SWOP
Encyclopedia
Specifications for Web Offset Publications, invariably abbreviated to SWOP, is an organization and the name of a set of specifications that it produces, with the aim of improving the consistency and quality of professionally printed
material in the United States
, and of certain other products, programs and endorsements related to their work.
The SWOP specification covers many areas related to print production, complementing, extending and limiting those in other industry stardards. The specification includes (but is not limited to) the following.
SWOP also endorse, produce or specify some other things.
SWOP is a non-profit
volunteer organisation, and concerns itself only with the United States
. In some other areas, similar efforts have been made by other organisation, taking account of national variations in printing techniques, expectations, and requirements.
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
material in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and of certain other products, programs and endorsements related to their work.
The SWOP specification covers many areas related to print production, complementing, extending and limiting those in other industry stardards. The specification includes (but is not limited to) the following.
- A specification for the colors of the cyanCyanCyan from , transliterated: kýanos, meaning "dark blue substance") may be used as the name of any of a number of colors in the blue/green range of the spectrum. In reference to the visible spectrum cyan is used to refer to the color obtained by mixing equal amounts of green and blue light or the...
, magentaMagentaMagenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
, yellow and key inks used in CMYK printing. Inks conforming to the specification can be called SWOP inks. The specifications make reference to, but are not identical to, the ISO standard ISO 2846-1:2006.
- A specification for the colors of proofsPrepress proofingA Contract Proof usually serves as an agreement between customer and printer and as a color reference guide for adjusting the press before the final press run. Most contract proofs are a Prepress Proof....
produced by various technologies, so they are accurate representation of the SWOP inks eventually used to print. (See SWOP Certification Program below). Proofs made from systems that meet these specifications may be called SWOP Proofs.
- Specifications for expected dot gainDot gainDot gain is a phenomenon in offset lithography and some other forms of printing which causes printed material to look darker than intended. It is caused by halftone dots growing in area between the original printing film and the final printed result...
(caused by ink dots enlarging over absorbent papers).
- Requirements for producing halftones and color separation
- Design constraints, such as the minimum size of type which is to printed reversed or knocked out of a background, to keep legibilityLegibilityLegibility is the degree to which glyphs in text are understandable or recognizable based on appearance. "The legibility of a typeface is related to the characteristics inherent in its design .....
.
- Production constraints, such as a limit of 300% on the total mixture of inks (taking a mixture of 100% each of cyan, magenta, yellow and black as being 400%).
SWOP also endorse, produce or specify some other things.
- ICC profilesICC profileIn color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium...
for color managementColor managementIn digital imaging systems, color management is the controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices, such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, computer printers, offset presses, and corresponding media.The primary goal of color...
, based on the standard called TR001, an ANSI technical report whose full title is “CGATS TR001-1995 Graphic Technology-Color Characterization Data for Type 1 Printing.” SWOP make reference to this, and a number of profiles using this are made with SWOP in the title, such as the profile USWebCoated (SWOP), which is widely available because it is included with many AdobeAdobe SystemsAdobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
applications. TR001 profiles are not universal, because they were generated and tested with specific inks, papers, and printing technologies.
- The SWOP booklet gives the specifications mentioned above, often in reference to other industry specifications (ISO and other).
- A SWOP Certification Program for proofing (not press) printing systems. This is used by manufacturers, rather than purchasers, of systems.
SWOP is a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
volunteer organisation, and concerns itself only with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In some other areas, similar efforts have been made by other organisation, taking account of national variations in printing techniques, expectations, and requirements.