Using standards to increase productivity and profitability.
I found the following article about printing standards in my latest edition of Graphic Arts Magazine (yes, paper based and delivered and therefore eagerly read). I find printing company owners don't always find printing standards a positive idea. "It...
Expanded Gamut CMYK (XCMYK) Offset Printing Formalized
Expanded Gamut CMYK (XCMYK) is a four-color printing method, a dataset, and an ICC Profile. Offset printing has made terrific strides in both quality and repeatability in the last number of years. Press-side instrumentation now enables us to read L* a* b* values for a...
G7 Methodology Awesomeness
It's amazing how well the G7 methodology works. Extreme examples can often be found in catalogues. Take this LL Bean spread—the cover is printed high-speed web offset on a SWOP3 paper, the inside is printed gravure on a very thin paper designed to reduce mailing...
Book Design Made Simple
Anyone who has ever worked on putting a book together understands that this is not for the faint of heart—it's definitely not a simple process. However, two accomplished book designers working collaboratively in Vancouver and in Boston have authored the definitive...
The World of Colour According To Pantone
Those of us in the business of colour printing have long been aware of Pantone. Now owned by X-Rite, Pantone has published colour guides for many years to allow printers to mix a small number of inks by weight to make an astonishing array of colour possibilities. Over...
How Is Your Colour Acuity?
When I started in the printing industry many, many moons ago, I remember being tested for colour-blindness. Luckily, I passed with "flying colours" as I was so excited about my career choice at the time. And when hiring staff for my own company 16 years later, I would...
Big From Small
There is a certain joy in dimensionally large projects, and we have been blessed with some great opportunities to participate in a number of these. It is satisfying to view a well designed trade-show booth or impressively large art installation or signage. Here are a...
New Proofing Installation
We are proud to announce that we have just installed a brand spanking new 12 colour Canon Inkjet powered by an EFI RIP. Was there something amiss with the previous Epson and Kodak Matchprint RIP, one might ask? Not at all. The proofs could be aligned to any printing...
There’s Nothing Quite Like A Real Book!
There is no doubt, we at Coast Imaging Arts love everything about books. We love to help make them, read them and collect them. Even the smell of ink on paper gets us excited. For a heart-warming look at books that "come alive" through some amazing animation, watch...
Monitor Calibration
In the early days of colour management, the promises of better colour and greater colour predicability were not always kept by vendors of calibration devices and software. Everyone had different approaches and “secret sauce” so that they could corner the market....