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Technology that Captures Art: Rekordata & Tecnostampa use Hydra Profiling® for the incredible Sistine Chapel Book project
We are glad to share this amazing feedback from Fabio Santoro (Color Engineer) and Andrea Benedetti (PrePress Director and R&D Manager at Tecnostampa, Loreto – Italy), who used Alwan’s Hydra Technology to produce the exceptional Sistine Chappel Books for Scripta Maneant Publisher of Bologna in co-publication with The Vatican Museums. |
| The Sistine Chapel Book Project Finding the right words to describe the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, an icon of art worldwide, is almost impossible. Try talking to someone who has seen Michelangelo’s famous frescoes decorating its ceiling in person; even they will struggle to explain the grandeur of what they witnessed. So, is it possible to reproduce such an indescribable emotion on paper? With technology, we can get closer than ever before. |
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| The publisher was able to digitally scan the entire Sistine Chapel thanks to the skill of photographers Carlo Vannini and Ghigo Roli. Gianni Grandi actively managed the color post-production of the shots and supervised the entire production process. This initiative aimed to transfer the incomparable beauty of the frescoes into a form as faithful to the original as possible. The ultra-high-resolution digital images were published in a three-volume book by Scripta Maneant, in collaboration with the Vatican Museums, where you can admire the Sistine works in all their splendor, spotting details impossible to see with the naked eye for a visitor. |
| We spoke about this fascinating project with Andrea Benedetti, PrePress Director and R&D Manager at Tecnostampa, Loreto (Italy): How did this initiative come about? The initiative was born from a shared vision. We started with the idea of a project that could capture the essence of one of the most important works of art of all time… A project that could itself become, in its own way, a work of art. How did the project develop? These photos, taken by the photographers from an optimal distance of one and a half meters from each subject, aimed to faithfully document every detail and nuance of the masterpieces contained in the chapel, with unprecedented precision. |
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| A crucial element of the process was the initial experimentation with the image of Christ from The Last Judgment, revealing substantial differences in color rendering between four-color and six-color printing. This comparison led to the decision to adopt an even more advanced printing technique, using a stochastic screen for an expanded color gamut. The goal was not only to reproduce the colors with extreme fidelity but also to make details such as shadows and textures visible, virtually bringing the observer closer to the works as never before. |
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| Being in charge of color management activities, I collaborated with the production teams working on The Sistine Chapel. The humility, honor, and awe that overwhelmed me at that time is equally as strong, and maybe more so, today. |
| One of the most amazing results of the project was learning how much the art community appreciates the challenge of achieving color accuracy. In article after article, the fact that La Cappella Sistina was produced with over 99% color accuracy was covered and applauded. There was only one way to achieve this color accuracy according to my experience, and once I showed our options, the photography and production professionals on the project agreed with me. There is no faster or more accurate path to color than with Alwan’s Hydra spectral prediction technology. |
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| Using Alwan’s Hydra Profiling® application, we were able to build the most precise profiles achievable for the benefit of the digitally captured Sistine Chapel photographs. Then, we used Hydra profiles with Alwan ColorHub color management server to produce color separations for the offset printing presses. The result was incredible and extraordinary, almost shocking! the output of two different presses matched precisely each other and the originals. We even have cases where two different presses produced each one part of the same picture, because part of the picture was part of a foldout (insert). |
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| I am proud to have contributed to this prestigious project and to have at my disposal the superior benefits of Alwan’s Hydra Technology. It is especially fulfilling to know that people who have the good fortune of seeing The Sistine Chapel’s wondrous masterpieces via La Cappella Sistina will have come as close to the authentic, on-site experience as possible with the benefit of what remains the most accurate color technology available to the market, Alwan’s Hydra technology. Fabio Santoro, Color Engineer |
| Discover & test the Hydra technology with Alwan ColorHub: alwancolor.com/software/alwan-colorhub Build Hydra profiles directly online: colorcloud.alwancolor.com Learn more about Tecnostampa: printing.piginigroup.com Learn more about the Sistine Chapel Books: www.scriptamaneant.com |