Color management - basic

Color management - basic

Overview

PrintFactory includes a traditional ICC color engine, similar to many other RIP solutions. However, it has been enhanced and largely replaced by the more advanced VISU Device-Link engine. This newer engine provides significantly improved color accuracy and overall color management capabilities.


The VISU engine enables more precise and efficient color transformations with features such as: - Iterative re-calibration - Pick-a-winner grey balance tuning - Accurate paper white adjustment - Clean spot color rendering - Improved grey balance and ink optimization

These capabilities result in a more reliable and consistent color output across devices and media.

must be assigned. This profile is used to directly map color to the printer's output profile.

Color space conversions work as follows: 1. If an input file contains a color space that differs from the reference: - The embedded ICC profile and its default rendering intent are used. - The file is converted to the reference profile. 2. From there, the VISU engine applies one of your defined Variants to convert the color to the output device's gamut.

The older ICC color engine becomes inactive when VISU device-link color management is selected.

Handling Untagged Images

Untagged images (i.e. images without an embedded ICC profile) present a unique challenge, as there are no instructions for how to convert them.

Default behavior: - These images are typically RGB. - VISU must assign a default ICC profile to allow conversion to your Print Standard.

Example Configuration:

• Reference Profile: ISO Coated_v2
• Default RGB ICC for untagged images: sRGB
• Result: Untagged RGB content is treated as sRGB.

If the default image and vector profiles are set to None, then: - Adobe RGB will be used by default. - Colorimetric rendering intent is applied.

Untagged CMYK Data

  • Untagged CMYK content uses the selected Print Standard directly.

  • No ICC needs to be assigned.

    Note: Using an RGB Print Standard with untagged CMYK data is unusual. If required, ensure your workflow is configured consistently, as there is no default ICC used in this case.

    This guide is intended to help operators and color managers understand and correctly configure PrintFactory's color management system for optimal results.




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