Prepress

GMG gives RGB its full support with ColorMaster in a Box

Sunday 01. June 2008 - Highly-automated, process-neutral workflow concept that can generate up to 50% in time savings

GMG, supplier of high-end color management and proofing solutions, will present GMG ColorMaster in Box at Drupa 2008. With RGB data storage and workflows becoming increasingly popular in the graphic arts industry, ColorMaster in a Box is an attractive proposition for companies that want to keep their data in the RGB color space for as long as possible, such as advertising agencies, repro shops, prepress businesses and print buyers who create data from a wide variety of media and printing processes, or who process printing data for production in different countries and have to give consideration to different standards.

Based on GMG’s hugely successful ColorServer, ColorMaster in a Box is process-neutral and therefore an extremely flexible form of data storage. This is a workflow concept based on the optimum interlinking of the ColorServer, ColorProof and ProofControl products. GMG supplies predefined settings and optimized profiles, making it very easy for the user to set up an automated workflow. It has a high degree of automation which can see up to 50% time savings in the prepress sector.

GMG supplies predefined settings and optimized profiles for all important target color spaces, making it very easy for the user to set up an automated workflow. GMG ColorMaster in a Box moreover offers a color space that covers all common printing gamuts, and for which an ICC profile is also available for retouching images in Photoshop. This approach is supported by a DVD containing video sequences that explain how to set up the workflows and enable every user to create and use workflows themselves in the minimum of time.

GMG ColorMaster in a Box is a very flexible form of storage, as RGB permits process-neutral data storage and editing for cross-media production. With just one central RGB basis, this provides a wide variety of output methods for multiple utilization without multiple processing, plus optimum conversion and identical color compression for a wide variety of output options. It ensures production reliability thanks to predefined, tested settings. Sources of error are minimized by the standardization of the color management process and there is simple integration and operation with video tutorials to support the user.

For agencies and print buyers, the primary advantage is a reduction of time and money spent on external prepress services. Along with this there is automatic color space transformation for a wide variety of printing processes, which increases the flexibility in the case of advertisements with different media, or if the printing process is decided at short notice. Even without in-depth knowledge of color management, there is simple, time-saving and inexpensive optimization of data for diverse printing processes. Repro and prepress businesses can expect high process stability due to predictable and reproducible color results, and therefore a reduction in production costs. There is a smooth integration of new printing standards or simple conversion to in-house standards, rapid compensation for charged printing conditions, which means fewer problems when switching from one printing standard to another, for example, from ISOcoated to ISOcoated_v2.

GMG ColorServer in a Box is used to convert the different RGB data to the central AdobeRGB color space. This is achieved with the use of predefined hot folder settings. Like all working color spaces, AdobeRGB is optimized for the monitor rather than print production. GMG has optimized the size and form of the ColorMaster in a Box color space to suit the typical printing color spaces for offset and gravure printing, which consequently means that the image data optimized for the GMG ColorMaster space looks almost identical in all printing standards.

Predefined color settings for Adobe Bridge are supplied by GMG to ensure that Photoshop and InDesign are provided with the correct color management and soft proof settings. Once the colors of the images on the calibrated monitor are OK, the retouched images are again stored in the AdobeRGB color space.

The retouched AdobeRGB image data are then proofed with GMG ColorProof with the help of the previously preconfigured hot folders. The GMG PhotoProof profiles supplied are optimized for AdobeRGB image data with simulation of the GMG ColorMaster color space. Based on these PhotoProof prints, the customer gives his “Color-OK” for production of the image data.