Michael Farkas is marketing director of GMG, based in Helsingborg, Sweden. GMG manufactures colour management, RIP, workflow, quality control and proofing software for the print and digital media industries.