Understanding ICC Color Profiles, Color Space and Color Gamut

The days of purple trees, red faces, and green eggs on sublimated products are just about over. ICC color management of photographic and artistic images has come of age in the world of professional sublimation.

During the past few months, several sublimation ink suppliers have released ICC/Colorsync profiles which match their inks with Epson 3000, 800, 900 and 1200 series printers. These profiles work equally well on Windows and Apple Mac plat-forms. For the first time you can scan a photo, adjust it using Photoshop or PhotoPAINT, then print and transfer it with true color accuracy throughout the process.

Due to the rapid spread of this tech-nology there has been some confusion and uncertainty regarding the setup and operation of this color management system. Here are some answers to common questions that I have been asked recently.

ICC stands for International Color Consortium. This group met for several years to establish universal standards for color management. The founding members included Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Kodak, and several other leading companies with specialties in color management and computer operating system design.

The first ICC standard was released by this group in 1995 and has been continually updated since. It was adopted very rapidly in the print industry, and is just now gaining support and acceptance from sublimators.

ICC color management al-lows the sublimator to accurately reproduce color images on a variety of substrates (tiles, metal, Unisub, shirts, etc.). The operation is automatic and precise. Your product quality is greatly improved with excellent color, detail, and depth. Items can produced quickly with consistent results and very, very few rejects.

The majority of the parts are already built into your Windows and Mac operating systems and your graphics application software. All you have to do is obtain an ICC color profile from your ink supplier or a third party. Your investment can vary from $0 (if your ink supplier provides the profile for free), up to $400 if you add monitor and scanner calibration hardware/software. This one-time investment will result in major productivity gains and artistically superior quality.

A color management system for sublimation includes the following components: A COLOR MANAGEMENT MODULE (CMM) that applications (e.g. Photoshop/Corel) access to translate ac-curate color from one device profile to another. This module is an integrated part of the Windows and Mac operating systems.

Color gamut is the range of color that can be reproduced by a device. The inkjet printers used for sublimation output have potentially the brightest, best gamuts of any output device. Their potential is only limited by the range and non-linearity of the gamut of sublimation inks.Color space defines the range of colors (gamut) supported by your software application. Printer profiles should be created for the Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB color spaces, which will provide the widest gamut for sublimation. (Note: Fraser RGB (1998) in Corel is virtually the same as Adode RGB (1998).) Your final sublimation output will vary with each manufacturer unless color management is used. In addition, the accuracy of your heat press, pressing times, pressure, and paper ink release can all affect the quality of your final product. Several new papers have been introduced this year. They release well over 90 percent ink, resulting in excellent, saturated color.

If you are an Adobe PhotoShop or Corel Draw user, seriously consider upgrading to Photoshop 6.01 or CorelDRAW 10. They offer the best support of the ICC standards.

A well-calibrated monitor and scanner are extremely important. At minimum, make sure your system display settings are set to match the exact model you are using. If you have Photoshop, use Adobe Gamma to calibrate your display. The best solution is to use an inexpensive sensor, which temporarily attaches to the face of your monitor. This device combined with calibration software will provide fantastic results.

Re-calibrate your monitor at least once a month. Dont change the controls on your monitor once it is calibrated. Keep your room lighting as consistent as possible. Dont place your monitor by a window; the light from the out-side will change during the day and will change your perception of the colors on the screen.

Make sure you know the print settings and color space settings recommended by the supplier of your printer profile. Make sure the supplier provides you with detailed installation instructions. Any deviations from these settings will cause poor results.

Test the color accuracy of your system from scanner/camera to-monitor to printer to sublimated product using several different reference photographs. If you do not have a target photo provided by a color management company, use 3 photos one with flesh tones, one with bright colors, and a nature photo with various greens. Natural green is difficult to reproduce with some sublimation inks. The Forecast for 2002 Several new products will improve color management in 2002:

Improved generic printer/ink matching profiles. Color management and inks solutions for 6 color printers.

Extension of generic profiles to sets of profiles matched for specific substrates (ceramic, metal, polyester, Unisub, etc.).

Editors to allow each sublimation professional to fine tune ICC profiles for specific applications and specific tastes.

Further reduction in the cost of color management software suites. All these factors will contribute to an overall improvement in the quality of sublimated products. In addition, productivity will increase with fewer rejects. Museum quality reproductions, murals, and awards will become a reality.

Bill Leek is a color consultant and distributor of PANTONE/COLORVISION color management products. He has over 30 years experience in computer engineering and graphics design. He has recently designed a full set of ICC color profiles for Laser Reproductions ColorRite inks. You may reach him at wfleek@jblgraphics.com or(817)285-0068.

*Reprinted with permission from the
January 2002 issue
of Personalized Products news,
published by the P&I Association,
1-800-276-8428
www.personalizedproducts.org