Color management

Color management is a broad term that is used to encompass the processes involved in keeping colors accurate from the original scene to the final output. This can apply to paintings in reproduction, photography to print, or print conversion to digital display. In the print shop, this includes several stages. First, we use color-calibrated monitors for review of digital submissions.  For most of our clients, they have performed color balancing of the images prior to submission, and no further editing is required. We use a digital photo spectrometer to create a custom profile for each monitor so that the visible color rendition reflects the same balance that our clients submit to us. Next, we perform color calibration on our printers for each paper and media to be printed. In this step we print sample swatches and imagery on the actual product/medium that will be used in the final print. The sample prints are run through an infrared colorimeter that evaluates the print output against the original colors in the digital imagery. A dedicated print color profile is created for each paper/medium and loaded into the printer software to refine the color output for that specific paper. After this, the customer images are printed with the new profile to ensure the best accuracy of the final product.

Papers and canvas

Art as it is known is an expression of culture, desire, religion, experience, personality, and history. There are multiple modalities in which art appears, but of significance is a foreshortened or flattened representation of a three-dimensional scene. Over the centuries, drawings, petroglyphs, paintings, sketches, and imagery have appeared on walls, ceilings, doors, edifices, pavement, and many other locations. Additionally, great works were produced on portable surfaces, often paper or animal products, or on canvas surfaces stretched or rolled. These great works have the benefit of translocation, which increases sharing, and the ability of the artist and their successors to display the work in a multitude of settings.  In the 21^st century humankind has achieved many refinements, but a core desire to express individuality and purpose ties us closely to those before us. Expressing oneself through art is one of these transcendent values. At Katy Color Labs, we help you preserve and express your artistic meaning by selecting quality papers and canvases to display and share the images that mean most to you.