The new feature, Colour L*A*B*, has been designed to help visitors to improve the colour management practices in their print businesses.
It will offer a structured end-to-end overview of all individual elements contributing to professional colour management including monitors, measurement and calibration tools, lightboxes, hard and soft proofing, software and print output devices.
The walk-through showcase will be located within Hall B4 for the duration of the show, which will take place at Messe Munich from 14-17 May.
It will feature representative technologies from a range of specialist suppliers, supported by explanatory graphics and a printed guide describing the processes and technologies and including contacts for further information.
Test files will be used in live demonstrations to illustrate different printed outcomes across a range of media.
Visitors will be able to participate in free, pre-bookable guided Colour L*A*B* tours with colour management consultant Paul Sherfield, who will provide detailed explanations of the processes and answer visitors’ questions on how they can improve their own practices.
The adjacent conference area, meanwhile, will offer a focused programme of free educational presentations from subject matter experts including Andreas Kraushaar from Fogra and Paul Lindström of Digital Dots.
The launch of Colour L*A*B* comes in direct response to feedback from the Fespa community, which highlighted a strong appetite for expert guidance and education to improve colour accuracy and consistency.
Fespa head of technical support Graeme Richardson-Locke said quality control “remains one of the key areas where printers feel they have yet to optimise their operations”.
“Our recent Print Census reinforces this, with one in three respondents saying that they intend to invest in colour management technology and training within the next two years as part of a wider focus on consistency and customer satisfaction.”
The new feature will be supported by the publication on Fespa’s website of a six-part colour management blog series authored by Sherfield.
He said: “The idea of Colour L*A*B* is to walk people through a colour managed workflow and talk about the importance of device profiles and common colour appearance.
“Customers from brand owners to interior designers have high expectations of consistent colour appearance, regardless of the printing process or material used.
“Importantly, good colour management delivers better predictability, greater production flexibility, reduced waste and improved customer satisfaction and retention.”
He said that while digital wide-format print technology removes many of the variables associated with analogue processes, Colour L*A*B* will help visitors “to build the knowledge, competence and confidence to make the most of these tools, identify any gaps in their practices, and optimise their workflows to deliver right-first-time colour for every job.”
Fespa said further details of the individual technologies featured in Colour L*A*B* and the detailed conference programme will be published in due course.
