Workflow

The Guardian uses FUJIFILM’s XMF C-Fit to automate image enhancement

Dave Kirwan, head of colour reproduction at The Guardian

Friday 12. December 2008 - Major efficiency benefits by automating 40 per cent of image optimisation

FUJIFILM today announces that The Guardian is using its image enhancement tool, XMF C-Fit, to automatically improve the quality and colour of digital images, reducing the need for manual editing, while also controlling and standardising colour.

XMF C-Fit processes around 40 per cent of the daily throughput of images for the newspaper, including images for the TV Guide, smaller pictures and headshots. As a result, the team is left with much more time to focus on the more manual and design intensive work as well as the images that go into the supplements. This means that the quality of the newspaper is maintained and the more advanced design work has improved.

Dave Kirwan, head of colour reproduction at The Guardian, says: “We found that as well as providing better colour results, the FUJIFILM tool is more intuitive with easy to use controls. It can be tailored to suit the needs of an individual newspaper and once we’d spent time doing this – for example adding more familiar scripts, such as ‘portrait’, ‘landscape’ and ‘sport’ – we were up and running fairly quickly.”

FUJIFILM’s XMF C-Fit is totally integrated into The Guardian’s editorial image ordering process. Pictures are first placed in an InDesign page then scaled and cropped before being put in the correct order to be processed by the different scripts. The pictures are then automatically processed by C-Fit and returned to the page in seconds.



The image enhancement software is used as a tool to assist the Imaging Studio, automating the correction of the best quality photographs that come through from the editorial system for the newspaper section. This includes all the pictures that require attention to enhance the more basic problems such as poor light, colour and size.

One of the key benefits of FUJIFILM’s XMF C-Fit is the speed in which it can automate the image enhancement process. Kirwan explains: “We worked out roughly that an image which takes up to an hour to process manually now can be completed in just two minutes with XMF C-Fit. The software is a neat little tool that has become an integral part of our production process. Through the automation of certain processes, it enables us to maintain the high standards that are synonymous with The Guardian newspaper, while streamlining our workflow. We’re really pleased with it.”