ICC Profiles

Paper and colour: curves worth knowing. Fedrigoni’s new technical data sheets with ICC profiles.

If you use different printers to print materials for the same client, maybe using different printing machines or methods (offset and digital), or maybe also different supports, then you know how hard it is to maintain colour coherence. The fact is that every device, from video screens to inkjet plotters for test runs and the various different kinds of printing machines, has its own way of interpreting colour. The variations can be clearly visible even when you print on different papers or on different grammages of the same paper, using the same offset machine.

That is why we have to give a precise chromatic value to every colour we use, check how each piece of machinery and each type of paper interprets that information and so draw up a series of variations on the original image to make up for the colour shifts. The result of this operation is known as the ICC profile or curve (after the International Colour Consortium).

To cater for the requirements of clients who want maximum quality yield in their work, while also cutting preparation and printing times, Fedrigoni has decided to add these ICC profiles to its technical data sheets.

The papers list with very different physical and surface properties:

The file containing the profile of each individual Fedrigoni paper has been drawn up in a universal .ICC format. It can be imported by Photoshop, where it takes the form of a filter applicable to images, but it can also be used with all image correction and management software.

You can also download a video tutorial with a step-by-step illustration of what these profiles are and what their purpose is, how to run tests on the various papers and how to apply the filters using the image correction and management programs.

In order to maximise the guarantee of an independent analysis, the job was entrusted to the San Zeno School of Graphic Design in Verona (Italy), which used accurately calibrated equipment. The print tests were run on a Heidelberg SM 74 flour-colour printer, using a 50x70 cm format.