Colour calibrating multiple printed pieces
Hachette Partworks required a complete newsagents pack with multiple printed components including a magazine, postcard, leaflet and questionnaire.
The Project
The project comprised a pack of printed pieces centred around a collector’s magazine for display in a lever arch file. The portfolio included a variety of items, each a different size on different papers of varying weights.
Due to the diverse specifications, items need to be printed on separate printing presses, prior to each piece undergoing a range of assorted finishing, folding and binding, including a loop stitching for the magazine to be placed in a lever arch file.
Key Challenges
- 1
Each item printed on different paper stock creates a challenge for colour consistency
- 2
Items printed across multiple printing presses need coordination
Our Solution
Proofing colours is critical when printing on different paper stocks across three printing presses. To ensure colours are consistent we printed off a colour calibrated Fogra certified Epson proof to ensure we were happy with the colour.
The print colour calibrated proof comes with a certificate to say the colour is accurate. A chart tells us how accurate the colour is across the sheet – less than 2 can’t be seen by the human eye. Our experienced printers running the machines compare the first few sheets printed, called make-readys, to the printed colour proof, and make any necessary adjustments to the colour calibration on the presses to ensure they match.
To guarantee the whole job was passed to our finishing team for folding, binding and collating at the same time, we coordinated the printing schedule for the numerous items across the three presses and had them printed within 24 hours of each other. Careful scheduling was essential when using three machines to ensure the print was gathered together as a complete portfolio, ready to be delivered on schedule.
