Tool Time
Among the color-management products now used by newspapers:
The Houston Chronicle is using ColorBlind Edit ($1,000) to perform color separations for its offset and heatset presses, and ColorBlind Professional ($4,800) for setting up profiles. Both products are from Color Solutions of Cardiff, Calif., (760) 436-6593.
The New York Times is using MonacoColor ($2,495) from Andover, Mass.-based Monaco Systems, (978) 749-9944, to create press profiles and attach profiles during the color-balancing stage. The Times is also using software from Apple Computer Inc. and Barco to generate monitor profiles.
In a just-released book, the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, a non-profit research group in Sewickley, Pa., discusses a wide variety of color-management software solutions. The GATF Practical Guide to Color Management ($60, ISBN 0-88362-202-5) not only teaches color theory, but also guides readers through calibrating scanners, monitors and printers. The authors review characteristics of hardware, discuss color-management software and demonstrate how color management tools relate to specific jobs in the graphic-communications industry. To order, call GATF at (800) 662-3916.