A Practical Guide to Building a Repeatable, Measurable Color Workflow If you operate more than one printer — or more than one location — you’ve likely heard some version of this: When color varies between devices, facilities, or operators, the issue is almost never the file alone. It’s the absence…
Use cases, differences, and M-mode classifications Quick Summary Table Profile Full Name Typical Use Case Paper Printing Condition M-Mode FOGRA39 ISO Coated v2 (ECI) Legacy offset printing Gloss / silk coated Older measurement standard M0 FOGRA51 PSO Coated v3 (ECI) Modern offset printing Gloss / silk coated Optical brightener aware…
By Bill Owen – Alder Color Solutions An ICC profile is a mathematical description of how a device reproduces color — whether that device is a printer, monitor, camera, or scanner. It allows color-managed systems to translate color values accurately between devices. An ICC profile does:✔️ Describe a printer/ink/media combination✔️ Define color gamut and…
There’s a surprising amount of product variety under the generic label SBS C1S (Solid Bleached Sulfate, coated one side). Below I’ll pull together the main global mill brands you’ll see, what makes each different (color/brightness, typical weights/thickness, surface/coating and finishing options), plus a short note on where lesser/commodity grades come from. I’ve…
By Bill Owen – Alder Color Solutions If you’ve ever stared at a press sheet and compared it to your contract proof thinking “Something’s off… but they’re both GRACoL, so why don’t they match?” — you’re not alone.This is one of the most common frustrations in offset printing, and it…
These two products look similar at first (both are color-quality tools for print) but their sweet spots are different enough that they can be either direct competitors in some workflows or highly complementary when used together. Below I’ll give a compact, practical comparison (feature-by-feature), then explain how they overlap and a couple of concrete ways people…
by Carrie Watson- Alder Color Solutions Color drift isn’t caused by one thing. It’s the result of environmental changes, device wear, media variations, ink batches, and operator differences that gradually push your output off target. Even if you’ve nailed your ICC profiles and calibration routines, color performance can still shift…
By Bill Owen – Alder Color Solutions – August 25th, 2025 I’m betting you are just as curious as I was about the new “S Series” Signage Printers from Epson? Let’s take a close look at the differences as they are significant. The Epson SureColor S9170 surpasses the older S80600…
This week I was working with a new client, they’re primarily a vehicle wrap company. They have 3 Epson S60600’s which came with ONYX Thrive. They print mainly on Avery 1105 and have been using a profile that was available for download. I was explaining to the owner that we…
📦 Datacolor’s Twin Acquisitions of Techkon 1. Acquisition of Techkon GmbH (January 30, 2025) In late January 2025, Datacolor—a global leader in color management—acquired Techkon GmbH, a specialized German firm with over 40 years in color measurement, notably within printing and packaging techkonusa.com+9wideformatonline.com+9Datacolor+9. Datacolor emphasized that the move “marks an important next step……
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