SSI is the company that graphic artists and designers, marcom and advertising professionals, photographers, printers and publishers come to when they have color problems to solve that are critical to their business mission.
We design, streamline and configure your overall workflow for accurate color that's consistently reproducible through the entire digital process—from digital camera to scanner, monitor, printer and corresponding media, from input to working with, proof and final output.
As your color management resource, SSI offers, installs and integrates the latest, highest quality color management hardware and software to help you achieve and maintain a perfect match across color devices.
Color Management Consulting
Professional level color management requires experience and knowledge. Trial and error and production interruptions for experimentation have no place in the fast paced graphic arts industry. That's where SSI can help. We've been implementing and optimizing color management solutions in the pre-press, printing, and publishing worlds since our inception. We've pushed the boundaries and used the latest tools, so we know what works, what doesn't, and what problems may be encountered. From the most basic application requirements through large integrated workflows that can extend from the image creator through to the press room, we've already accomplished it.
Our systems expertise can assist you in the latest software applications, state-of-the-art hardware devices, integration, implementation and training. After all, educating yourself on gamut compression strategies, device profiling, and available color management systems is not the best use of your or your employees' time. SSI provides experience, reliability, and the advantage of saving time you demand and require.
GRACoL Expert Consultants
If you are a printer, prepress house, photographer or creative who wants to learn to proof or print to the new G7 methodology you should engage a certified GRACol Expert consultant, such as SSI. The G7 process control methodology was developed by IDEAlliance to prescribe how to use the most modern technology, techniques, process controls and standards in to reliably produce high-quality commercial printing with a close visual appearance from proof to press and from press to press.
GRACoL Expert Consultants are uniquely qualified to train printers, creatives and prepress houses in the G7 Method and are authorized to act as the certification agents for IDEAlliance Master Printers or Proof Professional Programs. SSI team members have completed an IDEAlliance certification program and are identified to be an elite group of professionals who are expert in the new GRACoL press calibration process.
Workflow Development
An efficient workflow system is vital. Regardless of your existing workflow, from digital photography to PDF-based pre-press, we will optimize and streamline your process. From image capture, file creation and proofing through to printed materials, your efficiency is greatly enhanced through an SSI color management solution. Deadlines and production times are shrinking and there is no time for unexpected delays or inconsistent quality. SSI helps develop and manage expectations from client to vendor, creating a cost-efficient and consistent workflow.
We investigate your systems and current workflow and then develop a strategy to implement a virtually automated color managed workflow. Working backwards we profile your end output (in multi-press pressrooms we can maximize flexibility by creating an averaged press profile from a combination of all your presses). We then profile and characterize proofing devices, monitors and input devices. We then walk your staff through implementation of the system so they're fully trained in the process.
We become your color management team
SSI also offers monthly color management updates. Each month we will visit your location to review and/or update profiles and monitor the integrity of the color management system. We'll address any issues that have occurred and work with you to plan for future expansions or additions to your production environment.
Custom Profiling
Every device has its own unique color language – from digital cameras, scanners, and monitors to inkjet printers and sheet-fed presses. Each device has it's own gamut, or range of color which it can display or reproduce. The end goal of color management is to translate between disparate devices and represent and reproduce color consistently across those devices. To achieve this behind-the- scenes color management, the characteristics of each device must be profiled and provided to the color management system. Input devices such as digital cameras and scanners, through to such output devices as inkjet printers and offset lithography presses, as well as the monitors in between, must be accurately calibrated and profiled.
If devices are not properly calibrated and profiled throughout the workflow, the results will be inconsistent, the color management workflow will be corrupted, and the end result will be lost productivity and increased costs. Accurate profiling of your unique devices is critical.
Objective device profiles are the only way
SSI's color management team uses objective color measurement tools to profile your device input, display, and output. Our color management experts are experienced with all aspects of the process and provide true, consistent profiles. Once each device has been custom profiled, our team will then incorporate these latest profiles into your existing or new color management solution. You'll be assured accurate, predictable color — from input through output.
Process Control
Even the best technology needs to be managed. Once you have an accurate profile and are getting the expected results from your devices, SSI can help you maintain the standards that were initially set up. Statistical process control is a systematic approach that collects and tracks data to identify variances to the expected quality standard. This eliminates the guesswork to determine if the proof is good or bad, or where any problem may have occurred. This reduces costs and project cycle-time while ensuring a consistent and predictable color quality that enhances customer satisfaction.
