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Colour managed workflows - save time and money and reduce waste PDF
By Paul Sherfield, The Missing Horse Consultancy Ltd.
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Firstly, what is a colour managed workflow? Most images are now digital. Gone is the comfort zone of a transparency viewed, assessed and selected using a light box.

So we can only use a digital colour management system to ensure that digital images are processed correctly through a prepress workflow. In this case by colour management, we mean ICC (International Color Consortium) colour management specifications, the 'defacto' standard for printing and publishing.

This system underpins all of the colour transformations needed including:
  • Colour space conversions, i.e. RGB to CMYK
  • Profiling screens for accurate colour viewing
  • Controlling proofing systems
  • Specifying printing conditions
Colour managed graphic arts workflows based on these ICC profiles, policies and specifications, leading to proofing and printing to ISO 12647 proofing and standard printing conditions, are now becoming more common in the UK printing industry.

Implementation of a colour managed workflow from digital image -to-page-to-PDF-to-proof-to-printing has resulted in users saving time and money in the following areas:
  • Correct use of ICC profiles for images results in less retouching and reprocessing though the CtP workflow, saving reproofing and re-plating. So, as well as saving time and materials, it will save on the power and resources needed for reprocessing.
  • Creating the correct colour managed files, PDF X1a or Postscript, for digital contract colour proofs, and proofing using calibrated and validated systems to the required ISO printing condition ensures accurate proofs and less reproofing. Again, time, power and materials are saved, along with the transport costs of resubmitting proofs.
  • Printing to ISO 12647/2 standard on press will save time on make readies and results in less white paper waste on make ready and, as the press will be set up to print in its optimum range, less waste on the run. Average figures for this area, based on a B2 or B1 sheet fed lithographic press, show:
    • Time reduced by 10 to 15 minutes, per 4 colour make-ready
    • Make-ready white paper reduced by 50 to 150 sheets
    • Running waste reduced by 2 1/2%
All these areas show saving in time, power and materials

There is also what some may see as a greater benefit from a colour managed workflow; consistent, measurable quality which will give greater client satisfaction and therefore better client retention.

Finally, a little information the ISO 12647/2 -2004 Amd 1 standard, to give its full title. It is part of the ISO 12647 group of printing standards. It applies to offset printing, both sheet fed and web fed.

The ISO 12647 printing standards are the final link of a colour managed graphics workflow from image, page, PDF, contract proof (hard or soft) CtP workflow, plate and printing. The standard provides printing conditions for most printing method and papers. From this standard printing conditions Fogra has produced a number of ICC based colour data sets, which measure and describe these conditions. These data sets have been used by the European Color Initiative and others to prepare a range of ICC CMYK profiles for free use when printing to these standards.

Of course it is possible to make an ICC profile for every press at every printer in the world. But this would be impractical as clients would need to have lots of profiles from their many printers and know where job was to be printed and on which press. Also profiling individual presses has, in the main, with some specialised exceptions, proved an exercise in futility. This is due to presses not being stable, so very soon new profiles are required.

Using the ISO 12647/2 standards presses can be controlled more easily than by ICC profiling and offer the client the holy grail of common colour appearance across printers and printing methods.

The standard has been in place for over 12 years but until now although printers could work to the standards figures, they could not be certified to the standard in the same way as they could for ISO 14001 for environmental management systems and ISO 9001 for quality management systems. This was because there was no UKAS (The United Kingdom Accreditation Service) approved scheme for auditing the standard.

To quote from the UKAS web site:

'The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.'

Within the last 3-4 years other organisations, such as Fogra and Ugra now offer their own versions of accreditation to the standard.

However the BPIF's technical standards committee on looking into this area was convinced, after much discussions and debate with many printers and their clients that a UKAS based ISO certification was needed in the UK.

A BPIF working group was set up in late 2007 consisting of printers, print buyers and technical consultants to formulate an ISO 12647/2 certification scheme. This scheme was approved by UKAS in July 2009 and will be 'live' early in 2010. Test audits will be carried out in the autumn of 2009 at print companies, who, if they pass, can be awarded full certification when the scheme is live.

The scheme covers more then just the printing area. It also includes prepress and proofing, so resulting in a full colour managed workflow and policy. However, printers can decide if they wish to include prepress in their certification.


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