FOGRA 59 is a device-independent profile. As an exchange colour space, FOGRA 59 is designed to be independent of specific devices or printing conditions, allowing for consistent colour appearance across different production methods.
Designers should consider using the FOGRA 59 colour profile (also known as eci CMYK v2) in their standard workflows, as it offers several key benefits over other colour profiles.
Enhanced Gray Balance:
FOGRA 59 provides an improved gray balance, delivering cyan, magenta, and yellow tone values that are more familiar to designers accustomed to traditional printing processes. This enhancement leads to more predictable and visually pleasing results, especially in neutral tones.
Larger Colour Gamut:
The profile offers a large colour gamut that covers all relevant classic output standards. This makes it suitable for projects requiring a wide range of colours or vibrant output.
Consistent Colour Appearance:
FOGRA 59 enables a consistent colour appearance throughout all production steps. This is particularly beneficial for projects involving multiple stages of production or different output devices.
Improved Digital Printing Performance:
Tests have shown better output on digital printing systems with larger colour gamuts. When assigning FOGRA 59 to print files originally prepared for offset printing on premium coated stock, the output tends to show higher contrast and more vivid colours.
Equidistant Luminance Encoding:
The profile uses L* characterization, which reduces the risk of posterization effects, especially during retouching, and minimizes errors caused by colour space conversions.
Increased PANTONE Colour Coverage:
On compatible systems like QED’s Epson SureColour range of proofing printers, FOGRA 59 can enable up to 99% PANTONE colour coverag, depending on the paper used. Epson SureColour P-Series printers are considered the “gold standard” in Digital Contract Proofing, offering unmatched accuracy and dependability.
Improved Proofing Capabilities:
FOGRA 59 maintains good proofability while offering the advantages of its larger colour gamut.
These benefits make FOGRA 59 particularly suitable for designers and printers working with high-end digital production systems and those seeking to maximize colour quality and consistency across various printing processes.
If you’re working with printers or in markets that have adopted the latest colour standards, FOGRA 59 represents a significant update to previous profiles, such as FOGRA53. Some high-end digital production printers in Australia are now certified for FOGRA 59, although the uptake has been slow, given the profile was established in 2015.
The key characteristics of FOGRA59 that make it device-independent include:
- It is not tied to a specific printing process or substrate.
- It has a large colour gamut that encompasses multiple output standards.
- It is designed for colour communication across various stages of print production.
By using FOGRA59, print professionals can work in a standardized colour space that is not limited to the capabilities of any single device or printing method, facilitating more consistent colour reproduction across different systems and workflows.
It’s important to note that while FOGRA 59 offers these advantages, the choice of colour profile should always be made in consultation with your printer and based on the specific requirements of your project. Some markets or printers may still prefer other standards, so it’s crucial to communicate with all parties involved in the production process.