Posts Tagged ‘color management’
File Types and Color Management
Anyone who’s ever used Adobe Photoshop can tell you there are about 20 different ways to save an image file. Then there’s the issue of color profiles. Ask 10 different graphic designers about the best way to save files and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. That’s fine for the designer, but from our point of view, we want to get you files in the way that will give you the best quality without any undue headaches.
Often ad agencies and larger design firms will have a dedicated production manager who’s job it is to manage all of this stuff. If that’s the case we’ll work closely with them to make sure we get the files to the client in a way that will work into their workflow easily.
Many other clients do not have a dedicated production person. For those clients we recommend a couple of things.
- Read over the guidelines from the UPDIG working group here.
- Understand that no single file type is best for all applications, and so we will often deliver the same image in a number of file formats and sizes
We archive all jobs in a couple of different formats. First we keep all of the RAW files from the shoot. Second, all selections are saved in 16bit RGB tiff or psd layer files. This allows for the greatest flexibility should any further adjustments be needed down the road. Our system is fully calibrated using ICC profiles and we embed the working profile into all files. This allows client to embed their profile of choice on their end. By working in this way we can ensure that the final output will match what was intended.
Digital standards for photographers
RGB, CMYK, SWOP, JPG, LZW, FTP, ICC
More acronyms than a report from the federal government. If you’re in, or close to the imaging industry you’ve probably seen these and more. But what do they mean, and which ones are right for your appliction? This question and others like it have led to a group of imaging professionals and manufacturers, along with their associated trade groups, to form an ad-hoc consortium. This group is dedicated to establishing a set of best practices guidelines for working with digital images. Known as UPDIG (Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines) they have published their recommendations on everything from monitor calibration to long term storage of digital images available at www.updig.org. As much as we artists like to “march to our own beat” and to “think outside the box,” it’s nice to have a set of guidelines that we can agree on and work within. No use in re-inventing the wheel every couple of days.
Photography best practices
or, “What the heck do I do with this?”
Putting together visuals can be a lot like cooking. There are several ingredients that need to be put together in a specific way in order to achieve the desired results. Whether your cooking dinner or laying out the catalog, it all needs to be properly prepared.
We do our homework ahead of time and speak with you, your printer or your production manager and figure out the best way to deliver files in order to have them look there best in the end. As much as we would love to say that’s the end of it. There’s still considerations to be made when working with images. From proper sizing to unsharp masking to embedded color profiles, there are few a pitfalls ahead. Many of our clients are comfortable with these issues, many less so. In either case we’re happy to answer questions, send variations and in some cases make a visit to the office to help establish best practices. There are quite a few online resources as well such as UPDIG and Apple’s Pro Color.
