Dwell:
Making a Home in the Modern World
Color Control with ColorSync
To manage color, Dwell has incorporated ColorSync ICC profiles in its digital prepress workflow process. Kathryn Hansen, design production manager, attributes the high productivity at Dwell to the Mac, its tight integration with digital workflow, and a new generation of flat panel monitors from Apple.
“The most excellent thing Apple has done for us is the flat-panel monitor,” Hansen believes. “The new generation of flat panel monitors from Apple is a significant improvement in terms of color balance. Flat panel screens are more accurate. Since they aren’t tube-based the colors don’t change as the tubes warm up. Five minutes later, 15 hours later, the color doesn’t change.
“The exact color I see on my monitor, Claudia sees on her monitor, our contributing editor in Scotland sees on her monitor, and our pre-press guys see on their monitor in Los Angeles,” Hansen adds. “At a digital photographer’s studio last week, I was looking at the images we just shot on the photographer’s Cinema Display. What I saw in the studio is replicated to what I see in my office. Color is now spot on. We have dot-to-dot fidelity, from computer to press.”
A Hub for Digital Production
When Bruno arrived at Dwell, the art department included three designers who did nearly everything — design, color corrections, file production, closing. But with the magazine’s increased frequency, she brought in Hansen, who also had worked at “Martha Stewart Living,” and worked with Dwell’s managing editor to set up a workflow that could accommodate a faster publishing schedule.
“As the technology has gotten more sophisticated,” Bruno points out, “it has become a seamless part of our process. And working on Macs gives us a common language with photographers, both digital and film, because we’re all working on the same equipment.
“The fact is, we don’t have to think about the technology much, which is beautiful.”
Sharing InDesign
Now the design team completes each layout in InDesign and hands it off to Hansen, who then manages the color and closes the pages in collaboration with the managing editor. Meanwhile, the designers are off to the races designing stories for the next issue and editors are often working on the issue after that.
The theme for one issue the creative team is developing involves the concept of “design equals craft” and will feature the work of architects and designers whose work is defined by its attention to craft.
Working against storyboards for the issue, editors and designers work on InDesign layouts maintained on the Xserve, which stores all of the assets and provides the hub for the workflow. “Everybody shares InDesign,” Bruno says, “so the editors get on our files and edit in them. We have a very careful naming convention because a lot of people touch the layout and everyone has to understand which file is live.”
“To generate the workflow we are achieving today — in terms of volume of pages with consistently high quality — it’s not possible without Apple,” Hansen says.
“We still work through the same steps, but the way we do it, and the speed with which we do it has changed completely. Apple is significantly ahead of the game when it comes to meeting the demands of the publishing workflow.”
Proof Is in the Epson
When layouts are still rough, they’re printed on Canon laser printers. But for final color proofing, Dwell has moved from four-color proofing to a continuous-tone 300 DPI inkjet system in house. “With inkjet technology, printing out a new page cost $50,” Hansen says. “Our previous process using Kodak approvals cost around $350 per page. Imagine what two approvals of an entire issue at $350 per page cost us.”
Dwell’s printer, Quebecor World, provided two Epson K3 4800 inkjet printers for proofing, which, says Dwell’s senior production director Fran Fox, “has had a tremendous impact on both our schedule and our costs.”
Dwell sends Premedia, Quebecor’s prepress subsidiary in Los Angeles, digital images and pages and Premedia transmits digital proofs back to Dwell’s in-house Epson as soon as the next morning — and sometimes that same day.
“Both Premedia and our Quebecor printing plant in St. Cloud use Epson proofers calibrated to the exact same specs as ours,” says Fox. “This enables Dwell to make corrections over the phone with confidence.”
Moderism Undiluted
The success of Dwell, says Bruno, lies in part in the “incredible appetite for what we’re doing that is unique. It’s not diluted.”
When Deam launched Dwell, she made a conscious decision to place the magazine in a category that didn’t exist. It fits in the shelter category by virtue of the “where-else-would-you-put-it?” question.
“But it’s really not a shelter magazine,” Bruno stresses. “It’s not “Met Home,” “House & Garden,” or “House Beautiful.” Those magazines often report about decorating and we avoid it. We try to tell the story behind every architect or product we feature rather than just designate what color or chair is hot that season.”
Clearly, bringing trade knowledge of modern architecture and design to the consumer has proven rewarding for the Dwell team. “Modern design is right for the age,” Bruno says. “The technology we use to address it is so synonymous with efficiency and excellence, you don’t even have to worry about it.”
