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THE GRAPHIC ARTS INSTITUTE OF DENMARK

COLOURMANAGEMENT

WORKFLOWANALYSIS

2

The present report was created at

The Graphic Arts Institute of Denmark

Summer 2000

Written by Søren Winsløw

Designed by Niels Bøje Ziegler

Printed in Denmark 2000

3

Content

Foreword 4

Summary 5

Colour Management Workflow at

Aftonbladet, Stockholm 8

Associated Newspapers Ltd, London 10

Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen 12

Børsen, Copenhagen 14

Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm 16

The New York Times 18

Politiken, Copenhagen 20

The Scotsman, Edinburgh 22

4

Foreword

The following report is the first part of the Danish Colour Managementproject. The scope of this part is to document how different newspapers ap-proach colour management. From this documentation, any newspapershould be able to find inspiration in how to make colour managementwork in their own surroundings.

The descriptions are made to pinpoint the CM issues, and thus you willfind that the descriptions are very brief with respect to the other aspects,which could have been interesting to study. However, the model for this de-scription was approved at a meeting at the Ifra Colour ManagementWorkgroup in Darmstadt on the 15 April 1999.

The newspapers described were chosen from a list generated at theabove-mentioned meeting. The final list of eight newspapers was chosenby the Danish DDPFF/Kvalitetsgruppen.

The newspapers were:Aftonbladet, StockholmAssociated Newspapers, LondonBerlingske Tidende, CopenhagenBørsen, CopenhagenDagens Nyheter, StockholmThe New York Times, New YorkPolitiken, CopenhagenThe Scotsman, Edinburgh

The work was carried out by, firstly, contacting the actual newspaper andsending a model description, and also telling the newspaper what sort ofinformation would be of interest. Then, I met with a newspaper representa-tive at the premises of each of the respective newspapers. Usually, I waspresented with material that supported the description, but not always. Wediscussed production and I met with certain people who were responsiblefor different parts of the workflow.

Back in Copenhagen, I made the description according to the model andwhat had been described and told to me and from what could be seen inother schemes and models. Not surprisingly, these three things did not al-ways correspond. Thus, I then had to decide which to use to make the puz-zle seem right. When the description was made, I sent a PDF (or fax) to mycontact person, who then corrected any mistakes I had made. Minor alter-ations were made and no further files were sent. If there were major differ-ences between the first and second drafts, they were sent for approval.

Søren WinsløwThe Graphic Arts Institute of DenmarkEmdrupvej 72DK-2400 Copenhagen NVe-mail: [email protected]

5

Summary

Even though I have written the following descriptions to provide inspira-tion and to show how different implementations are made, it is obviousthat there seems to be some consensus about certain aspects of colourmanagement. In the following, I will try to emphasise these aspects.

One might feel tempted to say that a general feature is that they allseem to be very different. When talking about the editorial workflows,there are no two identical workflows among these descriptions. Yet when itcomes to advertising, they all seem to take a cautious approach. This meansthat all newspapers only accept CMYK separated electronic advertisements,due to issues concerning responsibility. However, in Sweden and in a fewother places, the newspapers supply the advertisers/repro houses with ICCprofiles for the newsprint. The experience gained from this has been, so far,very positive.

The CM workflows described are basically editorial workflows, generallyconcerning:

• RGB to CMYK conversionThere seem to be two different ways of dealing with this process: The fullyautomated process, where images are treated in RGB and converted auto-matically later on in the process without any further quality control, andthe alternative approach, which is to use a CMYK soft proof of the file. Thiscan be done either by displaying an RGB file through a CMYK separationtable or an ICC profile in Photoshop, or by simply converting the RGB file toCMYK and then displaying it through the actual colour settings in softwaresimilar to Photoshop. The difference is in whether you want to verify thefinal result (CMYK) at the image editing stage, or rely on the RGB represen-tation of the image. As many people, even trained pre-press staff, react neg-atively to a CMYK soft proof of newsprint, one often finds that a more con-trasty and saturated RGB image is preferred for quality control.

• RGB colour spacesAll newspapers in this survey scan and save images in an image library forinternal or external reuse. As the image will not necessarily be used againfor newsprint, the most convenient thing to do is to keep images in a colourspace that is more open for different usages. The colour spaces used arefirst of all RGB, and in most of the cases the RGB colour space is one chosenfrom the Adobe Photoshop colour workspace set-ups (RGB, ColourMatchRGB, etc.). One interesting thing is that even though all newspapers receivewire photos from major image agencies, there seems to be no commoncolour space, or even profiles, that are embedded with wire photos. Thismeans that all wire images must be judged and edited before being sentdown for production, as one never knows what sort of quality they arewhen presented on a local monitor.

6

• Scanner profilesThe story repeats itself when looking at scanner profiling. In most of thecolour shops found at the newspapers, profiling of scanners is not imple-mented. Scannings are made “raw” and edited, in many cases, by the pho-tographer himself. The reason for this, I believe, is that negatives are com-monly used as a scanning media and, as there are no ICC standard tools forprofiling negatives and as the photographer also often enhances the imagewith the editing tools, the monitor itself becomes the original referencepoint.

• Monitors as referencesThat the monitor becomes the reference implies that it is calibrated andprofiled and a well-defined colour space is used. It is generally so at all thenewspapers. Calibration is done with more or less advanced tools, from theKnoll gamma software for Macintosh to the Barco Calibrator. Profiles aregenerally generated by measuring the monitors with standard spectropho-tometers/colorimeters such as X-Rie OptiCal or Gretag Spectrolino, and as ageneral workspace we have already mentioned that colour spaces likeColormatch RGB are popular. Typically, calibration is done as often as pro-filing. This varies from every fortnight to every third month. At TheScotsman, calibration is done on a daily basis by the operator, a procedurewell known from many pre-press houses.

• CM at the page layout stageGenerally speaking, no newspaper uses CM at the page layout stage. Theprimary reason for this is that CM in QuarkXPress, in the versions usedwhen this survey was made, or in other page make-up programs, were ei-ther inadequate or completely lacking. But even if the CM module in thepage layout programs had a sufficient level, it has generally been said thatit will only be used if it is automatic and will not slow down any processes.

• Hard proofsHard proofs in the editorial workflow are used very differently. From onlyblack and white layout control to colour proofs, generated using ICC pro-files and print simulation for press optimisation.

• Soft proofingAt three newspapers, a soft proof is made for final quality control of theseparated and bitmapped files (Tiff group4). At Politiken and The New YorkTimes, the soft proof is made using internal Parascan software but thecolour look-up tables are generated using ICC profiles and the soft proof isdisplayed in colours. At The Scotsman, the soft proof is a control of eachseparation. At Politiken, the soft proof is the reference in the printroom.

7

• Press profilesWith one exception, all newspapers generate their own press profiles. Formost of the newspapers, the situation is that the profiles are a kind of aver-age profile of two or more printing presses or of several printruns. InSweden, the newspaper industry has decided to supply the advertisers witha standard newspaper profile, which will produce a good result on allSwedish presses if run with grey bar control.

• Profile generating toolsThe measuring device for press profiles is definitely Gretag Spectrolino, andSpectroscan is used by all newspapers that make their own press profiles.With monitor profiles, more diversity is shown. X-rite’s OptiCal is popularand Spectrolino is used as well as Sequel sensor and the Barco Calibrator.The diversity continues when choosing the software for running the hard-ware devices: Gretag ProfileMaker, Heidelberg ColorOpen, ColorBlind, AgfaColourTune and others.

• AutomationOnly a few of the newspapers rely on manual conversion processes (RGB toRGB, or RGB to CMYK) except in special situations. This means that imagesare generally converted automatically when sent to the picture desk, down-loaded to print production servers or at the output stage. One companystands out by having three different implementations of their products inconnection with other production software, and that is the NorwegianFotoware and their Fotostation image browser and the Color Factory colourmanagement server. However, other solutions can be seen at Politiken andBørsen.

8

Colour Management Workflow atAftonbladet, Stockholm

Editorial site1. Images are scanned oncalibrated scanners or shotwith digital cameras. Allimages are scanned to thesame size (27 MB approx.)in RGB. No conversion orembedding of profilestakes place.

2. The images are cor-rected according to thephotographer’s/scanneroperator’s wishes inPhotoshop.

2a. Images are displayedon calibrated and profiledmonitors (gamma 1.8/wp5000° K). Monitors areRadius Pressview, whichare calibrated and profiledon a monthly basis.

3. Wire photos are droppeddirectly into a temporaryarchive without correc-tions.

4. Two options are avail-able when storing imagesin a temporary archive.The images are correctedand downloaded, markedwith “ready for automatedrepro”, or they are not cor-rected and marked “notready for automatedrepro”. When images aredownloaded in the tempo-rary archive they are avail-able for the editorial de-partment. Standard moni-

tor profile is embedded(ColorMatch RGB).

In the temporaryarchive (OpenStore), a low-res JPEG image is createdfor viewing at the edito-rial workstation.

5. At the editorial worksta-tion, images can befetched from the tempo-rary archive (with thenewly scanned images) orfrom the permanentimage archive.

5a. No general calibrationor profiling is used in edi-torial departments.

6. Images are dragged anddropped into QuarkXPress(an OpenStore functional-ity). There is no CM func-

tionality at the editorialworkstation, even thougha few workstation moni-tors are calibrated.

7. When images areplaced, or when the pageis saved, an automaticprocess starts. If imagesare marked “ready for au-tomated repro”, a requestis sent to the repro server(FotoSync Color Factory),which calls the high-resimage from the temporaryor the permanent archive.Then the high-res image isscaled, cropped, sharpenedand converted from RGB toCMYK using Kodak CMSand ICC profiles.ColorMatch RGB for theinput and Aftonsbladet’sown newsprint or gravure

profile for the output. Ahigh-res image is sent onto the OPI server.

8. If images are marked“not ready for automatedrepro”, the request goesback to the repro depart-ment, where they evaluateand correct the image ac-cording to the crop andscale parameters, as wellas the wishes of the editor.A CMYK preview is madein Photoshop using therelevant ICC profiles andthe Kodak CMM. Whenready, the image is passedon to the repro server(FotoStation ColorFactory), which converts(as above) and downloadsthe high-res image to theOPI server.

1. Scanning 2. Image edit

8. Image edit

8a. Display

5. Editorial workstation withpage assembly

3. Wire photos

11. Page printedto postscript file

13. Transmissionto printsite

12.Ripping ofpostscript file

14. Film setting

request

fileflow

4. Temporaryarchive &

permanentarchive

9. OPI-server

5a. Display

10. Gravure or coldsetproofing

7. ColourManagement

server 6. Drag and drop image intopage

Aftonbladet - Colour Management Workflow

2a. Display

9

AdvertisementsDisplay ads and full-page ads are received electronically as EPS files, CMYKseparated. Separation tables are available from the Aftonbladet homepage(www.aftonbladet.se) as an ICC or Adobe Separation Table. Separations arealso accepted when using the standard profile for the Swedish newspaperindustry, available from Tidningsutgivernes homepage (www.tu.se).

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: NoneMonitor profiles: X-Rite monitor optimiser (OptiCal)Output profiles: Logo ProfileMaker and Gretag Spectrolino/scanProfile editing tools: Editing not allowed Colour Management system: ColorSync at Mac

FotoSync ColorFactory (Kodak CMS) at NT serverKodak CMS at Edox RIPs

CMM in use: Kodak CMM

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Polaroid Sprintscan

Imacon Flextight PrecisionImage editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.02

Radius Pressview monitors (monitors are calibratedand profiled on a monthly basis).

Page assembly: Quark XPress 3.3xMacintosh with standard Trinitron monitors. No CM atthis stage. Colours are chosen from the Swedish news-paper industry’s colour book.

Illustrations: Adobe Illustrator 8. Colours are chosen from theSwedish newspaper industry’s colour book. No CM atthis stage.

Image and repro servers: The automatised image workflow is handled by soft-ware from the Swedish company Interbizz(OpenStore). The colour conversion, scaling, croppingand sharpening is handled by software from theNorwegian company Fotostation (ColorFactory).

OPI: Hyphen OPI and RIPs running on Sun SolarisOutput: Canon printers for proofing with Edox RIPs handling

CMYK to CMYK conversion with ICC profiles.RIPs at editorial site and image setters at the printsite.No CM at this stage.

8a. See 2a.

9. A high-res version isnow stored on the OPIserver and a low-res OPIfile is returned to the edi-torial station, where it re-places the low-res JPEGfile in the Quark docu-ment automatically.

10. The final page can beproofed on a Canonprinter (700 or 900) withan Edox RIP. The RIP al-lows CMYK to CMYK con-version using ICC profiles,but only as a pre-setting,not by reading embeddedprofiles. Thus, one printeris set up for ordinarynewsprint and the otherfor Gravure print.

11. Pages are printed toPostscript.

12. Final pages are gath-ered and ripped at the edi-torial site. All elements atthis stage are CMYK, andtherefore no CM is in-volved.

13. Bitmapped pages aretransmitted to theprintsite via the ParascanWydnet-system.

14. Pages are output lin-earised on image settersor CTPs. No CM at thisstage.

Contact person:Mattias NymanAftonbladetArenavägen 63105 18 Stockholme-mail: [email protected]

10

Editorial departmentThe workflow in the edito-rial department is differ-ent on each newspaper(Daily Mail, EveningStandard, Mail On Sundayand the Metro). The fol-lowing description is theworkflow at the Metro,the one considered to bethe workflow of the fu-ture.

1. Editorial photographersare scanning their ownimages in the editorial de-partments. Standard scan-ning set-up, no cropping,standard sizing and noconversion takes place. Noembedding of profiles.

2. In the colour shop de-partment, images fromother sources are scannedas above. No cropping,standard sizing, and noconversion takes place. Noembedding of profiles.

3. Wire photos are re-ceived as they are. No pro-filing or corrections.

4. Editorial photographersmake simple initial cor-rections usingFotoStation’s editing facil-ity (brightness, contrast,gamma,...).

4a. Monitors are cali-brated and ICC profiled.

Images are judged on dis-play quality. No newsprintsimulation is intended onscreen.

5. Files are saved as JPEGRGB into the FotoWarePicture desk and theFastPhoto Library.

6. At the editorial work-stations, images are cho-sen from the picture li-brary for production.Cropping and sizing in-structions are carried out.If the image is OK, it ispassed on to theColorFactory server (see 6).If the image is not satis-factory, it is sent on tocolour shop department(see 7).

7. In the colour shop, theimage is manually re-touched, cropped, scaled,sharpened and convertedinto the Lab colour space.The monitor is calibratedand ICC profiled.Photoshop is set up to auser defined standard RGBcolour space (gamma 1.8,white point 6500 K°).

8. At the ColorFactoryserver, the image iscropped, scaled and sharp-ened according to the in-structions and then con-verted into Lab colourspace. The conversionfrom RGB to Lab impliesan RGB profile which hasthe same specifications asthe one in Photoshop (seebelow). The Lab colourspace is 2°/D65.

9. From the ColorFactoryserver, images are sentdown automatically to theOPI server. A low resolu-tion is generated and be-comes available for thepage layout workstations.

10. The page layout pro-gram is QuarkXPress, butno CM facilities are usedin QuarkXPress at this time.

10a.Monitors are cali-brated and profiled.

11. Final pages are proofedlocally on Canon colourproofers. CM is used on a standard basis, whichmeans that the internalCanon colour calibration/conversion is used, not the

Colour Management Workflow atAssociated Newspapers Ltd, London

1. Scanning (photographers)

4. Image edit

7. Image edit(colour shop)

4a. Display

2. Scanning(colourshop)

3. Wire photos

10. Page assembly

11. Page proof


13. Pagepairing

14. B&W proof


16. CM & Ripping

17. Proofing

18. Film/plate setting

6. Editorial imageselection

8. ColourManagement

Server

5. Picturedesk

9. OPI-server

7a. Display

10a. Display

6a. Display

Associated Newspapers Ltd. - Colour Management Workflow

11

AdvertisementsDisplay ads and full-page ads are received electronically as EPS files, CMYKseparated. The ads are delivered by a licensed repro house, which guaran-tees the production quality. Ads are proofed on Iris proofers with CascadeRIPs at the printsite.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: NoneMonitor profiles: XRite DTP92 and ColorBlindOutput profiles: Gretag Spectrolino/Spectroscan and ColorBlindProfile editing tools: ColorBlind (for editing output profiles)Colour Management system: ColorSync at Mac workstations

Cascade CEPS RIPs with especially generated CRDs atprintsiteFotoSync at the ColorFactory server

CMM in use: Kodak CMM at Mac stationsCascade generated system in RIPKodak CMM in ColorFactory

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Scitex Smartscanner 342

Kodak 2035Agfa Horizon

Image editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.0xEizo monitors

Page assembly: QuarkXPress 3.xxIllustrations: Adobe Illustrator 8.x. No CM at this stage.Image server: The “Management of Image Production System” is a

rather complex system, one that is based around aCascade PhotoTrak software running on a Sun 4000.Incorporated in the concept is the FotoStation as animagebrowser and a simple acquire tool/editor andthe ColorFactory as a colour conversion server.

OPI: IPT Canopy Output: Editorial proofs are made on Canon 700.

Advertising proofs are at the print site on an Irisproofer.RIPs at the editorial site are Canon RIPs. RIPs at page-pair proofer, IRIS proofers and image setters areCascade (Adobe CEPS).

Contact person:Ian WithersImaging Services ManagerAssociated MediabaseNorthcliffe House2 Derry StreetKensingtonLondon W8 5TT, U.K.e-mail: [email protected]

ICC colour managementwith special generatedprofiles.

12. Final pages are printedto file (Postscript) and senton for page pairing.

13. Page pairing atMediabase customisedpage-pairing system.

14. Black and white proof-ing on Canon prooferswith RIPs identical withthe RIPs at the printingsite.

15. Transmission to print-site via mega stream line(T2).

16. At the printsite, aCascade RIP is ripping thedata and using a Post-script CRD for convertingthe Lab data into CMYK.The PostScript CRD is gen-erated in the same way asthe corresponding ICCprofile.

17. Pages are proofed onIris proofers. No simula-tion is intended, but astandard conversion fromprint CMYK to proofCMYK using the CascadeRIP software.

18. Pages are imaged onOptronics 4000 image set-ters.

CM workflow in theadvertising, imagebureau and editorialdepartments

Workflow in the advertisingdepartment1. Internally produced adsare scanned on Agfa scan-ners. The Agfa FotoLooksoftware is set up to con-vert from the scanner RGBinto ColorMatch RGBusing the ICC profiles forthe specific scanner andthe ColorMatch colourspace

2. Image editing is done inPhotoshop 5.5. The separa-tion set-up is ICC, work-space ColorMatch RGBand separation profile isone of three print profiles.

3. The monitors (AppleStudio Displays) are cali-brated to gamma 1.8 andwhite point 5000° K usingthe internal ColorSyncsoftware. Monitors arecalibrated and profiledevery three months.

4. Ads are composed inQuarkXPress without anyCM set-up.

5. Hard proofs are madeon a Lexmark printerwithout any CM.

6. Final ads are printed asPostscript files to the OPIserver.

7. At the OPI server a low-res file is generated forplacement in the Atex IASsystem.

Workflow in the image bureau(Nordfoto)8. Wire photos are re-ceived and archived un-touched as RGB. All im-ages are assumedColorMatch RGB.

9. Images are scanned in-ternally with Leaf T35 orScanMate F8. No scannerprofiles are used.

10. Images are edited inPhotoshop as RGB. Theimage is saved into theimage server as JPEG RGBwith ColorMatch RGB pro-file embedded. Photoshopis set up accordingly.

11. See 3.

12. For quality control, im-ages can be output on aSienna RGB printer (ex-posing photo paper). Theprint sequence and con-version are done byFotostation/Color Factoryand profiles are chosen inthat set-up. Profiles areColorMatch RGB and aspecially generated ICCprofile (RGB output!).

13. The MIPS picture deskis a self-constructedimage bank. It is a Unixbased system with anApache server.

Workflow in editorial14. Images are chosenfrom the image base.

15. Internally scanned ordigitally captured imagesare input into Photoshopwithout conversion,ColorMatch RGB assumed.

16. Images are separatedusing the ICC profile, setup with ColorMatch RGBas source and the averageprint profile as destina-tion. Images are sent to

Colour Management Workflow atBerlingske Tidende, Copenhagen

Berlingske Tidende - Colour Management Workflow

1. Advertising-scanning

2. Image editing

3. Monitors

4. Ad assembly

5. Hard proof

6. Save as EPS

13. Picture desk

7. Ad server

8. Wire photos

9. Negative scanning

10. Image editingand saving

11. Monitors

12. Colour proofing

19. Page assembly

20. Automatic assem-bly of editorial and

advertising information

14. Selectingimages fromthe picture

desk

15. Editorialscanning

17. Editorialmonitors

16. Image editing

21. Ripping


23. Film/platesetting

24. Page approval

18. OPI-server

12

Externally produced advertisementsAdvertisements are received fully electronically as CMYK separated EPSfiles via the ADS (advertisement delivery system). They can be accompa-nied by proofs. Advertisements can also be delivered as films. They will bescanned on a copy dot scanning system to be integrated into the workflow.The separations are made according to Danish standards for newsprint(www.kankanikke.dk).

As a special service for customers, Berlingske offers to set up the colourmanagement system for their clients. This includes profiling of inputequipment, setting up Photoshop and the installation of the averaged out-put profile. This has been successful, especially for the property market.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: Linotype ScanOpenMonitor profiles: Linotype ViewOpen and SpectrolinoOutput profiles: Linotype PrintOpen and Gretag

Spectrolino/SpectroscanProfile editing tools: Kodak Custom Color Profile Editor (Photoshop Plug in) Colour Management system: ColorSync on MacsCMM in use: Apple ColorSync default

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Agfa Horizon

Agfa T2000Agfa T5000Leaf T35Scanview F8+

Digital cameras: Kodak DCS 520 (Canon)Image editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.5Page assembly: Atex EdPage and Atex IASIllustrations: Adobe IllustratorImage server: MIPS (self-constructed image library)OPI: Helios EthershareOutput: Autologic RIPs

Lexmark 1200Sienna colour printerAgfa Polaris 100 CTPs

Contact person:Birger JelboQuality Assurance ManagerBerlingske A/SPilestræde 34DK-1147 Copenhagen Ke-mail: [email protected]

OPI server after editing,cropping, sharpening andscaling.

17. See 3 and 11.

18. From the OPI, low-resimages are generated forplacement in the AtexEdPage.

19. Pages are assembled inthe EdPage program.

20. Final page elementsare gathered for output.

21. Pages are ripped on theauto logic RIPs and savedas TIFF/ITg4.

22. Pages are transmittedto printsites via ParascanPageLink.

23. Pages are exposed onAgfa CTPs.

24. Page approval is basedon grey bar control.

13

Editorial department1. Images at Børsen areprimarily wire photosfrom news agencies andfreelance photographers.Wire photos are not givenany special treatment.

2. Colour originals arescanned on Imacon flextight scanners. In thescanning process the filesare converted from scan-ner RGB to monitor RGBusing profiles supplied bythe scanner supplier.Image correction is doneusing the scanner soft-ware.

3. Monitors are calibratedvia the Knoll gamma soft-ware on a daily basis. Thetarget is gamma 1.8/ 5000°K. No colour managementor profiling is used.

4. Images are saved intothe Saxotech Picture Deskas JPEG RGB.

5. In the editorial depart-ment, images are selectedfrom the picture deskbrowser and initiallycropped and scaled afterstandard specifications.Information about crop-ping and scaling is passedon to the image prepara-tion server.

6. The image preparationserver activates thePhotoRace colour conver-sion software, whichcrops, scales and convertsthe images from RGB toCMYK. The conversion isdone using proprietaryprofiles, which can be al-tered by simple means, al-though not by using ICCprofiles even though it ispossible.

7. A high-res CMYK file ispassed on to the OPIserver.

8. A low-res is generatedand returned to the pic-ture desk (production por-tion) for editorial place-ment in the page layoutprogram.

9. The image is positionedin QuarkXPress and if nec-essary the high-res ver-sion is called via theSaxotech QX extension forfurther simple image cor-rections. The correctionsare carried out by the edi-tors.

10. CM facilities in QX arenot in use and monitorsare not calibrated againstany specific standard orprofiled at the editorialsite.

11. Final pages are proofedon black and white print-ers.

12. Final pages are gath-ered at the output man-

agement department andprinted to Postscript files.

13. The Postscript files areripped in an AutoLogicsoftPIP to Tiff/ITg4 format.

14. The Tiff files are trans-mitted to the printsite

15. Files are imaged onimage setters with noproofing.

Colour Management Workflow atBørsen, Copenhagen

10. Monitor.

B¿rsen - Colour Management Workflow

1. Wire photos

4. Picture desk(general)

8. Picture desk(productionl)

2. Scanning

3. Monitor

14. Transmissionto Printsite

13. Ripping



9. Editorial imagepositioning

7. OPI-server

11. B&Wproofing

12. Outputmanagement

6. Image preparation

server

14

AdvertisementsDisplay ads and full-page ads are received electronically as EPS files, CMYKseparated. Separations are made according to standards specified by DDPFF(www.ddpff.dk/web/home.nsf/HTDocs/kvalgrp3.html).

Advertisements produced in-house are scanned on Agfa Horizon orT5000 scanners. The images are directly converted into CMYK by theFotoLook/FotoTune software using ICC scanner profiles and a newsprintprofile created specifically for Børsen (which is printed on pinkishnewsprint). The monitors are Radius Precision Color Display calibrated toD50/1.8 gamma. Calibration and profiling is intended to take place everythree months. Photoshop 4.0 is used for image editing, set up with ICC gen-erated profile as PS-table.. The image is then placed in a QuarkXPress 4.0xdocument.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: Agfa ColorTuneMonitor profiles: Gretag ProfileMaker 2.3.5Output profiles: Gretag ProfileMaker 2.3.5 and

Gretag Spectrolino/SpectroscanProfile editing tools: No profile editing of ICC profiles. PhotoRace tables are

edited with PhotoRace software.Colour Management system: ColorTune at internal advertising scanning

ColorSync at editorial scanningPhotoRace at editorial separation

CMM in use: ColorTune CMM, ColorSync (default) and PhotoRace

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Imacon Flextight Precision

Agfa Horizon UltraAgfa T5000

Image editing: Adobe Photoshop 4.0Radius Precision Color Display

Page assembly: QuarkXPress 4.0xIllustrations: Adobe Illustrator 8Image server: Saxotech image baseOPI: Auto logicOutput: Auto logic SoftPIP

Image setters are at an external print house

Contact person:Erwin Christensen/Peter JacobsenBørsenMøntergade 19DK-1140 Copenhagen Ke-mail: [email protected]

15

Editorial department1. Images are scanned onnegative scanners. All im-ages are scanned to thesame size in RGB. No conversionor embedding of profilestakes place.

2. Images from sourcesother than the photogra-phers are scanned by therepro department, muchin the same way as thephotographers do it.

3. Initial corrections aremade by the photogra-phers or repro depart-ment, but no cropping orscaling takes place.

3a. Images are displayedon calibrated and profiledMacintosh based moni-tors. Calibration and pro-filing made by X-RiteOptiCal (spec. 1.8/5500° K).Calibration and profilingtakes place on a monthlybasis.

4. Wire photos are with-out initial control or cor-rection.

5. Images are stored asJPEG RGB in a FotoStationarchive. Images are nowavailable for the editorialdepartment via theFotoStation software.

6. At the editorial work-station, images arefetched from the archivesvia the FotoStation soft-ware. Images are markedwith cropping and scalingparameters. Specificwishes about the imageediting are typed in anelectronic job sheet for thephoto-department if nec-essary.

6a. No calibration or pro-filing at editorial worksta-tions.

7. The image shows up in a“to-do” folder at the reprodepartment, and animage-note, explainingthe task, is attached.

7a. See 3a.

8. The ready RGB image ispassed on to the colourmanagement serverwhere it is automaticallycropped, scaled, sharp-ened and converted toCMYK. Profiles engagedare standard RGB(ColorFactory default) anda specific CMYK profile forDagens Nyheter (based onan average of their bestpresses).

9. At the Helios OPIserver, a low-res is gener-ated and becomes avail-able for placing in theQuark document in theeditorial department.

10. The images are placedin the page layout. No CMis used in QuarkXPress.

10a. See 6a.

11. Final pages are proofedin the editorial depart-ment on a Tektronix 780.No simulation at thisstage, apart from usingpaper which is similar tonewsprint.

12. Final pages are printedto Postscript files.

13. The Postscript files areripped at the editorial site.At this stage, all elementsare CMYK and thereforeno CM is involved. The re-sulting file is a Tiff group4bitmap file.14. Bitmapped pages aretransmitted to theprintsites.

Colour Management Workflow atDagens Nyheter, Stockholm

1. Scanning (photographers)

3. Image edit

7. Image edit(repro dep.)

2. Scanning(repro dep.)

4. Wire photos10. Page assembly

11. Page proof



13.Ripping thepostscript file

15. Film/platesetting


8. ColourManagement

server

5. Picturedesk

9. OPI-server

7a. Display

10a. Display

6a. Display

Dagens Nyheter - Colour Management Workflow

3a. Display

16

AdvertisementsDisplay ads and full-page ads are received electronically as EPS files, CMYKseparated. Separations are made according to standards specified byTidningsutgiverne. ICC profile is available from Tidningsutgiverne’s home-page (www.tu.se) or directly from Dagens Nyheter.Advertisements produced in-house are scanned on Heidelberg Topaz orHeidelberg Saphir and via the LinoColor software converted directly toCMYK.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: NoneMonitor profiles: X-Rite monitor optimiser (OptiCal)Output profiles: Logo ProfileMaker and Gretag Spectrolino/ScanProfile editing tools: Editing not allowed Colour Management system: ColorSync at Mac

FotoSync ColorFactory (Kodak CMS) at NT serverCMM in use: Kodak CMM at NT server and Adobe built-in in

Photoshop (Mac)

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Polaroid Sprintscan

Nikon CoolscanImage editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.5

SONY Trinitron Multiscan 300 (monitors are calibratedand profiled on a monthly basis).

Page assembly: Quark XPress 3.32Macintosh with standard Trinitron monitors. No CM atthis stage. Colours are chosen from the Swedish news-paper industry’s colour book.

Illustrations: Adobe Illustrator 8. Colours are chosen from theSwedish newspaper industry’s colour book. No CM atthis stage.

Image and repro servers: Colour conversion, scaling, cropping and sharpeningusing software from the Norwegian companyInterfoto (ColorFactory, FotoStation).

OPI: HeliosOutput: Editorial proofs are made on Tektronix 780

RIPs at editorial site are Autologic Soft-Pip.Image setters at printsite are Hell recorders.

Contact person:Daniel LindénDagens NyheterAnnonsavdelingenGjöwellsgatan 30105 15 Stockholme-mail: [email protected]

15. Pages are output lin-earised on image setters.No CM at this stage.

17

Editorial department1. Wire photos and digitalcamera images are loadeddirectly into an imageserver as RGB JPEG. Noprofiles are embedded. Nocorrections are made.

2. The photo departmentscans negatives inRGB/JPEG format. No re-touching or colour man-agement takes place atthis time.

3. Editors choose imagesfrom the asset manage-ment system.

4. Designer decides cropand size and passes it onfor production.

5. The RGB images areopened in Monaco CMsoftware, which is set upwith a monitor and out-put profile. Image correc-tions are made based onthe visual impression.After corrections, theimage (still RGB) is savedin Photoshop and via thePhotoshop separationtable is converted intoCMYK. The separationtable and monitor profileis based on the ICC pro-files used in the Monacosoftware. Images aresaved as EPS.

6. The monitor is a Mac-based Barco Calibrator.The monitor is calibratedand profiled every 14 daysto 5000° K and gamma 1.8,using the built-in Barcomeasuring tool and hard-ware adjustment.

7. Individual images canbe proofed on a XeroxSplash. No ICC simulationis intended, only Xerox in-ternal conversion, but a“newsprint” tint is printedon the page to simulateauthentic newsprint.

8. Separated files are sentto OPI server. Self-compos-ing software checks if thefiles are CMYK. If not, theyare rejected.

9. The editorial depart-ment places the low-resimages in the Paginationsoftware Ed-Page usingAtex.

10. Black and white proofsare made to check thecomposition, image place-ment and type for the edi-tors.

11. Approved pages aresent to the composingroom where the finalpages are ripped intoTIFF/G4 file format.

12. A black and whiteproof is made of each sep-aration on an HP LaserJet5000.

13. Pages are transmittedto printsites.

14. Files are loaded intothe Parascan for three rea-sons. For presetting ink-keys, for making a softproof and finally for mak-ing digital hardcopies.

15. At the printsite, thepages are proofed on anHP DesignJet 1050C 1 onprinting stock in rolls (reelstub) or on IRIS Realist FXproofers simulating print-ing stock. The bitmap im-ages are re-sampled from1-8 bit at a lower resolu-tion and transfer curvesare added, taking dot gainand max ink into account.

Colour Management Workflow atThe New York Times

The New York Times - Colour Management Workflow

1. Wire photosand digital

camera

Picture desk(general)

Intermediate server

5. Correction and Separation

2. Photo depart-ment scans nega-

tiv film3. Editor chooses from

image base

4. Designer decides crop andsize and passes it on

for production

9. Editorial imagepositioning

11. Composingroom/RIP

10. B&W proof 12. Sep. proofing

8. OPI server

16. Soft proofing

17. Monitor

19. Printapproval

6. Monitor7. Proof

15. Colourproofing

14. Parascan 18.Film/plate-

setting


18

AdvertisementsAds are received fully electronically as EPS files. They are accompanied byproofs. The separations are made according to SNAP standards fornewsprint.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: No profilesMonitor profiles: Barco Calibrator and Mitsubishi Spectraview 1000Output profiles: So far, profiles for the press have been provided by

R.I.T. using Kodak ColorFlow, but in the near future TheNYT expects to produce its own profiles using Gretagequipment and Kodak software.The editorial department uses MonacoColor andGretag equipment.

Profile editing tools: No ICC profile editing takes place. Parascan/SiliconGraphic profiles are adjusted to simulate the press.

Colour Management system: MonacoColor engine at editorial for simulation onmonitor.Photoshop internal separation.Parascan’s Colormanager for proofing at printsite.

CMM in use: Monaco CMM for soft proofing at editorial.

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Agfa Arcus II scanners

Kodak RFS scannersImage editing: Adobe Photoshop 4.0x and MonacoPage assembly: EdPage by AtexIllustrations: Adobe IllustratorImage server: Canto’s Cumulus

T/One’s MerlinOPI: Sun MGSOutput: Monotype RIPs

Scitex Brisque RIPsTriple I image settersHP DesignJet Proofers 1050RIS Realist FXXerox SplashHP LaserJet 5000

Contact person:Sanat Hazra,Quality Assurance ManagerNew York Times1 New York Times PlazaFlushing, NY 11354U.S.A.e-mail: [email protected]

16. Pages are soft proofedon Parascan usingColorman CLUT tables.The tables can have thecolour of the stock paperadded for simulation.

17. Monitors at theprintsite are MitsubishiSpectraView/1000. Theyare calibrated by an inte-gral measuring device to5000° K/gamma 1.8.

18. Film/plate setting onTriple I filmsetters atCollege Point and Edisonprintsite.

19. First prints are checkedagainst proofs and ap-proved once they match.

1. The DesignJets are notbeing used in productionat the time of writing thisreport, but they are ex-pected to enter productionin the foreseeable future.

19

Editorial department1. Wire photos are loadeddirectly into an imageserver as RGB JPEG. Noprofiles are embedded. Nocorrections take place.ColorMatch RGB is the as-sumed colour space.

2. Digital photographs areloaded into server as RGBJPEG (with ColorMatchRGB profile embedded).ColorMatch RGB is chosenas it seems to be the defacto standard in thegraphic arts industry andgeneral implementationis of major importance fora newspaper.

3. Scanning is done withspecific scanner profilesand converts the imagesinto the ColorMatch RGB.Images are saved as RGBJPEG with ColorMatchRGB profile embedded.Scanner profiles are gen-erated every threemonths.

4. Monitors are all cali-brated to 5000° K/gamma1.8 using the internalmonitor procedure.Calibration is intended totake place daily. It is theintention to use the samemonitor at all colourworkstations. The monitorchosen is the SonyMultiscan G500. Monitor

profiles are generated ona monthly basis.

5. The editorial depart-ment selects the imagesfrom the AGT imageserver for use in produc-tion. They apply cropping,sizing, unsharp masking,simple corrections (bright-ness, darkness, etc.) andretouch using the AGTimage tools. From the edi-torial department, theimage can go in two direc-tions for separation: to theeditorial repro depart-ment or for automaticconversion in the AGTserver.

6. If the image is large orshall be used in a specificgraphic context, the

cropped, scaled and cor-rected image is sent on forseparation in the editorialrepro department, wherethey separate and makefurther corrections accord-ing to output result.Separations are made inPhotoshop with ICC pro-files (ColorMatch RGB toICC Press Profile) and finalcorrections made by softproofing the CMYK file.

7. All other images aresent on for automatic con-version (ColorMatch RGBto ICC Press Profile) in theAGT image server.

8. The separated CMYKTIFF images are passed onto the CCI system for posi-tioning.

9. Images are positionedin the CCI system.

10. Final pages are hardproofed for text and lay-out control.

11. Final pages are printedto server and ripped intoTiff/G4 files on HarlequinRIPs.

12. On the Parascan sys-tem, the Tiff/G4 files aresoft proofed via aParascan look-up-table.The Parascan look-up-table is generated by con-verting a Parascan CMYKcalibration file to RGB, inPhotoshop using theabove-mentioned profiles.Afterwards, the file issaved as a BMP file from

Colour Management Workflow atPolitiken, Copenhagen

4. Monitors

Politiken - Colour Management Workflow

1. Wire photos

AGT image server

8. CCI News Desk

Intermediate server

2. Digital photographs

3. Scanning

5. Editorial imageselection and

correction

7. Repro servertakes care of auto-matic conversion

9. Page layout

11. Final pages areprinted and ripped

into bitmap

12. Editorial soft-proof


10. B/W hard proof

6. Repro depart-ment takes care of

conversion andfinal correction

14. Presettingpress

16. Print approval

15. Filmsetting

20

AdvertisementsAds are received fully electronically as CMYK separated EPS files via theADS (advertisement delivery system). They can be accompanied by proofs.Ads can also be delivered as films. They will be scanned on a copy dot scan-ning system to be integrated into the workflow. The separations are madeaccording to Danish standards for newsprint (www.kankanikke.dk).

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: Linotype ScanOpenMonitor profiles: Linotype ViewOpen and the Sequel Sensor or

SpectrolinoOutput profiles: Linotype PrintOpen and Gretag

Spectrolino/SpektroscanProfile editing tools: No ICC profile editing takes place.Colour Management system: ColorSync on Macs

ICM on Windows and NTsCMM in use: Kodak CMM on Macs, PCs and NTs

Parascan’s internal (non ICC)

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Agfa Arcus II scanners

Kodak RFS scannersDigital cameras: Nikon DC620

Canon DC580Image editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and AGT (Applied Graphic

Technology)Page assembly: CCIIllustrations: Adobe IllustratorImage server: AGTOPI: NoneOutput: Harlquin RIPs

Hewlett Packard b&w printers (Editorial hard proofs)Seiko Color Point 835PS (hard proofs for advertise-ments)

Contact person:Lasse StålungPrepress ManagerPolitiken A/SRådhuspladsenDK-1785 Copenhagen Ve-mail: [email protected]

which the Parascan ren-ders a Parascan look-up-table for soft proofing. Thesoft proof can be viewedboth in the editorial de-partment and at theprintsites.

13. Bitmapped pages aretransferred to printsitesby Parascan BitLink.

14. Presses are pre-setusing the Parascan soft-ware.

15. Films are exposed onlinearised Hell LS210image setters.

16. Print is approved(under standard viewingconditions) by comparisonwith a Parascan soft proof.

21

Editorial department1. Images are scanned asRGB on EskoScan 2540 orItek 320-1. No embeddingof profiles takes place.

2. Wire photos are notgiven special treatment.They come without anyindication of origin.

3. Images are saved in thePicture desk Photogrid asJPEG RGB.

4. When images are cho-sen for editorial use viaPhotogrid, an electronicrequest is sent to the reprodepartment. In Photogrid,they can see the requestedsizing and cropping.

5. At the repro departmentthey crop, scale, re-res andconvert (RGB to CMYK). Allthis is done in Photoshop5.05. RGB workspace isBruceRGB (gamma 2.2,6500° K). The separationtable is a modifiednewsprint AdobeSeparation Table.

5a. The monitor is a cali-brated Radius Pressview21SR. The calibration toolis the Knoll gamma soft-ware and is done by theoperator on daily basis.Monitors are calibratedtowards gamma 2.2 andwhite point 6500° K.

6. Files (CMYK) ready forproduction are down-loaded to Hydra OPIserver.

7. Low-res images can befetched by the editorialdepartment for position-ing in the “Good news”page make-up system byTera.

7a. Monitors in editorialare not calibrated or pro-filed.

8. Final pages can beprinted on a Canon 700with a Fiery RIP. Basic cali-bration to ensure goodcolour, but no simulationis done. No ICC colourmanagement at thisstage.

9. Postscript files (DCS 2.0)are generated from “Goodnews”, and are thenpassed on to page produc-tion.

10. The PS pages are ripped(ECRM RIPs) to TIFF/g4files.

11. Bitmap files are pairedin a page-pairing system.

12. Pages are soft proofedon a Harland Simon softproofing system, whereink settings are taken intoaccount. The page produc-tion staff approves pagesbefore sending.

13. Pages are transmittedto the printsite

14. Pages are exposed inpairs at ECRM KnockOutimage setters.

Colour Management Workflow atThe Scotsman, Edinburgh

The Scotsman - Colour Management Workflow

1. Scanning

5. Image edit(colour shop)

3. Picture desk

2. Wire photos

7. Page assembly

10. Ripping


12. Soft proofing


9. IntermediatePostscript files

library


6. OPI-server7a. Display

8. Proofing

5a. Display

11. Page-pairing

22

AdvertisementsDisplay ads and full-page ads are received electronically as EPS files, CMYKseparated. Separations are made according to standards specified by TheScotsman. EPS files are checked by AZUR, an Imation software for colour,fonts, etc.

Advertisements produced in-house are scanned on Agfa Horizon orT2000 scanners. Separation tables are the internal Agfa tables (ICC based),generated especially for each scanner and with a standard output profile(or was it an RGB scan which is separated in Photoshop?). The image is thenplaced in a QuarkXPress 3.32 document. The final ad is then proofed on aTektronix Phaser 780 which uses ICC profiles. A standard profile for theproofer and a standard newsprint profile, which is squeezed to match theprinted output visually. The proofer also prints on newsprint-like paper.

Colour Management and profiling software used:Scanner profiles: Agfa ColorTune for internally produced adsMonitor profiles: NoneOutput profiles: None (standard, delivered by vendors)Profile editing tools: Profile at Tektronix printer has an editable transfer

curve.Colour Management system: Photoshop separation table at Mac

Tektronix CMS at printerCMM in use: Tektronix CMM

Photoshop built-in (not ICC)

Other applications and hardware in use:Scanning: Itek 320-1

Eskoscan 2450Agfa HorizonAgfa T2000

Image editing: Adobe Photoshop 5.05Radius Pressview monitors (monitors are calibratedon a daily basis by using a Knoll Gamma Tool).

Page assembly: Good News by Tera.Advertisements are generated in QuarkXPress 3.32and integrated in Good News as EPS files.

Illustrations: Adobe Illustrator 8. No CM at this stage.Image server: Editorial image base is Photogrid by SCCOPI: HydraOutput: Editorial proofs are made on Canon 700

Advertising proofs are made on Tektronix Phaser 780RIPs at editorial site are ECRM. Image setters at theprintsite are ECRM Knockout.

Soft proofing Harland Simon software running on Windows NT.

Contact person:Drew KingIT Production ManagerThe Scotsman20 North BridgeEdinburgh EH1 1YTe-mail: [email protected]

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