Xerox DOCUCOLOR 2006 Using ColorWise Pro Tools

20	Using ColorWise Pro Tools

ColorWise Pro Tools are color management applications that give you flexible control of color printing. There are three tools:

•Calibrator

•Color Editor

•Profile Manager

ColorWise Pro Tools for Windows and Mac OS computers are fundamentally the same; differences are noted in this chapter.

Calibrator

Calibrating the Fiery ensures consistent, reliable color output. You can calibrate the Fiery with ColorWise Pro Tools using an X-Rite DTP32 automatic scanning densitometer (available as an option). By connecting the densitometer to the serial port on your computer, you can quickly measure color patches and download measurements to the Fiery.

This section explains how calibration works and provides instructions for all calibration procedures.

Introduction

Calibration generates curves that compensate for the difference between the actual toner densities (measurements) and the response expected by the output profile.

•Measurements represent the actual color behavior of the copier.

•Calibration sets are sets of measurements.

•A calibration target that describes the expected behavior of the copiers is contained in each output profile.

Once you have calibrated the Fiery with ColorWise Pro Tools, a calibration set is stored on the Fiery. This calibration set will be used when it is associated with an output profile. Every output profile has an associated calibration set. If you have not specified one, the calibration set associated with the default output profile is used.

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Changing calibration has the potential to affect all jobs for all users, so you may want to limit the number of people authorized to perform calibration. An

Administrator password can be set from the Fiery Control Panel to control access to calibration.

Understanding Calibration

Although most users needs are met by the default calibration set, the Fiery allows you to choose a calibration set to customize calibration for specialized jobs.

Calibration allows you to:

•Maximize the color reproduction capabilities of the Fiery.

•Ensure consistent color quality over time

•Produce consistent output across Fiery servers that are connected to the same print engine.

•Achieve better color matches when reproducing spot colors such as

PANTONE colors or other named color systems.

•Optimize the fiery for using ColorWise rendering styles (CRDs) and CMYK simulations, and for using ICC profiles.

How Calibration Works

Success in obtaining satisfactory print quality from a color server, such as a Fiery connected to a copier, depends on many factors. Among the most important are establishing and maintaining optimal toner densities. Density is a measure of the light absorbed by a surface. By carefully regulating toner densities, you can obtain consistent printed color.

Even with a calibrated system, service settings, humidity, and temperature affect toner density. It also tends to drift over time. Regular measurement detects day to day variations in densities, and calibration corrects for them.

Calibration works by creating calibration curves on the Fiery that compensate for the difference between actual (measured) and desired (target) density values.

Calibration curves are the graphic equivalent of transfer functions, which are mathematical descriptions of changes that will be made to the data you start with. Transfer functions are often graphed as input or output curves.

The Fiery generates calibration curves after comparing measured values to the final target values for each of the four toner colors. The target values are based on the output profile specified.

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Measurements

Measurement files contain numerical values that correspond to the toner density produced by the copiers when it prints solid cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and graduated tints of those colors.

To create a measurement file, first print a page of color patches from ColorWise Pro Tools or from the Control Panel to the copier. Then measure the patches using either an X-Rite DTP32 densitometer connected to a computer on the network or the copier’s scanner. The new measurements are automatically downloaded to the Fiery.

Output profiles and calibration sets

Output profiles and calibration sets define desired calibration results. One or more output profiles and one or more calibration sets are provided with the Fiery. When you calibrate the Fiery, you can select the calibration set that corresponds to the typical printing jobs at your site. This same calibration set can be associated with one or more output profiles.

Scheduling Calibration

In general, you should calibrate the Fiery at least once a day, depending on the volume of print jobs. If it is very important to maintain consistent color, or if the copier is subject to wide fluctuations in temperature or humidity, calibrate every few hours. To get the best performance, calibrate whenever there is a noticeable change in print quality.

If you need to split a print job into two or more batches to be printed at different times, it is especially important to calibrate before printing each batch. You should also calibrate the Fiery after copier maintenance.

However, because the copier may be less stable immediately after maintenance, wait until you have printed approximately 50 pages before you calibrate.

Since printed output from the copier is very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, the copier should not be installed near a window or in direct sunlight, near a heater or air conditioner. Paper is sensitive to climate changes as well. It should be stored in a cool, dry, stable environment, and reams should remain sealed until they are needed.

Print color reference pages, such as the Color Charts from the Control Panel, and the color reference pages included with the user software. All of these pages include fully saturated color patches and pale tints of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Images with skin tones offer a very good basis for comparison. You can save and compare pages you printed at different times. If there is a noticeable change in appearance, you should calibrate the Fiery.

If the solid density patches (100% cyan, magenta, yellow or black) look less saturated with time, show the pages to your copier service technician to find out whether adjusting the copier can improve output.

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Checking Calibration Status

You can check whether the Fiery is calibrated, which calibration set and output profile were used, and when the copier was last calibrated:

•Print a Configuration page or Test Page from the Control Panel.

•When you select a calibration set in Calibrator, the last calibration and the user who performed it are displayed.

Using a Densitometer

ColorWise Pro Tools are designed to work with the X-Rite DTP32 reflection densitometer where color measurements are entered automatically.

Setting up the Densitometer

Before you calibrate the Fiery, you need to connect, configure, and calibrate the densitometer to prepare for measuring the printed patches. For additional information about setting up and using the densitometer see the documentation included with it.

To Connect the X-Rite DTP32 to the Computer

1.Turn off the computer.

2.Plug the square end of the interface cable (looks like a modular phone plug) into the I/O port on the side of the X-Rite DTP32.

3.Attach the connector to the computer.

For a Windows computer, insert the 8-pin mini-DIN end of the interface cable into the 9-pin DB9 Connector cable adapter. Insert the 9-pin end into the COM1 or COM2 port on the computer and tighten the screws. If the available port on your computer is 25-pin, you must use the 8-pin to 25-pin adapter.

For a Mac OS computer, connect the 8-pin mini-DIN plug directly into the serial port of the computer.

For Macintosh computers with a USB port, you need an adapter to connect the

DTP32 to your computer. See the X-Rite, Inc. web site at www.x-rite.com for information on supported adapters.

4.Use the AC adapter to provide power.

Plug the small connector on the adapter cable into the side of the X-Rite

DTP32 and plug the adapter into a wall outlet.

5.Turn on the computer

6.Calibrate the densitometer.

7.Use ColorWise Pro Tools to calibrate the Fiery.

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Calibrating with ColorWise Pro Tools

Using the densitometer, you can quickly measure color patches and download these measurements to the Fiery ColorWise Pro Tools Calibrator.

Multiple users can be connected to one server with ColorWise Pro Tools, but only one user at a time can use Calibrator. An error message appears if you try to calibrate when another user is already using ColorWise Pro Tools to calibrate.

ColorWise Pro Tools for Windows and Mac OS computers are fundamentally the same; differences are noted in this section.

Changing the calibration has the potential to affect all jobs for all users, so you may want to limit the number of people authorized to perform calibration. An administrator password can be set from the fiery Control Panel to control access to calibration.

To calibrate the copier Using Calibrator

1.Launch ColorWise Pro Tools and connect to the Fiery.

2.Click Calibrator.

3.Select a measurement method.

X-Rite DTP32 should appear as the measurement method. This information is provided to Calibrator by the Fiery. If this option does not appear, make sure you are connected to the Fiery.

4.Under Check Print Settings, choose the desired calibration set.

Choose the appropriate calibration set for the type of media you will use most often.

For this calibration to take effect, the calibration set must be associated with one or more output profiles. The default calibration set is already associated with the default output profile, so there is no need to make any new associations.

5.Under Generate Measurement page, click Print.

6.In the Print Options dialog box that appears, choose the page type, paper size and input tray to use for the measurements page and click

Print.

For the densitometer method, select either 34 or 21 Sorted Patches.

In the Paper size pop-up menu, specify the paper size for the measurement page: For densitometer, the menu will automatically select LTR/A4 for 21 Sorted Patches or 11x17/A3 for 34 Sorted Patches.

In the Input Tray pop-up menu, specify the paper source.

7.Under Get measurements, click Measure.

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If you chose the densitometer method, select the Page Type and Paper size options you selected for the measurements page, and click Measure.

8.Follow the directions for the densitometer measurement.

9.When you are notified that the measurements were read successfully, click OK, and then click Apply to implement the new calibration set.

To Restore Default Calibration Measurements

1.Launch ColorWise Pro Tools and click Calibrator.

2.Click Restore Device.

3.Click OK to restore the preset default calibration set.

Restore device applies only to the currently selected calibration set.

Expert Mode

Expert Mode offers two additional options: Print Pages and View

Measurements.

With the print pages option, you can print a calibration Comparison Page showing the results of the new measurements with any profile associated with the currently selected calibration set. You can also create a custom comparison page and save it as a PostScript or an Encapsulated PostScript

(EPS) file called CALIB.PS. Then print the file to the Hold Queue of the Fiery from your application or download it to the Hold Queue with Fiery Downloader.

With the View measurements option, you can view the current set of measurements as a table or as a graph that shows both the measurements and the target curves.

When more than one profile uses the same target, an additional menu called Plot Against appears at the top right of the window above. It lists all output profiles that use the same calibration set. Selecting an output profile from this menu displays the target curves associated with that profile. If each output profile contains a unique calibration target, when you switch profiles, the curves displayed also change.

Color Editor

Color Editor is used to customize simulation and output profiles and can be accessed either directly by clicking its icon in the ColorWise Pro Tools main window, or indirectly through the Profile Manager.

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