Postscript Color Management

[ColorMeBob]

Our work place has undergone a change from mostly PDF job flows to mostly PostScript. When we were PDF we did a lot of spot color matching and such and now I am being tasked to make sections of color in the postscript job flow.
Other than using a blanket approach by custom output profiles I am at a loss.

Is there a RGB Input or CMYK input source that I could or should be using?

I have been reading a number of articles from the web that allude to several things:
1) Correct settings in the creation of the file to begin with
2) Correct settings when using Distiller
3) Having a PS receptive commercial profile for output
Most of these articles are older than 2010 so may be out of date but I wanted to ask.

I am managing Konica MInolta C1100s, using CWS, Fiery CS IC-310H PS Color Server2.1us, FS150 Pro.

[Lou_P]

Hi Bob.

Settings for PDF and .PS workflows should be mostly the same. What is the source of the page files? That is are they being made in Adobe CS apps or somewhere else? If Adobe, look at the color settings and match your RGB and CMYK source profiles to the ones used but these design apps that create the pages.

For best results you should use and output profile and Fiery calibration you make specifically for your press and the paper type (s) you print on, we recommend Fiery Color Profiler Suite for this.

But for sorting out source profiles as long as you choose the same factory default profile and calibration for all your tests and calibrate right before any tests you should be able to see the effect of choosing difference source profiles has.

Are you doing a .PS workflow by saving .PS files or by printing them via the driver?

Also, just curious but why the move away from PDF to .PS?

~Lou

[ColorMeBob]

*So it looks like I have some homework to do to see if I can find the source method.*

Hi Bob.

Settings for PDF and .PS workflows should be mostly the same. What is the source of the page files? That is are they being made in Adobe CS apps or somewhere else? If Adobe, look at the color settings and match your RGB and CMYK source profiles to the ones used but these design apps that create the pages.

For best results you should use and output profile and Fiery calibration you make specifically for your press and the paper type (s) you print on, we recommend Fiery Color Profiler Suite for this. *My Konica Minolta tech told me that this should be the same, plus I have use embedded profiles turned on for both CMYK and RGB when we are running these.*

But for sorting out source profiles as long as you choose the same factory default profile and calibration for all your tests and calibrate right before any tests you should be able to see the effect of choosing different source profiles has.

Are you doing a .PS workflow by saving .PS files or by printing them via the driver? * We receive these through a server where the files are loaded on from across the country and we pull them off to a hotfolder which loads the files straight into our HELD queue. I am not really able to see anything directly, unless I can save the incoming file to my jumpdrive and them carry it to my computer so I can look at it.
It seem that I need to Distill the files and I am not familiar enough to know which set of intents and settings I need to get the best PDF that would actually show me the clearest original intent. So far I have tried this on segments of these files to see if I can affect the colors/spot colors and have not been able to do so. Actually what I mean to say is that if I look at these through the Fiery after rasterization I am able to see Fiery's interpretation and see the CMYK of that segment, when I do a Distillation I get a far different CMYK build and neither CMYK responds to a spot color adjustment. I don't know if it is because of the spot color name or if it is the nature of the PS to not allow adjustment. *

Also, just curious but why the move away from PDF to .PS?
*Our company has switched production plants for various output production to other areas of the country, thus our PDF work went elsewhere while we had a massive increase in the PS workflow. It is my hope to learn enough about PDF 2.0 to see if I can influence sales to seek that file input from our clients instead of PS simply due to the adaptability of PDF 2.0 as well as the spot color influence so we can better guarantee a match to their expectations.*

~Lou

[ColorMeBob]

It has been some time since I posted this , so I think it is time to post a follow-up.
I have established that when I receive a PDF of the clients document that will become a PostScript workflow and it is my job to produce a pleasing sample, I first turn off Profile Conversion since that will give me results most closely matching what the Post Script will provide me.
Our production facility receives most of the work via PDF from our clients/ their clients along with data for the VDP. The IT Image & Display dept. then creates the PostScript workflow using EmTex software.
After almost a year of suggestions, hints and exclamations we (I mean I) finally downloaded the Demo version of Color Profile Suite....only to find that everything we wanted to evaluate was locked away. I posted a series of questions to support and then received a phone call from a wonderful gal here at EFI, who then gave me two contacts for EFI, a regional person and a localish person. When I sent my same questions to them I received a call from Jeremy who answered many of them and asked if I had other questions. I then expressed my confusion as to how to make a solid case to my senior managers based off marketing data instead of actual figures. In short order I received a loaner ES-2000 to run my tests.
I will have my own licensed key here in a couple weeks