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8-88

Desktop Color Primer

Color Reference Guide for C9800 - 88

Even if your color printing is done exclusively on the Fiery, you will encounter 
concepts from offset printing if you use high-end graphics applications. For example, 
color controls in illustration applications, such as Adobe Illustrator, are geared toward 
specifying color for offset printing using process and 

spot colors

. Many applications 

allow you to specify the screening used for each printing plate.

Using color effectively

The ability to print in color can greatly increase the effectiveness of your message, 
whether you are printing a presentation or newsletter (short-run printing), or proofing 
an ad concept that will later be printed on a press (color proofing). Some potential 
benefits of using color include:

• Conveying information rapidly by using color cues

• Making use of the emotive aspects of different colors

• Increasing impact and message retention

Color can also be a source of distraction and discord if it is used poorly. This section 
outlines some tips and concepts to consider as you approach designing color materials.

A few rules of thumb

Try some of the following strategies for creating successful color materials:

• Use color to aid comprehension, rather than applying colors indiscriminately. 

In color presentations, graphs, and charts, use color to highlight patterns and 
emphasize differences.

• Use color sparingly. In general, fewer colors work better than many colors.

• Use red as an accent color. Red is particularly effective when used in otherwise 

monochromatic materials.

• Consider the tastes of your target audience when choosing colors.

• Keep a file of printed color pieces that appeal to you or strike you as effective. 

Refer to it for ideas when designing your own documents.

Summary of Contents for C9800hdn

Page 1: ......

Page 2: ...cturers and referred to in this guide will not affect the applicability of the information in it Mention of software products manufactured by other companies does not necessarily constitute endorsemen...

Page 3: ...Color Management Workflows Understanding workflows 2 16 Standard recommended workflow 2 18 Choosing colors 2 19 Understanding color models 2 20 Optimizing for output type 2 21 Maintaining color accur...

Page 4: ...4 35 Chapter 5 Managing Color in Adobe Photoshop Specifying color settings 5 36 Configuring Photoshop color settings 5 36 Saving files from Photoshop 5 40 Choosing a file format 5 40 Selecting options...

Page 5: ...7 65 Saving files for importing into other documents 7 67 Specifying print options 7 67 Using Illustrator color management 7 71 FreeHand 10 x 9 x and 8 x for Windows and Mac OS 7 71 Setting FreeHand...

Page 6: ...ding color gamut 8 86 Printing techniques 8 87 Halftone and continuous tone devices 8 87 Using color effectively 8 88 A few rules of thumb 8 88 Color wheel 8 89 Color and text 8 92 Raster images and v...

Page 7: ...demark of Best GmbH in the U S Patent and Trademark Office AutoCal Digital StoreFront DocStream Fiery Link FreeForm Hagen Intelligent Device Management Logic OneFlow PrintFlow PrintMe PrintSmith Site...

Page 8: ...user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Con...

Page 9: ...ed by and shall remain with EFI and its suppliers Except for the express limited license granted above to use the Software no right or license of any kind is granted You receive no rights or license u...

Page 10: ...ademarks licensed or supplied by Adobe Such provisions are made expressly for the benefit of Adobe and are enforceable by Adobe in addition to EFI ADOBE WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER TO YOU FOR AN...

Page 11: ...ut profile that appear throughout this manual Color terms and concepts such as RGB data color space spot color gamut and source profile are used throughout this guide If you are new to desktop color o...

Page 12: ...information about the color space of the source image and the gamut of the printer This information is provided through profiles often created by the makers of the computer monitor or printer The end...

Page 13: ...e Color Guide Chapter 1 When you use these settings you do not need to use the features of other color management systems Your Fiery software includes ICC profiles for use with other color management...

Page 14: ...ent to the printer thus the processing occurs on your computer as opposed to the Fiery Conventional color management systems typically address only color conversions and they occupy your computer proc...

Page 15: ...able color use the color reference pages when defining the color in your document The resources available are RGB Color Reference a Microsoft Word file and a Microsoft PowerPoint file that allow you t...

Page 16: ...color management Understanding workflows The term workflow is used to describe the path a job follows from its creation in a desktop application to final printed output The Fiery supports a variety o...

Page 17: ...data is not manipulated Use ColorWise Color Management as described in this guide and the Color Guide Chapter 1 Printer driver color options Off Do not use the color management options provided by the...

Page 18: ...drivers This ensures that the colors you selected reach the Fiery and ColorWise in a usable form Keep in mind however that ColorWise fully supports color management from applications and printer drive...

Page 19: ...itor If you are working with color that is to be printed on an offset press you want the C9800 output to match other prepress proofs or PANTONE color swatch books The colors that you define when creat...

Page 20: ...atching On uses color tables built in the Fiery to simulate the spot color with the closest equivalent available using the CMYK toners of the C9800 Spot Color Matching Off instructs the Fiery to simul...

Page 21: ...tual printing on an offset press determines the way you define colors as well as the print option settings you choose For on demand color printing on the C9800 use any application and define colors in...

Page 22: ...screen colors If displayed colors are more important trust your eyes and your monitor Visually select colors on your monitor but be aware that colors will be optimized only for your monitor When the d...

Page 23: ...All office applications handle color similarly using the same RGB color model used for the color monitor Most office applications allow you to choose colors from a palette of preselected colors some a...

Page 24: ...rinted version of the RGB color reference page and use those colors in your document Working with office applications Before printing from these applications make sure the appropriate printer driver a...

Page 25: ...that were not defined in RGB To avoid such conversions with imported files use the EPS file format for non RGB artwork that is to be imported into office applications All RGB images placed in a docume...

Page 26: ...to ensure color accuracy When saving EPS files do not include PostScript Color Management information This minimizes the risk of conflicting data and multiple color conversions PostScript Color Manage...

Page 27: ...cyan magenta yellow and black as well as named colorsfrom a spot color system such as PANTONE When you print composites these applications send process color equivalents for named spot colors to the...

Page 28: ...r libraries such as PANTONE see page 4 29 Using swatch color matching tools Your Fiery user software includes several color reference pages see page 1 15 By choosing colors from these reference pages...

Page 29: ...lack Refer to these pages to pick colors and specify process color values in your application For the location of the file on the EFI Utilities CD see the User Software Installation Guide Using the PA...

Page 30: ...as well as the PANTONE color name number are printed below each swatch To print the reference download the file to the Fiery For the location of the file on the User Software CD see the User Software...

Page 31: ...ich affect only RGB data do not affect colors defined in page layout applications For predictable results with CMYK colors use the CMYK Color Reference when defining colors in page layout applications...

Page 32: ...u print the job Illustration application If you define colors in RGB and print directly from the application the application converts the RGB data to CMYK before sending it to the Fiery This conversio...

Page 33: ...the application s color management tools see the following section In this case the application performs the color conversion of the image and sends CMYK data to the Fiery NOTE To take advantage of R...

Page 34: ...f the document contains CMYK graphics that were separated according to the color characteristics of a custom ICC profile not a press standard profile specify the corresponding profile as the CMYK Simu...

Page 35: ...ccuracy When saving EPS files do not include PostScript Color Management information This minimizes the risk of conflicting data and multiple color conversions PostScript Color Management causes your...

Page 36: ...aces Default color spaces to use when working with RGB and CMYK documents ICC color profiles describe the gamut and color characteristics of these working spaces Color Management Policies Instructions...

Page 37: ...he desired working space profile for each color mode in the Working Spaces area A working space specifies the color profile for documents that have no color profile associations or for documents that...

Page 38: ...he Fiery see theColor Guide Chapter 3 For CMYK choose a profile that describes your target press such as SWOP if you are a prepress user If you are an office user printing final output choose an outpu...

Page 39: ...engine for Photoshop Choose a rendering intent from the Intent menu that will optimize the color quality of the conversion For guidelines on choosing the rendering intent see your Photoshop documenta...

Page 40: ...We recommend that you use EPS or TIFF file formats to save RGB images that will be imported into other documents and printed to the Fiery You can import EPS and TIFF files into virtually all page lay...

Page 41: ...AVE A DOCUMENT FROM PHOTOSHOP 1 Choose Save As from the File menu The Save As dialog box appears 2 Specify settings in the Save As dialog box Specify a name file format and location for the document C...

Page 42: ...de Transfer Function or Include Halftone Screen NOTE If you choose JPEG encoding save a backup of the original image saved with binary encoding until you see the printed results of the JPEG file Occas...

Page 43: ...gement or Photoshop built in color management When you print a CMYK graphic you can print composites or color separations NOTE Make sure that the Fiery Combine Separations print option is set to Off T...

Page 44: ...he JPEG file Occasionally the compression used for JPEG encoding produces unwanted artifacts If you see unexpected results in the printed output of a JPEG file revert to the binary version 5 Select Co...

Page 45: ...ding save a backup of the original image with binary encoding until you see the printed results of the JPEG file Occasionally the compression used for JPEG encoding produces unwanted artifacts If you...

Page 46: ...ion from the embedded RGB profile as an RGB source definition for Fiery CRDs To use this source color space information from the embedded profile with Fiery CRDs choose None as the ColorWise RGB Sourc...

Page 47: ...Printing CMYK graphics with Photoshop PostScript Color Management If you select a CMYK color space and decide to use PostScript Color Management Photoshop sends CMYK data to the Fiery along with Post...

Page 48: ...phic is separated for SWOP choose SWOP as the CMYK Simulation setting If Photoshop is configured for a custom separation using a ICC profile choose the corresponding profile for the ColorWise CMYK Sim...

Page 49: ...priate printer driver and the Fiery PostScript printer description file PPD are installed on your computer as described in the User Software Installation Guide Adobe InDesign 2 0 1 and 1 5 2 The follo...

Page 50: ...age Layout Applications Color Reference Guide for C9800 50 TO DISABLE INDESIGN 2 0 1 COLOR MANAGEMENT 1 Choose Color Settings Document Color Settings from the Edit menu 2 Clear the Enable Color Manage...

Page 51: ...mages are affected by your RGB Source and Rendering Style settings For best results with placed images use the instructions in Working with imported images on page 4 33 NOTE InDesign converts placed R...

Page 52: ...option is cleared and click OK TO DISABLE INDESIGN 1 5 2 COLOR MANAGEMENT WHEN IMPORTING IMAGES 1 Choose Place from the File menu The Place dialog box appears 2 Select the Show Import Options option...

Page 53: ...You can use the standard Fiery printer driver interface to select print options from InDesign TO SET PRINT OPTIONS FROM THE WINDOWS VERSION OF INDESIGN 2 0 1 1 Choose Print from the File menu 2 Choos...

Page 54: ...appears The standard printer driver interface for the Fiery appears 6 Choose the desired print options For information on setting ColorWise print options see the Color Guide Chapter 1 7 Click Print T...

Page 55: ...e for C9800 55 3 Click Printer The AdobePS Print dialog box appears 4 Choose Printer Specific Options The Fiery print options appear 5 Select the desired options For information on setting ColorWise p...

Page 56: ...ose Print from the File menu The Print dialog box appears 2 Choose the Fiery from the Name menu 3 Click Properties 4 Click the Fiery Printing tab in the dialog box that appears The standard printer dr...

Page 57: ...S VERSION OF INDESIGN 1 5 2 1 Choose Print from the File menu The Print dialog box appears 2 Choose the Fiery from the Printer menu 3 Choose Printer Specific Options The Fiery print options appear 4 S...

Page 58: ...SH PPD4 Windows System For information about installing this file see your PageMaker documentation PageMaker color settings We recommend that you use ColorWise color management rather than the CMS opt...

Page 59: ...The Print dialog box for PageMaker is different than the Print dialog box for other applications that print to the Fiery Follow the instructions in this section rather than the print instructions in t...

Page 60: ...PageMaker If you have additional color management requirements not offered by ColorWise such as managing color on devices not controlled by the Fiery consider using the PageMaker color management fea...

Page 61: ...m QuarkXPress If you have additional color management requirements not offered by ColorWise such as managing color on devices not controlled by the Fiery you may want to consider using the QuarkXPress...

Page 62: ...ery products Without the correct EFICOLOR profile the EfiColor XTension cannot perform color conversions on placed images Windows version requirement For the Windows version of QuarkXPress make sure a...

Page 63: ...out converting to CMYK choose RGB Source and Rendering Style settings If the document contains PANTONE colors choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting For instructions on specifying print op...

Page 64: ...ions for using Adobe Illustrator Macromedia FreeHand and CorelDRAW for Windows and Mac OS NOTE This manual provides instructions for printing composites only For instructions on printing color separat...

Page 65: ...ment policies Instructions that tell Illustrator what to do when it encounters color data from a color space other than the specified working space Specifying print options The following procedure out...

Page 66: ...t Policies area Choose Off from the RGB and CMYK menus This option discards the original profile embedded in a document if it differs from the specified working space In the Profile Mismatches area se...

Page 67: ...llustrator files imported into Photoshop however vector data from the Illustrator file is rasterized into bitmaps in Photoshop and the final color space of the bitmap data is determined by the color m...

Page 68: ...77 68 Managing Color in Illustration Applications Color Reference Guide for C9800 68 Illustrator 10 x for Windows Choose Composite Click Properties to set print options Select the device name...

Page 69: ...device from the Printer menu Choose Adobe Illustrator from the option menu below the Printer menu Choose Composite from the Output menu Choose Level 3 from the PostScript menu If you encounter proble...

Page 70: ...0 Managing Color in Illustration Applications Color Reference Guide for C9800 70 Choose Composite Illustrator 10 x for Mac OS Choose Composite Choose PostScript Level 3 Illustrator 8 x and 9 x for Mac...

Page 71: ...tructions on setting additional ColorWise print options see the Color Guide Chapter 1 Using Illustrator color management If you have additional color management requirements not offered by ColorWise s...

Page 72: ...Defining colors Any colors defined in FreeHand are sent to the device in CMYK even those defined using other color models For best results use the color definition methods described on page 4 28 You...

Page 73: ...FreeHand prints composites of the image at the low resolution used for screen viewing All RGB images placed in a document are affected by your RGB Source and Rendering Style settings in the PPD For b...

Page 74: ...selected a plus sign appears in front of the word Normal If the model name for your Fiery is not displayed click the button labeled and choose the appropriate Fiery model from the menu that appears 3...

Page 75: ...of placed RGB images these settings have no effect on colors printed with FreeHand If the document contains PANTONE named colors choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting when you print the d...

Page 76: ...NOTE If you do not want to use color management in CorelDRAW choose None from the composite printer menu under Color Management Profiles Do not select options under Color Management and Color Managem...

Page 77: ...dows computers click the General tab and then click Print 2 Make sure you have selected the correct device and printer description and select the Use PPD option 3 Click Properties to specify ColorWise...

Page 78: ...d Rendering Style settings for your device With the exception of placed RGB images these settings have no effect on colors printed with CorelDRAW 6 If the document contains PANTONE named colors choose...

Page 79: ...such as hue saturation and brightness when you work with color in applications others provide useful background information Color is a complex topic so consider this a starting point for experimentat...

Page 80: ...sten light appears white to the human eye which up to a point can adjust to the different light sources However color objects appear different under tungsten light than they do in sunlight because of...

Page 81: ...am seem to compress color differences relative to others it is a good tool for illustrating some interesting aspects of color vision By mixing any two spectral colors in different proportions we can c...

Page 82: ...color model Hue tint the qualitative aspect of a color red green or orange Saturation the purity of the color Brightness relative position between white and black While the CIE chromaticity diagram s...

Page 83: ...eference as shown below Additive and subtractive color systems Color devices used in desktop publishing and printing simulate the range of visible colors using a set of primary colors that are combine...

Page 84: ...this color model is the computer monitor shown in the following figure Monitors have red green and blue phosphors that emit varying amounts of light to display a given color Scanners create digital r...

Page 85: ...which absorb green and blue light respectively White occurs when no colorant is applied In theory combining all three subtractive primaries yields black but due to deficiencies of cyan magenta and yel...

Page 86: ...offset press and vice versa The following figure illustrates this concept of differing gamuts You must account for the gamut of your printer when designing on a color monitor When printed colors that...

Page 87: ...s the print job on the press With the Fiery you simply print the file The Fiery processes the PostScript information in the file and sends four bitmaps one each for cyan magenta yellow and black to th...

Page 88: ...Conveying information rapidly by using color cues Making use of the emotive aspects of different colors Increasing impact and message retention Color can also be a source of distraction and discord i...

Page 89: ...l tool for understanding the interrelation of colors The colors on one side of the color wheel from magenta to yellow appear to most people to be warm colors while those on the other side from green t...

Page 90: ...ors adjacent to one another on the color wheel result in subtle harmonies The color wheel simplifies color relationships for the purpose of clarity showing only saturated or pure colors Adding the myr...

Page 91: ...ooks targeted at graphic designers show groups of preselected color combinations Some are organized by themes or moods and some are based on a custom color system such as PANTONE The more you develop...

Page 92: ...used in presentations When using color text avoid dazzling text and background combinations created from primary complements especially red and cyan or red and blue they are visually fatiguing and har...

Page 93: ...e a in the following figure The grid when sufficiently enlarged resembles a mosaic made from square tiles Examples of raster images include scans and images created in painting or pixel editing applic...

Page 94: ...es for processing and printing The following sections provide tips on how to create image files that produce the highest possible print quality while minimizing the processing time and disk space they...

Page 95: ...essary for offset printing when quality is of the utmost importance or for images containing sharp diagonal lines To find the best image resolution for your purposes make test prints of some raster ar...

Page 96: ...solution is correct for the printer there is no quality advantage to be gained by scaling an image to a percentage of its actual size If you scale a large image to a percentage of its actual size you...

Page 97: ...ts or 1 byte per pixel Photographic quality color images can require 24 bits per pixel RGB images or 32 bits per pixel CMYK images bitmap or raster An image comprised of small squares arranged in a gr...

Page 98: ...n image RGB and CMYK color spaces correspond to color devices monitors and printers respectively Other color spaces such as CIE Lab are based on mathematical models and are device independent that is...

Page 99: ...w file of the color image It allows an image editing application to perform color separation and pass it through to final output with its integrity intact densitometer An instrument commonly used in t...

Page 100: ...e GDI Graphics Interchange Format See GIF gravure A printing technology that uses an etched cylinder that has been immersed in ink The ink that remains in the etched areas is applied to the paper The...

Page 101: ...of the screens improper screen angles improper alignment of halftone screens or by the combination of a halftone screen with patterns in the image itself named color A color that is defined according...

Page 102: ...not match printed colors precisely to displayed colors It is appropriate for bright saturated colors used in illustrations and graphs process colors The colors used in printing to simulate full spectr...

Page 103: ...of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a given light source that can be seen by the human eye spectrophotometer An instrument commonly used in the graphic arts industry to measure spectral light acc...

Page 104: ...s where picture objects are defined mathematically as lines or curves between points These mathematical definitions are interpreted by an image language such as PostScript Vector images include artwor...

Page 105: ...print Kieran Michael Understanding Desktop Color Second Edition Berkeley Peachpit Press 1994 Margulis Dan Professional Photoshop The Classic Guide to Color Correction John Wiley Sons 2002 ISBN 0764536...

Page 106: ...nt color 8 88 additive model 8 83 CMY model 3 23 complements 8 90 controlling printing results 2 19 conversion by color management systems 1 12 custom color systems 4 27 defining in PostScript applica...

Page 107: ...oding Photoshop setting 5 44 EPS Encapsulated PostScript about 4 33 color accuracy 3 26 4 35 defining colors 3 25 imported images 4 33 PostScript Color Management 5 46 with CorelDRAW 7 76 with FreeHan...

Page 108: ...8 88 on demand printing 2 21 Output Options FreeHand 7 74 output profile color conversion 1 13 with office applications 3 26 P page layout applications 6 49 PageMaker 4 27 6 58 to 6 60 PageMaker see P...

Page 109: ...87 Separations printing with Photoshop 5 43 short run printing 2 21 simulation see CMYK Simulation option source color space 1 12 spectral colors 8 81 spectral components of light 8 79 8 81 split comp...

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