Taking Control With Colour Management

Hitting the right colour is of paramount importance when it comes to printed applications for any customer. However, when it comes to large-format marketing work, this becomes perhaps even more important. After all, you cannot afford to get it wrong with the striking red of Coca-Cola, the deep green of Starbucks, or even the luxurious purple of Cadbury’s.

Of course, your choice of printing machinery will play a major role in the quality of printed work, including how accurate you are with colours. However, there are additional tools on offer to wide-format print companies and sign-makers to help them hit the right colours in all printed applications, with colour management software among these solutions.

In this feature, we speak with both providers and users of colour management software to gain further insight into the benefits of these products and analyse the real impact they can have on the quality of the final printed piece.

New Level of Colour Consistency

One of the stand-out developments within the colour management sector in recent months was Durst Group announcing the full integration of GMG’s spectral colour management technology into its proprietary Durst Workflow software. This is also now available within the open Smart Factory portfolio of the Open Software Initiative.

While the initial announcement came in September, the official launch came at the recent PRINTING United 2025 in the US, with Durst now pledging to set a “new industry benchmark” for automated and colour-consistent production, regardless of the printing system or substrate. This will see Durst Workflow delivered with fully embedded spectral colour management from GMG, with existing customers holding a valid software agreement to receive the new solution at no additional cost.

Importantly, the integration covers all market segments in which Durst operates, including sign and display, while the GMG solution will become a key component of Durst’s modular Smart Factory architecture, which is central to the Open Software Initiative – Durst’s vision of an open, fully connected production ecosystem.

“By integrating GMG into our Durst Workflow and open Smart Factory platform, we are delivering a new level of colour consistency – fully automated and highly scalable,” says Michael Deflorian, director of business unit software and solutions at Durst.

“At the same time, this marks a first real-world example of a true best-of-breed integration in the spirit of our Open Software Initiative. It underlines our ambition to deliver the best software solutions on the market – not just for Durst customers, but for the entire print industry.”

Darrian Young, global partnership manager at GMG, also welcomes the integration, saying that the partnership with Durst brings together two companies with “innovation and quality at the core of their DNA”. He adds: “Integration into the Durst Workflow and Smart Factory architecture enables a consistent, media-neutral production process – a real gamechanger for the market.”

Measure and Verify

Continuing with the theme of PRINTING United – an event that drew thousands of visitors from all corners of the global industry, including several members of the SignLink editorial team – and PRINTING United Alliance is well positioned to support those companies on the lookout for ways to enhance and improve colour in print.

Ray Weiss, vice-president for eLearning and certifications at PRINTING United Alliance, says without quality colour management software, you are basically “flying blind” when printing any type of application. He explains that colour management is all about control; controlling the variables that affect colour from proof to press.

“The right software lets you measure, verify, and keep everything in line across your devices and materials,” Weiss says, continuing: “When you don’t have that control, you end up guessing, and guessing costs time, money, and credibility.

“With a solid colour management system, you can track how your printers are performing, catch drift before it becomes a problem, and hit consistent, accurate colour every time. It takes you from putting out fires to actually preventing them. That is when the printing gets predictable, and indeed profitable.

So, what can go wrong if you do not have the right software in place? Weiss puts it simply and honestly by saying “a lot”. He continues: “When your software does not match the kind of work that you are doing, colour starts to wander. You will begin to see inconsistencies, wasted materials, and frustrated customers. With this, the reprints will start to pile up fast.

“Without the ability to verify output, drift sneaks in over time, and by the time you notice, it will be too late. Visual checks do not cut it anymore; if you are trying to manage colour across multiple printers or substrates without solid software behind you, it is chaos. You are basically chasing colour instead of controlling it.”

With this in mind, what advice can Weiss and the PRINTING United Alliance offer to signage and printing companies seeking new solutions in terms of colour management? He explains that a solid starting point is compatibility and ensuring that the new solution will fit with your established production setup and RIP

“Check that it supports the right measurement conditions (M0, M1, M2, M3) and gives you full ICC profiling and rendering control,” he says, adding: “If you are running wide or expanded gamut printers, make sure they support RGB workflows with late-stage CMYK conversion.

“Ease of use matters a lot. Good software should make your life easier, not harder. Look for features like automated scanning, built-in colour libraries, and strong integration with your spectrophotometers.

“Also, make sure that you do not skip the verification tools. You will want to know right away whether your printer is in spec. Having a quick, reliable way to verify accuracy saves lots of time and prevents unnecessary reruns.”

As to how the PRINTING United Alliance can help companies to strengthen their own colour management skills, the organisation offers a range of specialist online courses and hands-on workshops that help people move from trial-and-error to real process control. One example is the Colour Management Professional series, which Weiss explains “lays the groundwork”, covering calibration, profiling, rendering intents, and verification. There is also the G7+ Expert Training & Certification, which takes it to the next level.

“G7+ builds on the original G7 method to help printers achieve consistent colour appearance across every process: offset, digital, flexo, wide-format, and even textile printing,” Weiss says, continuing: “We’ve made the training flexible. You can take it fully online, online with an instructor, or occasionally in person. Everything’s available through our iLEARNING+ platform.

“The goal is simple, give printers the tools and knowledge to take control of their colour. Whether you are just starting out or fine-tuning a mature workflow, we help you get predictable, consistent results across every device, every time.”

Accurate Colour is Critical

Also weighing in with professional advice and words of wisdom on colour management is Zebra Print Group, a family-owned business delivering expert, end-to-end print solutions for nearly two decades. Samantha Overton, managing director at Zebra, explains that with the accuracy of colour being critical in print, it is crucial printers and sign companies to do all they can to ensure the work they produce is as accurate as possible, colour-wise.

“Accurate colour is critical in print; it’s what protects a client’s brand and sets a professional printer apart,” Overton explains, continuing: “Quality colour-management software ensures colours are consistent, predictable, and repeatable across devices, substrates, and print runs. It reduces waste, saves time, and gives clients total confidence that what they approved is what they will receive.”

In terms of the dangers of under-investment in colour management solutions, Overton says cutting corners should not be an option to anyone involved in the sector. She explains that this will almost certainly lead to inconsistency, wasted materials, and unhappy customers, which in turn will cost your business in the long run.

“Without proper systems, you risk colour drift between jobs, costly reprints, and damage to your reputation,” she says, adding: “Over time, those ‘small’ colour errors can lose you clients and restrict the types of high-value work you can take on.

“As to what should printers and signage companies should be looking for in quality solutions, I would recommend that they seek out software that delivers accurate calibration, ICC profiling, and reliable repeatability across devices and substrates. It should handle spot colours, integrate smoothly with your workflow, and be easy for your team to use day-to-day.”

Overton also takes a leaf out of the PRINTING United Alliance book by saying that ongoing support and training are vital in this area, adding that colour management is not just a one-time setup, but an evolving process, where there is always room for improvement and higher accuracy in the final printed piece.

“At Zebra Print Group, we combine our hands-on production experience with practical guidance,” Overton explains, adding: “We help print companies to assess their workflows, recommend suitable tools, and provide staff training to improve colour accuracy and efficiency. Our goal is to help customers achieve consistent, high-quality results that build client trust and strengthens their business in the long-term.”

The message here appears to be both simple and clear: skimp on colour management at your peril. With so much importance attached to the accuracy of colour in printed pieces – be it smaller-format projects or wide-format applications, the customer will almost certainly notice if the colour is not right.

This is applicable to clients from all areas, with but such a large number of wide-format print companies and sign-makers working with marketers and brands, then they will likely be even more analytical when it comes to signing off work, meaning you cannot run the risk of not hitting the right notes on colour. With all this said, quality colour management software should certainly be on your Christmas list this year.