I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, ‘Why are my reds not red?’ Often, the culprit is the wrong color management software in place.
Some manufacturers of bulk or off-brand sublimation inks provide color profiles for their inks, but many do not. If a manufacturer does offer color management tools, they come in the form of ICC profiles, which do not take the specific printer, substrate, and paper into consideration when formulating color output. A high-quality ink has more advanced software that takes into consideration more than just a color profile.
Accurate sublimation coloration is dependent on many environmental factors that simple profiles cannot compensate for. Therefore, RIP software is essential for high-end and wide-format image reproduction. At the desktop level, a high-quality ink offers a RIP-like program to help account for as many environmental factors as possible. This ensures color accuracy and consistency.
-Jimmy Lamb, Sawgrass
