Kodak's decision to
discontinue its grey card and colour separation cards saddens me. These tools
travelled in the gadget bags of the two photographers who inspired and educated
my interest in image reproduction, which is what eventually led me to PrintWeek
and my print geekery.
I still remember that the
basics of colour reproduction are get the tonal range right, then get the
greyscale neutral, then worry about the memory colours and only then worry
about any exact colour matching. These cards were a failsafe and visually
obvious way of making sure those rules were followed, and provided a visual
indication if things had gone awry.
Kodak may argue that as the process of image
reproduction has become digitised and automated the need for tools to check to
ensure quality and process control has diminished. I'd argue the opposite, with
more and more of the workings hidden from view, simple tangible checks that
relate to visual, physical objects become even more important, especially for
instances when things go really wrong. When the software goes awry you need to
go back to basics. These tools provide a compass to help you find your bearings
when everything ICC is all out to sea spectrally. Chucking them overboard seems
like a regretable step to me.