When qualifying a print service provider (PSP) of large format graphics, beyond price, what criteria do you use to determine a qualified professional?

One qualifying principle is to find out whether or not your PSP is setting up custom color profiles. A color profile is the means of accurate color balance in today’s digital imaging workflow. A color profile is required for each type of paper (or other print media) per output device. New and improved print materials are always coming on the market, so the possibilities are endless. While most media manufacturer offer color profiles for the media they sell, they don’t always perform as well as an in-house custom color profile.

So as not to be confusing, allow me to sort out two similar sounding terms connected with color printing. One is color space and the other is color profile.

Color space pertains to preparing your file for submission. You will need to ask your PSP of large format graphics which color space the file should be in, RGB or CMYK? The determinant is the output device used to print your job. Different output devices have different color space requirements. In general, most output devices today favor the CMYK color space, with only a few exceptions requiring RGB. (Most digital image files originate as RGB, but are frequently submitted as converted CMYK files.)

Color space is not to be confused with the second term, color profile.

One color profile should be generated for each type of printing material per device. So depending on how many different print materials a particular output device will print to, determines how the number of different color profiles to be set up. Color profile software can be thought of as the old enlargers which required a certain percentage of color filtration dialed in to create a print from the supplied negative. Consider not only printing to different papers now in the digital printing world, but now also printing to different types of fabrics, plexiglass, metal or whatever. Each printing material has its own set of physical characteristics, including the suitability to reach full ink saturation. Each color profile is set up for each combination of materials and ink, enabling the printer to be prepared and ready-to-go when your file arrives.

In large format graphics production, the devices used to create these color profiles are a RIP for each output device and a spectrophotometer to read and plot the color charts. Most RIPs (raster imaging processors) come with ICC profiles, which are standardized files defined by the International Color Consortium. Not all color profiles are created equal. The best ones come from top shelf equipment, top shelf spectrophotometers, and the most expansive color charts (the more, the better).

Whether you submit raster art or vector art, or a combination thereof, the output device used for your project should have color profiles on hand. Preparation and maintenance of color profiles means your PSP is ready to produce quality graphics. For further questions call 1.800.829.4562 or visit www. photoworksgroup.com