Color Manage My World

At the end of the class, I decided for my final project to take on the challenge of color managing a weekly, 32-page magazine that is run on RIT’s Goss Sunday 2000 press. What limits Reporter Magazine from being color managed is that the paper used changes each week due to the nature of it being donated or left over from test runs on the press.

My strategy for this project was to setup an ICC-based color management system. After organizing consistent paper, I created a custom test target to run on press and print linear after going through Prinergy. From the test target run that was within SWOP specifications, I created my ICC print profile and converted it to the magazine’s InDesign document. After calibrating the office monitors, our editors, photographers and designers were able to adjust color accordingly within the document.

The magazine was then printed holding the same press variables constant as the test target run. As a result, the magazine turned out to successfully match the content on the calibrated monitors. Being able to complete the task and help the design and photo staff of the magazine understand how print allows for their sought-after consistent color made my enjoyment of the class even greater.