Challenge: CMYK Images from Japan, need match.

[Mjetz]

Ok, here's challenge for all of you. I have job and all the CMYK images came from Japan. The customer wants to match the images to the printed piece from Japan. Easy right, well no. Japan uses many different things like ink, ect. We took the images as is and run out some proofs. They were all way to red and flat.

So, I have to figure out away to match the CMYK images printed in Japan using SWOP standard. We tried to create cusotm profile to run the images through but only had so-so results.

I'm open to any suggestions on this one or files that may help.

[beermonster]

well for starters maybe you can try colour correcting the images in say?photoshop.

If you know how they reproduce now, and how you want them to reproduce then at least you have a destination to arrive at. maybe adjust the colour balance?levels, curves?that way.

as for flat tints if needed your ink supplier could probably do a match for you <for the rest of the layout assuming the job's not just pictures>

good luck?

[prepress_brillance_43]

as for flat tints if needed your ink supplier could probably do a match for you

an ink draw down can be expensive(but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.)

photoshop color correction sounds like the way to go, for me it would just be a trial and error until you hit(can be reduced to a minimal if you know what you're doing), at least on color proofer it is cheaper than on press. You should be able to hit color in only about 4-5 proofs max.

you may check into getting a color profile from customer or japan.

Good luck.

[detric_1]

The first one I'd talk to if I were you is your ink supplier. The inks in Japan have a different hue than the inks in the states. So a solid yellow there will not match a solid yellow here. they might be able to give you an idea as to any kind of general direction you might want to go.(warmer yellows, deeper blues etc. etc). Not to mention that SWOP is already a pretty wide open gamut, I think you've got your hands full.

Take the proofs you got, and make moves in photoshop. If you have a decent color person, it should go pretty smothly.

Dave

[clod]

you may check into getting a color profile from customer or japan.

If you can't get a profile from the originator, how about the Japan Standard V2 profile that comes with Photoshop? Assign it to the images, convert to SWOP (or your output profile), proof and see what you get. I have a feeling you won't be able to avoid color correction though.

[Sally]

Where I work, we commonly receive files from sister plants in Germany, Japan, Mexico and Korea. When they send us a proof like you describe, we always send it to color to be worked. For a very long time, the managers insisted that we should be able to take an image from our plant, and print it consistently down in Mexico. The problem was, in Mexico they tend to run the press heavier to begin with, and part of that is due to the dot gain being about 10% greater on their old press.
Really, your best bet is to rework the color and use a print they are happy with as a match.