Jim Raffel looks at color for 2010

Our friend Jim Raffel just posted some views on why color is important, and why it isn's easy:

"It never ceases to amaze me how integral color knowledge is to the graphic arts industry at large, yet how few people in the industry really understand the topic. The problem is that color, like the game of chess, is very easy to learn and almost impossible to master. I believe this is because true color knowledge requires solid math skills. Color Science, after all, is applied physics."

"In 2010 and beyond, the printing companies that thrive (profit leaders) will be leaders in color knowledge and implementation. For example, the GRACoL G7 methodology is the practical application of color science to achieve a more consistent and predictable print result regardless of where the digital files are converted to ink on substrate....."

I'd quote more, but you should read the whole thing!

Editor and Publisher Suspends Operations

NEW YORK E&P will shut its doors this afternoon after more than 125 years in operation as "the bible of the newspaper industry" and one of America's oldest magazines. Staffers are vacating the offices in New York City, but we still hope to be back.

It's probably just a sign of the times but I hate to see this site closing down, since I found a lot of good content there. There planning to come back and I wish them well...after 125 years in teh biz, they ought to have some staying power.

New Test Suite from Ghent

The Ghent Workgroup has been in the lead for years making PDF easier and more effective to implement. Now they have come out with a new test suite and it's FREE!

The new Ghent Output Suite 3; the latest set of Ghent Workgroup tests to determine whether PDFs will be processed as expected in real-world production environments, is now available at http://gwg.org/ghentoutputsuite.phtml

This is Almost Too Good

...I'm afraid I may just get the wrong sort of visits from this post, but really, it's all about the packaging.

Aussie low-carb beer brand Skinny Blonde has unveiled a label featuring heat-reactive inks which takes all the effort out of mentally undressing its 1950s-style pin-up.

As the drinker's hand gets sweatier, the scantily clad mascot's bikini disappears, leaving little to the imagination.

The concept came out of a bar-room discussion between the beer's brewers: Hamish Rosser, drummer with ARIA-winning rock band The Vines, and his mates, actor Richie Harkham and artist Jarrod Taylor.

"We had the idea of a pin-up girl from the get-go, we thought everyone uses women in their advertising campaigns so why not put it on a bottle," said Rosser.

Rosser, who actually has a degree in chemical engineering, added: "So we had this idea of the disappearing bikini and did some research into disappearing ink. Then we did a few trial runs and when we realised it worked we were stoked, we were over the moon."

Damn, this sucks

This is the kind of news I really hate:

The Los Angeles Times will close its printing plant in Costa Mesa, CA, and consolidate printing to one location. The move will eliminate 80 pressroom jobs. In a memo to employees, Times publisher Eddy Hartenstein said the paper would generate "substantial savings" by consolidating its printing operations at one facility in downtown Los Angeles. I know we are living in a digital world, but we're going to miss the newspapers when they're gone.

Will light-emitting wallpaper replace light bulbs?

Coaters, laminators and other specialty-substrate converters: Listen up. Revolutionary light-emitting wallpaper could replace light bulbs in only two more years. The opportunities for new business in this breakthrough field are wide open.

Read the whole thing at Converting Magazine.

Capping off the Year with Sense of Humor Intact

A "Survivor-themed" holiday party on December 3 was how Washington DC-based ABC Imaging expressed appreciation to its clients for their continued loyalty the previous year.

ABC Imaging, a printing and reprographic services company, hosted more than 200 clients at the party in the Lafayette Centre in downtown Washington...Continuing the Survivor theme, the borders on the invitations were cut with a laser engraving machine to resemble torn paper.

Well good for them. If you you made it through last year you are certainly a survivor and deserve some props for hanging in there

Open Color Standard

Ginger Coons over at Adaptstudio has taken on a sizable project: replace entrenched proprietary color matching systems like Pantone with an open (and free) standard. Quite a challenge, considering Pantone is having a hard time even getting their current users to move over to their Goe system. But the effort earns a big hat tip and a visit to the Open Color Standard site and Wiki-like development area.

Merisel's Crush Creative Achieves G7 Qualification

Crush Creative, a Burbank, Calif., graphic services company, has achieved G7 Master Printer Certification from IDEAlliance. G7 certification is an elite distinction that is limited to only a small number of printers and graphic service bureaus worldwide.

Calibration, proofing setup and G7 qualification were done by Glenn Andrews of Color Clarity and Mike Strickler of MSP Graphic Services working jointly.

A special feature of this installation is the Epson 9900 driven by the EFI Fiery rip, fine-tuned to match to final output device appearance within G7 parameters,

Is this a good sign, or just bad taste?

Pantone has announced that turquoise is the "Color of the Year" for 2010. I remember turquoise as an overall awful color..just slightly ahead of avocado green, but it may be a god sign. Turquoise first entered general popular awareness in the early 1950's during a pretty tough recession, and seemed to reach a sort of zenith around 1957, as that downturn was fading off to a dim memory.