Consistently, the most common issue businesses face in producing sublimation products is getting the colors they are looking for. What makes matters even worse is for customers to assume they know what is needed and send bad artwork to be printed. Though we have written about this topic before, it is never a bad idea for a refresher course. We will examine how art needs to be configured, tips for educating customers as to what is needed, and ways to get even greater accuracy and definition with software.

RIP software is a tool for professional series printers that can help with page layout, duplication, and inserting variable items (names, photos, etc.) into a stock layout; it can also reduce ink usage and give greater color accuracy.

The Basics RGB versus CMYK:
One of the biggest mistakes any sublimation decorator can make is to use the wrong color model when choosing colors. CYMK (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black) comprise the basic four colors all inkjet printers utilize. It is simple to falsely think that because the printer is using CMYK colors, that a design should be created using the CMYK color palette. If CMYK colors are used, the last thing you are likely to see is the color you are looking for on the finished item. This is because CMYK is a set of very specific color instructions meant primarily for the offset printing world. When we are sending art to a desktop printer, the print driver is responsible for translating the information it receives into CMYK. So what color model should colors be chosen from? RGB is the answer!

RGB (Red, Green and Blue) are the colors that create the images you see on every computer monitor, digital projector and television. 16,581,375 colors can be created using the RGB color model, which are able to give us lifelike reproductions of events. You may ask why this is so commonly used. The interesting answer is that this is how our eyes see color. In the human eye, there are two basic kinds of receptors: rods and cones. The rods are what see black and white; the cones communicate color. The cones are staggered in the eye, with specific ones detecting red, green and blue. As this is the case, the RGB color model is used in many industries, and all artwork for sublimation should be designed this way.

Color Charts, Color Charts, Color Charts
While decorating products via sublimation, we must always keep in mind that we are working with semi-translucent dyes. This results in the background color of an object changing the color we are trying to print. While white items are the most common to decorate, white points vary significantly between the different sublimatable items available. Even more complicated are colored garments that can significantly change how our artwork is reproduced. The result of this is that each substrate requires different outputs to get the same color results.

The most basic tool for accurate color reproduction is a simple color chart. Color charts should be printed and pressed on each of the substrates being used. By getting a “real world” representation of the color on the exact substrate we are going to use, we will achieve accuracy. All that is needed is to choose the color from the printed chart, then enter the corresponding RGB number back into the graphics program. Regardless of what color you are viewing on the screen, you can have confidence that you will achieve the desired color output.

Working With Your Customers To Get What You Need
Artwork that is supplied by customers is often the most challenging to work with. Typically, they are looking at their monitor thinking that the color that they see is what will be printed. As anyone who has been doing sublimation for a while knows, that is not how things work. Providing a specification sheet to them can save a lot of frustration and hopefully prevent premature baldness. The above-mentioned RGB color model is very important to communicate, as well as asking for photos to be 300dpi at size. A great idea is to get a proof with the artwork. If your customer sends you a printed version of the file they want decorated, the guesswork can be eliminated. Everyone can be on the same page as to what is expected.

Going Hi Definition With RIP Software
RIP software is a tool for professional series printers that can help with page layout, duplication, and inserting variable items (names, photos, etc.) into a stock layout; it can also reduce ink usage and give greater color accuracy. Rips generally are set up as an after step from our graphic design program. We will still design our art in programs like CorelDraw, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but we will not be printing directly from them. We will instead export our image out of our graphics program and import it into the rip software.

A rip differs from other methods of color management by offering a significant amount of fine tuning to occur. A step that most businesses take when using a rip is to do periodic linear density configurations. This involves printing out and pressing a color target, then using a spectrophotometer (a very high-end scanner) to read the colors back into the program. This will allow the software to compensate for performance differences encountered using a printer over time.

These programs not only have the ability to give greater consistency, but often allow greater details in an image to be seen. This is very similar to the experience of upgrading a standard-definition television to a high-definition version. Once you have gone hi-def, going back is just not an option!

Conclusion
Many a decorator has spent a considerable amount of time cursing their sublimation system (not to mention their customer) for not giving them the color accuracy they were looking for. Rest assured that frustration can be avoided. Getting accurate and great-looking products delivered to your customers can be as easy as reciting your ABCs, or in our case, RGB!