Perfect Colours for Creative Minds (4)

By Hermann Groeneveld / SilvergrainClassics

Colour Grading Demands Top Performance in Colour Reproduction

When it comes to the finest nuances in colour matching, the ColorEdge CG2700X is the perfect choice. This is the case with colour grading, for example. A process that originally comes from the world of film post-production. Today, it can be applied in a similar way to digital photos using the latest image editing programmes. The overall appearance of an individual image or film can be determined by colour grading. This can be used, for example, to transport the viewer to a certain time or nostalgic mood on an emotional level. In photography, the technique is often used to do justice to a certain visual language.

The first step in colour grading ensures that the colours of the recording material are reproduced correctly. This is followed by the creative part of the individual overall colour design of the image or film in order to create the desired look. It is not uncommon for further partial adjustments to be necessary: the correction of image noise, the elimination of unwanted colour casts and disturbing colour inconsistencies between individual images or different film scenes. A precisely calibrated monitor is indispensable for all these steps.

As on the Monitor, so in Print

Once an image has been edited, it often needs to be printed on high-quality paper. And in the same way as it looks on the monitor. What sounds so obvious, however, is not at all unproblematic. An image in RGB format must first be converted to CMYK for printing. This can be an additional source of errors. In addition to the printer used, the paper selected has an immense effect on the appearance of the print. The same file will look much more colourful and contrasty on a glossy paper than on a very matt and textured paper. The reason for this is the real, physical properties of the print medium and the ink. And these cannot be influenced digitally. But they can be digitally simulated so that the monitor displays how the image will look when printed. Two things are required for a reliable soft proof view: an absolutely precise monitor that can also display the printable colours. And a print ICC profile, which contains information about the visual impact the printing process will have on the file. The manufacturer of a fine art printer or the paper manufacturer mostly offers corresponding profiles for download free of charge. If you use RIP software such as Mirage, these are usually already supplied. To ensure that the monitor display and the print actually match, the calibration target of the monitor and the ambient light in which the print is viewed must also match. Finally, there is the human factor and its subjective perception. EIZO even offers support for this in the form of a special adjustment function for calibration targets.

To be continued

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