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.
In the current issue of Fogra News “Fogra Aktuell” Proof GmbH is involved in two places. Firstly, a summary of the Fogra report on our first FOGRA55 certification for seven-colour printing with extended colour space in CMYKOGV appeared. You can also find more information on our FOGRA55 certification on the Fogra website: https://fogra.org/en/press-releases/fogracert-erste-cpc-zertifizierung-fuer-fogra55-cmykogv-330 and on proofing.de: And secondly, there was a report on the completion of the research project for textile digital printing, FOGRA58, in which we were allowed to investigate and test the proof capability of the new textile … read more
This year we once again created proofs for Fogra certification and sent them to Munich-Aschheim for testing. With these proof prints, which we print according to three different proof standards and on three different papers, we point out that we not only deliver excellent proof quality through internal quality controls and checks, but that the quality of our proofs is also measured and confirmed by external experts. We have now had test prints certified by Fogra for the 12th time. We have also been “Spot-cert” certified for the display of … read more
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
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
From now on you can order proofs for metal decor printing on white sheet metal at proof.de: The ICC profile for Fogra60 is Metal-Printing_MPC1_FOGRA60.icc
Whether it’s a large global corporation or a small company, the following often applies to designs or redesigns today: we develop everything for digital first.
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?
Shortly after Adobe’s announcement to remove PANTONE colours from their products, PANTONE removed the popular PANTONE Find a Color from their website
In recent years, various problems have arisen with our previous proof paper supplier. On the one hand, we sometimes had to wait more than three months for paper deliveries; on the other hand, we sometimes had significant problems with batch-to-batch discrepancies, surface defects and much more. After lengthy deliberations, we decided in December to replace all the paper. We therefore received pallets of new paper at the turn of the year, which we are now gradually incorporating into our production. There will be no hard cut, but the new papers … read more
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