Understanding Digital Color

Author: Phil Green

Consistent high-quality color reproduction is the heart of the graphic arts. Color is used to convey meaning, identify brands, and enhance content, and the quality of the reproduction is of the utmost importance. Poor color reproduction causes real, tangible losses, both to the producer and the purchaser.

The technologies used for color reproduction increasingly embody in software the traditional skills of the graphic arts specialists, and users with no background in color reproduction are now capable of achieving adequate results without using commercial services. As a result, color reproduction professionals need to be able to apply a more advanced understanding of their trade to develop greater levels of quality and consistency, implement faster and more efficient workflows, and meet their customers’ needs through specialized services. Understanding Digital Color, Second Edition, will help you achieve those objectives.

With new chapters on workflow, file preparation, and output systems, this revised edition covers all aspects of digital color.

Table of Contents: Introduction • Fundamentals of Color • Color Measurement and Specification • Digitizing Color • The Color Original • Scanning and Digital Photography • Color Conversion and Separation • Color Management • PostScript and PDF • Output Systems • Workflow • File Preparation • Proofing • Digital Printing • Conventional Printing

About the Author: Phil Green teaches at the London College of Printing, School of Printing and Publishing, in the United Kingdom, where he is currently course director of the MA Digital Imaging.

Beginning as a trainee printer in 1972, Green has had a diverse career in the graphic arts, including positions in color press operation, prepress, and production management. In 1979, he founded the worker-owned Blackrose Press, a small lithographic printer in London. He has taught at LCP since 1986, conducting classes at all levels from apprentice to postgraduate. He has current research interests in gamut mapping and colorimetry.

Green, who has an MSc from the University of Surrey, is the author of a number of other publications, includingProfessional Print Buying and Digital Photography. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Prepress and Printing Technology, and he also conducts seminars on graphic arts topics and provides consultancy services in color imaging.