Color correction is part of a day's work for a giclée prepress artist. Clients bring you all sorts of files with all sorts of intentions. Some files can be printed almost 'as is' but others may require a bit more work. Such was the case when Brian Fisher (www.brianfisherart.com) brought us Helen II for a giclée... but not just any giclée.
This giclée had to match a 'Monotype' print original as closely as possible because the collector purchasing the giclée of Helen II also had another original from the same series. Not only that,, he was acquiring the giclée as a memento for a loved one who had recently passed away.
"The monotype print, (“single print“, “1/1“) although regarded as a form of printmaking yields only one strong impression and a weak second, (or “ghost”)", explains Brian. Basically, a the image is painted onto a smooth plate then the ink painting then is squeezed into the paper using a simple roller press.
An important thing to keep in mind is that the inks used in the Monotype print are totally different than giclée inks. The best we can do with a giclée is to match the original colors as closely as possible. Given enough tweaking and testing that can be very close indeed because the giclée printing process gives you the widest dynamic tone range of any printing process.
Vashon Island Imaging prides itself on custom work and the best prepress in town. But the fact that the giclée's future owner also had an original of the series really put the pressure on to get the colors right. The client showed us a giclée previously printed elsewhere as an example of what he didn't want ... off colors. So now it was my giclée against 'theirs' (whoever 'they' are).
The challenge continued when I discovered that Hahnemuhle had slightly changed their stocks and that the paper that the first giclée was printed on was no longer available. We selected the closest match, Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and got results that the client is pleased with.
At the studio we use daylight for viewing art whenever possible. 'Possible' means overcast, and we get a lot of that in the Seattle area where Vashon Island is located. The color of the light should be between 5200° and 5500° Kelvin and on a cloudy day on Vashon Island we get a nominal 5600°. (There is much more about viewing photographing art in my book, Giclée Prepress - The Art of Giclée.)
Mid-way through the color correction process I realized that I had forgotten to 'equalize' the color perception experience. It's an easy thing to overlook but it can make your color corrections more difficult and less accurate if you forget to isolate the section being color-matched with white or a neutral color.
Peter's original is surrounded with a beautifully cut mat and backing board, both of which are 'cream colored' not white. On my monitor I was seeing the colors against neutral and white backgrounds. The difference in backgrounds was enough to throw off my judgement. That might have been what happened when the first giclée was made... its bluish cast in particular greens would explain an over-correction for 'creaminess'.
A test strip from two sections of Helen II revealed that an adjustment was needed to one specific shade of greens. We print the test strip along one edge of the same sheet that will later be used for the 1st proof print. The proof shows the result of the changes made from the test strip. You may need to make several test strips before printing a proof of the whole image. We were lucky with this one... or maybe the extra accuracy of using white masks throughout the color evaluation process helped a little, eh?
To make the adjustment all those particular greens were separated onto their own layer so they could be individually controlled.
The resulting correction was the addition of 30 points of red to the mid tones of those greens... duly noted in the Layer Properties.
For more precise color adjustments use white paper masks for the original artwork and a white background in PhotoShop®. Neutral gray or black masking is also OK, especially for dark pictures. Whichever you choose, use the same mask color at every stage of your color matching.
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