Welcome to Under The Cone

At Rods and Cones, we live and breathe color. Under the Cone is where we share our knowledge and expertise from over 25 years of experience with those who share our passion.
April 6, 2023
Climate-friendly Practices for Growth and Prosperity

The printing industry has long pioneered new forms of technology and is now on the cusp of more significant change, spurred on by the devastating deterioration of our planet. The truth is climate change is here and our industry has to change.   The printers we consulted say that the best strategy for this kind of […]

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November 4, 2022
Inks: From the beginning to the inkjet printer

This is an interesting article Kevin started to write for us at the time of his death in 2019. There’s affection and regret reading this but, as usual, pleased at finding so many interesting facts. I hope you enjoy this piece written by a wonderful friend. A frisson of awe ran down my neck as […]

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October 11, 2022
Rich and the PDF

We used to have an amazing technician here who had some very opinions about PDF. I’m a designer and sort of do what I’m told and that usually works pretty well. But Rich’s background is in prepress and he doesn’t like to do what he’s told, especially not when it comes to PDF. His settings […]

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October 12, 2022
Paper, color, and application settings for the best print you can get

If you’ve just read Get the best print out of your printer, your files are ready and it’s time to print. Consider first what paper best fits your images, and your taste. Finding the Best Paper: Practical Tips Different paper types provide different degrees of apparent sharpness. The amount of gloss on the surface and […]

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October 12, 2022
A primer for creative geniuses

How to get the best out of your brilliant idea Creatives today are faced with many new challenges. The path from initial design to final output has many steps and many pitfalls. New creation tools allow greater design freedom but sometimes hinder the print process. With ever improving printing technologies, there’s higher quality output, expanded […]

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October 13, 2022
Softproofing: Largely ignored in spite of being very accurate

Softproofing is the natural transition from paper proofs to digital proofs. Today, we use a color-managed inkjet printer with a RIP to print contract proofs. The technology is mature and the proofs are close to perfect, not only for color but also in terms of what a specific press can do. Hardproofing is ideal and […]

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October 13, 2022
How are different printing processes matched via G7?

G7’s success was so spectacular for GRACoL workflows, that G7 methods were tested on other workflows such as SWOP. Managing gray so carefully paid dividends in SWOP workflows and in other workflows as they were tested. Today, a series of printing conditions has been defined in a new standard, CGATS 21-2 (ISO PAS 15339). This […]

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October 13, 2022
About GRACoL7

1. What is the difference between GRACoL, GRACoL7, and G7? GRACoL is a set of specifications for commercial printing developed by the GRACoL committee, a member of IDEAlliance GRACoL7 is the latest version of these guidelines And G7 is the methodology used to meet these specifications 2. What is a traditional press standard based on? […]

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October 13, 2022
Featured Artist: Alain De Borger, Belgian photographer of reality

Alain De Borger seeks out the most innocuous scene and makes it into a glorified landscape. People become beautiful in his pictures. He lives his work.“Since the beginning with Agfa IsoRapid and its development curve, to today, my work is varied. In spite of many detours, it remains close to the documentary or, vital to […]

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