A media wedge is a standardised test pattern used in the printing industry and in colour management. The media wedge consists of a series of colour patches with known colour values and colour intensities. It is used to check the colour accuracy and colour reproduction of prints, especially when calibrating colour management systems.
The media wedge contains a series of colour patches with different colours, including the primary colours (cyan, magenta, yellow) as well as black and greyscale patches. With modern, RGB-based printing standards such as FOGRA58 Textile-RGB, the media wedge can also consist of different RGB fields; in the case of the media wedge for multicolour printing such as seven-colour printing according to FOGRA55, the media wedge can also consist of 5 to 8 or more colours. However, such media wedges are still the exception, CMYK media wedges such as the UGRA/Fogra media wedge CMYK 3.0 are the most common media wedges in practice.
Each field has a defined colour value and a defined density or intensity. These values are precisely known, differ for all proof standards to be checked with the media wedge and serve as a reference for comparison with the printed result.
If a media wedge is used, it is printed together with the print job, i.e. usually the PDF. The printed media wedge is then measured with a colour measuring device, e.g. a spectrophotometer. The measured colour values are then compared with the known reference values of the media wedge in order to assess the accuracy of the colour reproduction and, if necessary, make adjustments to the colour management.
The media wedge is an important tool for ensuring that printed products are colour-correct and consistent. The media wedge is used in proofing in particular to ensure that the print result meets the colour specifications before actual print production begins.
More articles related to this topic:
New edition of ISOCoatedV2 in M1 in sight?
Even almost 9 years after the introduction of the successor colour space PSOCoatedV3, ISOCoatedV2 / FOGRA39 is still the most widespread colour space in Europe. We at Proof GmbH count around 200 jobs from time to time for the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, among others. In the last count, proofs in ISOCoatedV2 accounted for around 68% of all proof jobs at our company. This is a clear sign of the continued widespread use of the colour space. ISOCoatedV2: From the classic colour space to the beacon of the … read more
New iPhone colour measuring devices: xade nano+ in test
A new generation of colour measuring devices is entering the market: in contrast to the classic measuring devices, which are available as a fully encapsulated system either as a colourimeter or as a spectrophotometer, and then supply the data to a computer via an interface or app or display it directly, the new generation of colour measuring devices consist only of lighting and software, with the optics of a modern iPhone from Apple being used as the sensor. Until now, there have been two categories of measuring devices on the … read more
New PANTONE Formula Guides with incorrect ink formulations
Several errors have crept into the new PANTONE 2023 fan decks. In both the PANTONE Solid Coated and the Solid Uncoated color fans, there are colours for which the new ink formulations are incorrect. In the PANTONE Formula Guide Solid Coated fan 2023, PANTONE 107 C and PANTONE 108 C have absolutely identical ink recipes, as well as PANTONE 113 C and PANTONE 114 C. As the colors differ, this cannot be the correct. Several errors in the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 In the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 … read more
Proof.de: New video online
In this short image video we – the Proof GmbH – introduce us and our work. Find out who we are and what drives us. What do you think of our short film?
PANTONE Find a Color No Longer Available Without Registration
Shortly after Adobe’s announcement to remove PANTONE colours from their products, PANTONE removed the popular PANTONE Find a Color from their website
RGB colour spaces explained
RGB colour spaces are colour systems that represent different hues with the three primary colours red, green and blue. RGB colour spaces are used in digital image processing, photography and computer technology to precisely define colours. The most important RGB colour spaces and their special features are: sRGB sRGB is the most widely used RGB colour space and is used by most monitors, printers and digital cameras. It was developed by HP and Microsoft in the 1990s to create a standard for colour representation on the internet and on various … read more
Proof GmbH 2021 Certified Again by Fogra with Fogra “Spot cert”
In 2021 proof.de was again Fogra certified including Fogra “Spot cert” certification, i.e. for the display of spot colours such as PANTONE C and U.
Cross-media colour management really works
Peter Jäger is an expert in colour management that reliably works across the boundaries of printers and monitors, web and print – essentially: cross-media.
Precise proofing of tonal values of spot colours
In recent weeks, there have been lengthy discussions on the Fogra digital printing mailing list as to whether a research project should be launched to define standardised tonal value gradations for spot colours. What is this all about? In the field of CMYK and seven-colour printing, the definition of clear, printable and proofable standards is well established and has been tried and tested in practice. If the paper or paper class is known and defined, a measuring standard such as M0/M1/M2 has been established and the content of optical brighteners … read more
PANTONE surveys users online about product and service direction
Today I received an email in which PANTONE asked how it should orientate its products and services in the future. The users were asked which countries, industries and company sizes they come from, but also what PANTONE products should look like in the future and what customers would be prepared to pay for PANTONE services in the future. Question: How much can PANTONE services cost? PANTONE appears to be orientating itself on the PANTONE Connect prices: All price queries have the lowest price category < $ 7,- / month, i.e. … read more