Flash, PMS, CMYK Solutions (Part 2)

ehauser — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 03:20:10 +0000

In my previous entry, I talked a little about a solution I was working on for a fictional client. After doing some more research and prototyping, I came up with an architecture that I think will work for my application. The main issue I was trying to address was allowing a user to alter an image on a web page for print, but being able to render that image server side using CMYK colors.

It seems to be fairly trivial to send data back to the server using Flex. There are a few options including the Flex-Ajax Bridge or using
web services. Depending on how complex our graphics end our getting, I do not believe that their will be that much data to transmit back to the server, so using JSON along with the Flex-Ajax bridge will probably suit our needs. The client side will render the images using Flash/Flex and send the data back to the server. The data will probably end up containing data on which color the user choose, any effects they want to apply, custom text, etc.

Once we have received that data, I am going to use the Java 2D Graphics library to manipulate my images. The trail on the graphics package gives a good description on the types of things I will need to do with the library (fills, draws, gradient paints, etc). I have used iText in the past to render PDFs, and it supports the CMYK JPEG images I will be creating (my printer needs PDFs).

Flash, PMS, CMYK Solutions

ehauser — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 04:03:15 +0000

I have been researching a solution for a job that has required me to learn some stuff about Flash and CMYK. To set the stage, assume I am working for a fictional client who wants to let users design custom decals for their computers on the web. They can edit the text, the font, some minor effects, and the colors used in the decal — but in general the graphic templates for the decals are already set. Also, a few of these computer users are very particular about matching thier decal colors up with the colors of their computer case. These users want to be able to provide a PMS number for the color of their decal. Flash is the obvious choice for the decal design control for the web site, but I was not sure what limitations there would be around using Flash with PMS. Also, I was not sure if the solution would just require using Flash or if it would require the use of Flex as well.

I found an article on implementing Nike iD that was given in a JavaOne presentation. They do something similar to what I want to do where the user’s selections are passed back to the server and persisted. There was some commentary at the end how they suggested using Flex, but I did not see a lot of information on why. I was aware of a Flash / Javascript bridge, so I figured I could use JSON to send data back to the server if there was no easier way. Since my project is just in research phase at this point, I decided to move on.

ithout having any domain knowledge on the differences between RGP and CMYK, my first assumption was tha Flash would have no trouble supporting a PMS number defined by the user since I was certain Flash supported any RGB color. Flash does support RGB colors and there were a number of RGP color pickers components that I found while searching. What I found was that RGB does not necessary translate to CMYK and vice versa. This presented two issues for my solution 1) How would I let the user know why what they were seeing on their screen might be different than the PMS number they just entered? 2) How do I generate a PDF image to send to the printer using the right colors? (the printer expects a PDF using CMYK colors). I was not concerned about the first issue because it could be solved with good FAQs and help text in the application. I am still researching possible solutions for the 2 issue which I will post a follow up on.

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Flash, PMS, CMYK Solutions (Part 2)

Flash, PMS, CMYK Solutions