Idealliance and the Print Properties Committee Publish New Research on Soft Proofing Related Metamerism on the Latest Monitor Technology.
With the introduction of ICC color management in the mid 1990s, soft proofing quickly became its most valuable and ubiquitous application. Every day, millions of designers, photographers, retouchers, print buyers and printers use a computer display to preview how a job will look when printed. If the display is properly color-managed, the image on screen can equal or exceed the accuracy of a traditional hard-copy proof, hence the name “soft proof”.
Soft proofing has always worked well because the color gamut of a typical computer monitor roughly encloses the gamut of a typical CMYK offset press, however newer printing systems and inks can now exceed the gamut of traditional monitors. This has led to the use of new “wide-gamut” displays to expand the color range of soft proofing systems, but these displays have magnified a problem that was less evident with older display technologies.
Two wide-gamut monitors (center) and a broad-band monitor (right) calibrated to the same white point, compared to a D50 viewing booth (left).
Credit: Refik Telhan