[color/shift] charts

color/shift is an open-source hub for color profiles built specifically for #risograph output. This project was made public in 2020 by Travis Shaffer with support from the University of Missouri School of Visual Studies.

To particpate, you can download and print our color charts on your own risograph and submit them to be converted to [color/shift] .icc profiles or to contribute color data to the [color/shift] adobe CC spot color library.

  1. download the appropriate PDFs from the link below;
  2. print the chart on your own machine in any colors of your choice on A3 or Tabloid paper -- we recommend printing 25 to 30 copies to stabilize the drum output;
  3. select two clean and tightly registered prints from near the end of the print run;
  4. complete the built-in form in the header of the chart with identification, contact info, printer model, color names, print order, drum position, screening details, paper, etc;
  5. mail the chart/s to us at the address listed on the bottom of the form.

[linearization charts]

[ DOWNLOAD PRINT FILES and INSTRUCTIONS HERE ]

The Linearization charts allow the user to print a 20 value swatch in any color or risograph output method (i.e. PC Driver; 71lpi Screen-Covered or graintouch; prebitmapped; etc) that will contribute the following possibilities for the project:

[1] allow us to make color readings of the 100% density value to build and refine our ADOBE CC RISO SPOT COLOR LIBRARY and database. (i.e. know the precise color of riso inks)

[2] we aggregate readings from similar colors, screening methods, and printer models to build and refine a suite of DOT GAIN .ACV curves and these values are also populated in a public DOT GAIN DATABASE. (i.e. correct gradation for different inks and print workflows)

[3] we use the TVI (tone value increase) curves along with lab values as a substitute to model BETA color/shift profiles for color combinations that we cannot print and which haven’t yet been submitted to us. (i.e. to generate additional profiles without needing every immagineable print chart combination)

[color profile charts]

DOWNLOAD HERE

  • 2CLR < any combination of 2 risograph colors >
  • 3CLR < any combination of 3 risograph colors >
  • 4CLR cmyk and non-cmyk < any combination of 4 risograph colors >

2,3, and 4CLR charts will produce a multichannel .icc profile. You can use multichannel .icc profiles to separate files into a multichannel file via Photoshop. These files can be split directly and saved as .tiff or pdf, or saved as an .eps file for use in InDesign (for example).

CMYK charts will produce a CMYK profile that can be used to separate an RGB .pdf file via in Acrobat or in InDesign, to separate an .indd file upon export (thus are more user friendly than a 4CLR multichannel profile).

The color charts can be printed in any combination of ink colors; you get to pick the ones you want.

For the CMYKinda and CMYK charts you can (for example) substitute Aqua, Blue, Lake or Light Teal for Cyan; Midnight, Charcoal, or Purple for Black; Bubble Gum, Raspberry, or Scarlet for Magenta; Light Lime, Sunflower, or Flat Gold for Yellow.

On the 3CLR, 4CLR and CMKY color charts, you'll notice empty space in the middle of the swatches, which is designed to leave room for the feed roller path, so that you can print one color after another without waiting for drying time.

[print order]

It doesn't matter to us which color your print first or on which page for the NON-CMYK charts, besides recommending that you print the page with the text form last to keep your feed rollers clean.

We also encourage you to test or default to the print order you are likely to use in actual production environments. You may make that choice based upon color density, transparency, and/or general smudginess. There are many schools of thought here — Pick your poison.

CAMPS: The light to dark ink camp. The Reds always last because they make a mess camp. The opaque to translucent camp. The yellow last for the win camp.

Each chart has a multi-color array of boxes that get scanned for the .icc profile generation. They also each have a multi-swatch linearization chart for each individual color that we may scan for reference and in the construction of the color profile and its associated 'best use' document. The 3CLR profile has a unique 100% overprint chart to help users determine the best print order for color overprint density or color variety. We will use this to built a spreadsheet of 100% overprint Lab Values for a profile-less proofing process we're developing... more soon.

Variables in printer model, print driver settings, and print order, print speed, print density, and paper will impact the output characteristics of the chart.

We recommend printing 25 to 30 copies to stabilize the drum output. Please select two clean and tightly registered prints from near the end of the print run to be submitted. You do not need to label both, rather we ask for two incase of smudging during scanning or transit.

[filling out the form]

The printed form at the top of the color chart must be completed to be useful to us; please fill out completely and be careful not to touch/smudge the chart while writing. We recommend laying a clean sheet of paper over the printed chart while filling in the form just to be safe.

  • (printshop) insert the name and printer model
  • (email) insert your preferred email address
  • (ig) Instagram handle (optional)
  • (print driver) mark an X for printing with mac; pc; or scanner bed
    • If printing pre-bitmapped files leave this section blank and provide detailed processing details on the verso of the print chart.
  • (ink panel) list ink name at the left and print order [1 or 2] to the right
  • (drum) circle 1 or 2 to indicate drum position (it will matter to the chart if you print each color on it’s own pass or print them simultaneously on a 2-drum machine) For a 1-drum machine, circle 1 for all inks.
  • (screening section) select screening details for each color
    • gt = photo graintouch
    • sc = in driver screen-covered
      • please indicate lpi and line angle for each drum (all sc printing via mac driver is printed at 45° and is not-recommended for multi-color printing)

(paper section) list paper manufacturer (Neenah, French Paper, Mohawk, etc) specific name, line, and surface for the paper, color of paper as described by the producer, and basis weight of paper (70T, 80B, 65C etc.)

[submission]

After printing and filling out the affiliated form, please mail us that chart + one additional copy. We ask for 2 because the scanning process can tend to smudge charts and it will be useful to have a back-up copy so we have a copy to re-scan later for profile revisions if the original is too messy.

For the additional copy, you do not need to fill in the form a second time, but we'd appreciate it if you noted your printshop's name on the second copy.

    Attn: Travis Shaffer [color/shift]
    University of Missouri School of Visual Studies
    505 Hitt Street; a129 Fine Arts Building
    Columbia, Missouri 65211

The easiest solution for Domestic shipping is to sandwich the prints between two sheets of scrap cardboard and ship via media mail. This method will be no more than 4usd if sent from the continental US. If you are eager to participate but would like some support, reach out and we may be able to provided pre-paid shipping lablels depending on circumstances. Unfortunately, international shipping has become quite expensive. If you are eager to participate and have some fellow printshops that could pool together charts please reach out and we will do our best to provide or subsidize the shipping fees. Someday, we will all be able to see one another at art book fairs again. When this happens you can drop charts with us if we are there or reach out and we can try to find a collaborating printshop to smuggle charts back to the states.

[troubleshooting]

FOR TROUBLE SHOOTING EMAIL: info@theretherenow.com

NOTE: If an individual or press would like a highly specific profile calibrated to their individual workflow, a non-white paper, 5+ colors or custom mixed ink color, etc please email directly at info@theretherenow.com with a color plan and we will produce a custom chart to fit your needs.

[what next]

Upon arrival we will place the chart in our profiling queue to be scanned with a spectrometer and logged into our database. This scanning activity will produce a data we will use independantly or in combination with other charts in the same colors to generate a custom .icc profile that will be added to the [color/shift] website.

Over time will will aggregated data from mulitple charts for the most widely useful profile. Additionally, our profiles have been a neutralized paper value [94.00 0.00 0.00 LAB] to be paper independant and will have a replaced spot channel Lab value that is consistant with our adobe CC spot color library (generated through an arithmatic average of 100% spot color readings from mulitple charts in each given color); the profiles will also have applied curve smoothing and other adjustments to compensate for variability in printers and screening settings; we will standardize the TIC (total ink coverage) for most 3 and 4 color profiles according to the characteristics of certain inks; and in some cases will adjust profile neutrality based on color modeling and max density settings.

Each multichannel profile will come as a pair of .icc profiles.

  1. will be a color separation profile that will be used to convert an RGB file to Multichannel for color splitting and printing.
  2. will be an RGB preview profile that will allow the user to soft proof any RGB file on screen to better anticipate print output and even further edit their work to optimize color balance, contrast, etc for the printed environment.

Each CMYK profile stands alone and can be used both to speparate and soft-proof.