Wide Gamut Color Test File

[Biker Scout]

I'm looking for a test file that can take advantage of a full wide color gamut on a UV Printer that has CMYK+OGV+LB+LY+W colors available to print with. (for this test purpose, I don't care about the white)

The Pantone Extended Gamut Swatch Book will be used to compare with, as the color chart includes the extra combinations with the added Orange, Green and Violet additions.

Background: I'm bidding on high end art preproduction that client is wanting printed on acrylic for backlit art frames. They are wanting to see what I can come up with to "WOW" them... they are not providing me with any files. From what I understand the original paintings would be laser drum scanned and I would need to be "licensed" by them to be able to print.

I am willing to invest in upgrading to printer with Ricoh Gen 6 print heads, as they are two channels per head. Would be using Caldera RIP (unless you know of a better RIP solution for wide gamut printing)

But I don't have a file "bright enough" that can't already be matched with just the usual CMYK+lc+lm ink sets.

I've included a custom color chart that I came up with that I like using to dial in my printers. It's quick and accurate and shows me at a glance common color mixture combinations. Feel free to download it and use it for free, as a trade.

 

[easystickerco]

Sounds interesting. I would start with the printer manufacturer you're interested in investing in, they should have files they can that will show off the wide gamma ink capabilities. Caldera is a awesome RIP, just make sure they have a driver for that specific ink config and if there are any icc profiles.

Good luck

 

[Biker Scout]

I am asking the printer manufacturer to go outside their normal offerings of CMYK + CMYK + W + V / CMYK+lc+lm+W+V range of colors. They tell me the wide gamut I'm asking for is technically possible, they've just never had anyone request it. They are wanting to send me printed samples with the Light Cyan and Light Magenta colors, and seem to think they can hit all the colors and gamut I'm asking for. Which I really don't think that's technically possible to reach the 90% to 93% range of printable colors without Orange, Green and Violet... let alone a solid Red and the various shades of Gray that are readily available in fine art Aqueous printers.

Sooo... I want to send them a file that I know will fail to live up to true Wide Gamut Spectrum I am asking them to make for me. This is why I am asking if anyone has a file that taxes even the most proficient ICC profile color manager. I'd rather not just send them the typical photo of a pile of fruit and vegetables, as even CMYK printers can reproduce those pretty accurately.

 

[Michael-Nola]

I would suggest NOT falsely presenting yourself to your customer as a qualified expert in something you are stating you are not. Also, why is your chart in process AND in SWOP? That makes no sense if you're chasing gamut and accuracy. Your Pantone gamut test print should come straight out of your rip bypassing PDF engine limitations on spot quantities. I always recommend being great at what you do, and learn what you don't. But don't oversell yourself when it's not your expertise.

 

[Jester]

I dont understand how you will be able to evaluate your ability to satisfy this client without a sample file from them. You may be chasing a unicorn, when what you have may already be adequate.

Trying to 'exactly match' a backlit sign (isn't a transparency essentially additive color? ) to a wide-gamut art print (subtractive color) sounds like a daunting project.

Perhaps hiring a color consultant would be worthwhile in this situation. I'd start with the listings on colormanagement.com.

 

[shoresigns]

Are you perhaps overthinking this a bit? I would just get a few colourful photos from Unsplash and print them side by side with Web Coated SWOP v2 conversions of the same photos. You could also make a small chart of colours that are far outside of typical CMYK (like RGB primaries/secondaries/tertiaries) and do the same side by side comparison.

 

[Biker Scout]

I would suggest NOT falsely presenting yourself to your customer as a qualified expert in something you are stating you are not. Also, why is your chart in process AND in SWOP? That makes no sense if you're chasing gamut and accuracy. Your Pantone gamut test print should come straight out of your rip bypassing PDF engine limitations on spot quantities. I always recommend being great at what you do, and learn what you don't. But don't oversell yourself when it's not your expertise.

The chart couldn't be uploaded here in .eps and that was made specifically to match a 4 color press we had, when doing package design comps and proofs from the wide format printer. Given the way the press was limited to needing a press operator that had to manually mix the inks, he used a different chart than the guys in pre-press. The whole thing worked for our work flow.
I have on staff a color specialist, and even a liaison to this prospective job. Which is already our client for other works, I have a long personal relationship with this client, they know what we can do, what machines we have. I'm just the owner, and going to invest in a new machine. I don't have to be the qualified expert when I'm the one with the checkbook... I hire the best talent.
And besides, what we do now is far beyond "sign stuff" anymore. We fill a pivotal role in the high end art world, where it's just only just about printing. But also welding, fabrication, wood work, LED lighting etc... We do the odd ball jobs that other shops can't or won't.
I came back here in hopes that some of the crew here might have a file they like using when testing out new machine manufacturers, instead of just accepting the printed files sales people show us. I'm literally have a machine custom built to MY requirements. Sure it's going to be slower than if I doubled up both print head channels with the same colors. But for this particular project, it will be worth it, because the end result is unique.

 

[Biker Scout]

...You may be chasing a unicorn... sounds like a daunting project.

This is how this my life is. They have a sales team of "designers" in the art world, and it sucks to have to deal with a committee of chiefs. All I have to do is present something better than what they are seeing from the other vendors that are also bidding on the same project. Even if I'm higher in the bid, they go after "Wow Factor" first and foremost.

 

[yannb]

I am asking the printer manufacturer to go outside their normal offerings of CMYK + CMYK + W + V / CMYK+lc+lm+W+V range of colors. They tell me the wide gamut I'm asking for is technically possible, they've just never had anyone request it. They are wanting to send me printed samples with the Light Cyan and Light Magenta colors, and seem to think they can hit all the colors and gamut I'm asking for. Which I really don't think that's technically possible to reach the 90% to 93% range of printable colors without Orange, Green and Violet... let alone a solid Red and the various shades of Gray that are readily available in fine art Aqueous printers.

Sooo... I want to send them a file that I know will fail to live up to true Wide Gamut Spectrum I am asking them to make for me. This is why I am asking if anyone has a file that taxes even the most proficient ICC profile color manager. I'd rather not just send them the typical photo of a pile of fruit and vegetables, as even CMYK printers can reproduce those pretty accurately.

You could look for a file of an abstract painting with bright colors. Then in Photoshop assign Adobe RGB, eciRGBv2 or even Prophoto RGB. This will increment the saturation of the colors. Save the file with the new embedded ICC profile and print it. Make sure your rip uses embedded ICC profiles.

 

[iPrintStuff]

The problem with a custom built printer is nobody is going to have needed to make a specific file for that printer. As much as the standard files they make the printers run off at trade shows are cliche, they’re usually pretty good when it comes to showing off gamut etc so I’d maybe try some of them and just screw around with the colours a bit