Control Methods for Printer Quality
Computer printers don't always make perfect copies. Quality in printing isn't a subjective opinion, it's a measure of the printer's ability to copy a digital image consistently, time after time. Quality control is essential for professional printers, whose customers expect to get the color and look that they're paying good money for
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Color Management
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Quality printing requires color management. When done by sight, the printer checks each spot of color on a proof before beginning mass production to confirm the color is right. Computer technology speeds up the process, making it possible to analyze 3,000 colors in the time a skilled human could check 200. If you employ multiple printers or print the image on different substrates with different ink, color management to keep the image consistent is even more important.
Grayscale
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For monochrome, black-and-white prints, the equivalent to color management is a grayscale. Black-and-white photographer Ansel Adams developed an early, 10-step grayscale, but modern printers have scales that show as many as 26 shades ranging from white to pitch black. Printers use a grayscale to determine the correct shading on the original design, then adjust the inkjet intensity so that each portion of the print comes out the right degree of darkness.
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Design
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Graphic designers now handle many of the activities printers used to take care of, such as image capture, image correction and page layout. An incorrect layout that doesn't capture or code for the correct image will produce prints that don't match the original. Printers and publishers have developed several sets of specifications and guidelines such as SNAP, SWOP and GRACoL, which direct designers how to follow directions and bring in an image that conforms to what the customer expects.
Considerations
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Comparing the printed page to the image on your computer monitor isn't a good way to measure quality: The digital image may not look the same every time, for example varying the longer your monitor has been on. Grayscales or numbered color charts are more objective. If you find two different prints of the same image look noticeably different, compare each one to your charts and scales to determine which is the accurate version.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images
