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I got an HP 2500 and have been using Future RIP as thats all I have at the time. I am having so much trouble learning all the in's and out's of Gamut, color matching, etc. Can someone help me?
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
When I finally went "High Tech" it was with a Graphic Advantage 6.2 program that came with it's own PRINTED GUIDE which helped me understand the tools and workings of the program.
The ONLY other way I would suggest is the "READ ME" part of ALL programs.
Hope this helps
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Laura, The colors you see on screen are RGB. The colors you print are CMYK. RGB is 256 colors....CMYK is 100 plus its numerous shades. When you see the "blue" or "green" or "whatever" on screen, it will never print exactly the same colors. Some colors, especially blue, are prone to this. It's impossible to make 100 colors print as 256 colors! I'm greatly simplifying this whole process......I'm barely scratching the surface. You have to start thinking as a PRINTER, rather than a SIGNWRITER. Apples and oranges. You may be able to get more in depth help from www.flaar.com. You can also check out the PANTONE site and TRUMATCH.com. BE READY FOR A STEEP LEARNING CURVE!
posted
Thanks Bob, learned all that in school a few years back. Read some Flaar reports but I have to go deeper. I don't know if a more expensive RIP software would be easier or not. I know about being in Gamut or out of Gamut and color profiles but I don't know how to fix it if I am out of Gamut.
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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A 4 color (CMYK)printer is about 50% (or a bit less)able to print accurate color. You need a 6 color or even better...an 8 color printer to get you up to the 98% range. With 4 color all you can hope for is "close". Some colors are right on, but some are notoriously off. I found on my setup, if you have a choice in printing CMYK or RGB mode.....the RGB is much more accurate. My printer is 8-color, so I don't have the problems you are having (I don't think).
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Hi Laura, I'm using Amiables Photo Print rip on an Encad 42e. Color profiles for the inks and papers can make a lot of difference. This still doesn't mean that what you see on the screen will be what you will get when the print comes out. Everything would need to be calibrated...your monitor, scanner, printer, etc... in able to get as close a color match as possible. With my rip there are a lot of print settings like "relative colorametric, absolute colorametric, perseptual, and image matching". Vector, bitmap, and even when using pms colors require a different selection for a better print....not perfect, but better. Like Bob said, read the book and you may just have to print enough small samples until you get the desired result. When you find the right setting for that type of image, keep notes on the settings for that type of paper. Eventually it will get easier. I'm deffinately not an expert, but this it what I've found with the rip I'm using.
-------------------- Ace Graphics & Printing Camdenton, MO. USA
Media profiles can make a HUGE difference...as can colour calibration.
Of ALL of the RIPs I've looked at: Scanvec Amiable's "PhotoPrint" offers the best balance of colour management, user-friendly workflow and affordability...Well worth your consideration Laura!
[ December 31, 2003, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: Jon Aston ]
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Big confusion issue here. When was printing more on the NovaCut 24 with Flexi 5.8 the Rip was built into the program. Like Tony said choices of substrate and ink. The problem was the distributor recommended buying only Go ink as opposed to changing inks in the bulk system. Early on this confused me as well as caused a little distrust of the distributor. Later I did have success using his suggestions with various rolled stock from various bonds to backlit stock.
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Hey Laura, We use Poster Shop to run our Encads here. Like Tony & Jon said, profiling will make a world of difference and it really isn't all that difficult or expensive to do. We managed to get excellent results using Adobe Gamma to calibrate our monitors and vendor supplied profiles for the media and inks. Last spring we took a class on color management offered by Graphic Intelligence Agency, Inc. and it was money well spent. Within a month of taking the class our reprints because of poor color were reduced by at least 90%.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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