Xerox FIERY ZX Color Guide

Color Guide

FIERY ZX

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Contents

Introduction

About this manual Tips for success

Chapter 1: Desktop Color Primer

The properties of color

The physics of color 1-1 CIE color model 1-2 Hue, saturation, and brightness 1-3 Additive and subtractive color systems 1-3

Printing techniques

Halftone and continuous tone devices 1-5

Using color effectively

A few rules of thumb 1-7 Color wheel 1-7 Color and text 1-8 Registration and trapping 1-9

Raster images and vector images Optimizing ﬁles for processing and printing

Resolution of raster images 1-10 Scaling 1-12

xiii

xiv

1-1

1-4

1-6

1-9

1-10

Workﬂow scenarios

Short-run color printing 1-13 Offset printing 1-14

1-13

viii Contents

Chapter 2: Color Management

Controlling printed color

Maintaining print device consistency 2-2 Print device gamut 2-3

Basics of color management

Color conversion 2-5

Fiery ZX color management

RGB Source 2-8 Rendering styles 2-9 Pure Black Text/Graphics 2-10 Black Overprint 2-10 CMYK Simulation 2-11 Spot Color Matching 2-11

Optional ICC color management for advanced users

Color management on Macintosh computers 2-13 Color management on Windows computers 2-14

Chapter 3: Working with Color in Applications

Working with color

Color reference pages 3-2

2-1

2-4

2-6

2-12

3-1

Ofﬁce applications

Choosing colors in ofﬁce applications 3-3 Resident calibration 3-4

PostScript applications

Choosing colors in PostScript applications 3-5 Resident calibration 3-7 CMYK simulation 3-7

3-2

3-4

ix Contents

Chapter 4: Printer Drivers and Print Options

What a printer driver does Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Macintosh

Setting color management print options 4-2

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 95

Setting color management print options 4-5

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 3.1x

Setting color management print options 4-7

Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver for Windows NT 4.0

Chapter 5: Adobe Photoshop 4.0

Before you begin

With Windows versions of Photoshop 5-1 With Photoshop 2.5 for Macintosh 5-2

Deﬁning colors Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents Selecting options when printing

Printing RGB images 5-4 Printing CMYK images 5-5

4-1 4-2

4-5

4-7

4-8

5-1

5-2 5-2 5-3

Chapter 6: Page Layout Applications

Working with page layout applications

Deﬁning colors 6-1 Importing images 6-1 CMYK simulation and calibration 6-2

Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images 6-3 Selecting options when printing 6-4

QuarkXPress 3.32 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images 6-8 Selecting options when printing 6-8

6-1

6-3

6-8

x Contents

Chapter 7: Illustration Applications

Working with illustration applications

Deﬁning colors 7-1 Importing images 7-2 CMYK simulation 7-3

Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

Deﬁning colors 7-3 Importing images 7-5 Selecting options when printing 7-5 Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents 7-6 For advanced users: Using Illustrator color management 7-7

Macromedia FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

Deﬁning colors 7-8 Importing images 7-8 Selecting options when printing 7-9 Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents 7-10 For advanced users: Using FreeHand color management 7-11

CorelDRAW 7.0 for Windows

Deﬁning colors 7-12 Importing images 7-13 Selecting options when printing 7-13 Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents 7-14 For advanced users: Using CorelDRAW color management 7-14

7-1

7-3

7-8

7-12

xi Contents

Chapter 8: Ofﬁce Applications

Working with ofﬁce applications

Deﬁning colors 8-1 Working with imported ﬁles 8-1 Selecting options when printing 8-2 Calibration targets 8-2

Microsoft Ofﬁce 97

8-1

8-3

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

xiii About this manual

Introduction

Welcome to the associated with printing to a Fiery ZX Color ServerTM print device. It also contains application notes that explain how to print to the Fiery ZX from popular Apple® Macintosh® and Microsoft® Windows® applications.

This manual is one book in a set of documentation that also includes manuals for users and system administrators. All the other manuals should be available at your site— refer to them for a complete description of your documentation.

Color Guide

. This manual introduces you to the concepts and issues

About this manual

This manual is written for anyone who prints to a Fiery ZX using popular Macintosh and Windows applications. It goes beyond the mechanics of sending a print job and explains issues that affect the quality of the results, such as:

• Use of color in the document

• Resolution and ﬁle formats used for imported images

• Features of ColorWiseTM color management performed by the Fiery ZX

• Effects of print option settings on printed color Because each application has different options that affect color printing, detailed appli-

cation notes are included. Words in bold (for example,

Glossary. The Bibliography at the end of this manual provides sources for further investigation of color printing issues.

additive color model

), are terms that appear in the

The phrase “Fiery ZX color management” refers to the ColorWise color management system built into the Fiery ZX Color Server.

xiv Introduction

Tips for success

The built-in ColorWise color management system of the Fiery ZX ensures that every color job you print looks good. Regardless of the computer you work on, the application you use, and the type of color work you do, your Fiery ZX print device provides high-quality color output without any special effort on your part.

You can also customize the Fiery ZX color management system for particular types of projects or environments. The Fiery ZX provides total ﬂexibility, allowing you to specify color settings on a job-by-job basis.

The following list summarizes the issues you should consider when you create and print a color document.

1. Maintain and calibrate your print device and Fiery ZX Color Server regularly.

(Chapter 2 and the

2. Use the Color Reference pages when choosing and deﬁning RGB and CMYK colors in applications and use your application’s PANTONE® library when choosing PANTONE colors.

(Chapter 3)

Job Management Guide

)

3. Save raster images at the optimal resolution for your print device.

(Chapter 1)

4. Choose the appropriate settings for these print options (described in Chapter 2):

•

RGB Source

(and, for a custom RGB source space, Gamma, Phosphors, and White

Point)—affects the output of all RGB data in your document (see page 2-8)

Rendering Style

•

—determines the type of color effect produced; for example, vibrant colors (such as for presentations) or accurate-match colors (such as for spot colors in logos)

Brightness

•

Pure Black Text/Graphics

•

—increases or decreases the brightness of all colors in the document

—determines whether black text and line art in your document are printed as one-color black or four-color black; can eliminate misregistration and blasting problems; minimizes the cost of printing mostly black documents

xv Tips for success

Black Overprint

• backgrounds

CMYK Simulation

• offset press jobs

—determines whether black text overprints or knocks out colored

—lets you use your Fiery ZX print device as a prooﬁng device for

•

CMYK Simulation Method

•

Spot Color Matching

are printed

—determines the method of simulation used (quick or full)

—determines how PANTONE library colors in your document

1-1 The properties of color

Chapter 1: Desktop Color Primer

This chapter covers concepts that are basic to printing in color, including:

• The properties of color

• Printing techniques

• Using color effectively

• Raster images and vector images

• Optimizing ﬁles for processing and printing

• Workﬂow scenarios

If you are already familiar with color theory and digital color printing, you can skip to the last section (page 1-10) for tips on optimizing your ﬁles for printing.

The properties of color

What we call “color” is really a perceptual ability unique to humans and a small number of animal species. Color theory is an attempt to systematize the properties of color perception, which by nature is relative and changeable. A color appears different depending on the other colors around it, and individuals vary in their abilities to perceive color.

This section introduces concepts that are basic to color theory. You will encounter some of these concepts (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 experimentation and further research.

The physics of color

The human eye can see electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths between 400 nanometers (purplish blue) and 700 nanometers (red). This range is called the visible spectrum of light. We see pure Sunlight at midday, which we perceive as white or neutral light, is composed of light from across the visible spectrum in more or less equal proportions. Shining sunlight

spectral light

as intensely saturated or pure colors.

1-2 Desktop Color Primer

through a prism separates it into its spectral components, resulting in the familiar rainbow of colors (plate 1).

Like the sun, most light sources we encounter in our daily environment emit a mixture of many light wavelengths, although the particular distribution of wavelengths can vary considerably. Light from a tungsten light bulb, for example, contains much less blue light than sunlight. Tungsten 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 under sunlight because of the different spectral makeup of the two light sources.

The mixture of light wavelengths emitted by a light source is reﬂected selectively by different objects. Different mixtures of reﬂected light appear as different colors. Some of these mixtures appear as relatively saturated colors, but most appear to us as grays or impure hues of a color.

CIE color model

In the 1930s, the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) deﬁned a standard

color space

communication of color information. This color space is based on research on the nature of color perception. The CIE chromaticity diagram (plate 2) is a twodimensional model of color vision. The arc around the top of the horseshoe encompasses the pure, or spectral, colors from blue-violet to red. Although the CIE chromaticity diagram is not perceptually uniform—some areas of the diagram seem to compress color differences relative to others—it is a good tool for illustrating some interesting aspects of color vision.

, a way of deﬁning colors in mathematical terms, to help in the

By mixing any two spectral colors in different proportions, we can create all the colors found on the straight line drawn between them in the diagram. It is possible to create the same gray by mixing blue-green and red light or by mixing yellow-green and blueviolet light. This is possible because of a phenomenon peculiar to color vision called

metamerism

different combinations of spectral light can produce the same perceived color.

Purple colors, which do not exist in the spectrum of pure light, are found at the bottom of the diagram. Purples are mixtures of red and blue light—the opposite ends of the spectrum.

. The eye does not distinguish individual wavelengths of light. Therefore,

1-3 The properties of color

Hue, saturation, and brightness

A color can be described in terms of three varying characteristics:

• 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 (plate 2) conveys hue and saturation, a threedimensional color model is required to add the brightness component (plate 3).

Many computer applications include dialog boxes in which you choose colors by manipulating hue, saturation, and brightness. For example, Photoshop uses a square Color Picker (plate 4) which can be reconﬁgured according to your preference.

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 combined to create other colors. There ar e two methods of creating a range of colors from a set of primary colors. Computer monitors and scanners use the additive color model. Printing technologies, including Fiery ZX print devices and offset presses, use the subtractive color model.

Additive (RGB) color

Color devices that use the additive color model make a range of colors by combining varying amounts of red, green, and blue light. These colors are called the additive primaries (plate 5). White is created by adding the maximum amount of red, green, and blue light available. Black occurs wherever all three colors are absent. Grays are created by adding varying amounts of all three colors together. Combining varying amounts of any two of the additive primaries creates a third, saturated hue.

A familiar device that uses this color model is the computer monitor (plate 6). Monitors have red, green, and blue phosphors that emit varying amounts of light to display a given color. Scanners create digital representations of colors by measuring their red, green, and blue components through colored ﬁlters.

1-4 Desktop Color Primer

Subtractive (CMY and CMYK) color

The subtractive color model is used in color printing, and in color photographic prints and transparencies. While the additive color model simulates the visible spectrum of color by adding light of three primary hues, the subtractive color model uses a “white ” or neutral light source containing light of many wavelengths. Inks, toners, or other colorants are used to selectively absorb (subtract) certain wavelengths of light that otherwise would be reﬂected or transmitted by the media in question.

The subtractive primaries are cyan, magenta, and yello w; they absorb r ed, gr een, and blue light, respectively (plate 7). Combining any two subtractive primaries creates a new color that is relatively pure or saturated. For example, you can make red by combining magenta and yellow, which absorb green and blue light, respectively. White occurs when no colorant is applied. Combining all three subtractive primaries in theory yields black, but due to deﬁciencies of cyan, magenta, and yellow colorants, combining these three primaries actually yields a muddy brown. Black colorant is added to compensate for the deﬁciencies of cyan, magenta, and yellow colorants, and consequently color printing uses four process colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK (CMYK). The use of black ink helps in producing rich solid blacks and also allows for improved rendition of black text.

The CMYK colorants used in offset printing and by your Fiery ZX print device are to some degree transparent. When one layer of colorant is applied on top of another, you see the effect of both. To create a range of intermediary colors, a method is required for varying the amount of each colorant that is applied. A technique called halftoning is used in offset printing, while color print devices typically use a proprietary system for applying ink or toner colors that is similar to halftoning.

Printing techniques

Until recently, most color printing was done on printing presses using one of several printing techniques—offset lithography, ﬂexography, and gravure, to name a few. All traditional printing techniques require lengthy preparation before a print run can take place. Short-run color printing, including Fiery ZX printing, eliminates most of this preparation. By streamlining the process of color printing, the Fiery ZX makes short print runs economically feasible.

1-5 Printing techniques

In contemporary offset lithographic printing, digital ﬁles from desktop computers are output to an imagesetter, which creates ﬁlm separations. The ﬁlm is used to make a prepress proof, which is an accurate predictor of the ﬁnal print job, allowing an opportunity to make corrections before going to press. Once the proof is approved, the printer makes plates from the ﬁlm and runs the print job on the press.

computer

Desktop computer

With a Fiery ZX, you simply print the ﬁle. The Fiery ZX processes the PostScript information in the ﬁle and sends four bitmaps (one each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to the print engine. The ease of Fiery ZX printing makes possible experimentation that would be too costly on press, allowing unlimited ﬁne-tuning of color and design elements.

Halftone and continuous tone devices

Halftoning is used in offset printing to print each process color at a different intensity, allowing millions of different colors to be reproduced using only the four process colors. Depending on the required intensity of a given color, ink is placed on paper in dots of different size. The grid of dots used for each ink color is called a screen. Halftone screens are aligned to unique angles designed to eliminate interference patterns called moiré that can arise with halftoning.

Imagesetter Film Proof PressDesktop Print run

Print device Color prints

1-6 Desktop Color Primer

Some color print devices are commonly referred to as continuous tone (or “contone”) devices. They do not use traditional halftone screen patterns and angles. H owever, they do apply dots (in some cases very elongated dots or lines) of different sizes to paper in a process similar to halftoning.

Some Fiery ZX systems have an optional Halftone Printer mode. When this option is selected, the Fiery ZX sends data to the print device as though it were a halftone device, with each device pixel assigned either the maximum amount of toner, or none at all. The halftone option, however, does not use the type of halftone screens used in offset printing, nor does it duplicate results obtained in offset printing.

Even if your color printing is done exclusively on the Fiery ZX, you will encounter concepts from offset printing if you use high-end graphics applications. For example, color controls in illustration applications such as 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 a newsletter , or pr ooﬁng an ad concept that will later be printed on press. 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 that will prove useful as you approach designing color materials.

1-7 Using color effectively

A few rules of thumb

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

• Rather than applying colors indiscriminately, use color to aid comprehension. In presentations, graphs, and charts, use color to highlight patterns and emphasize differences.

• 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.

Color wheel

A color wheel (plate 8) is a helpful 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 to blue, appear to be cool. The distance between two colors on the color wheel can help predict ho w they will appear when seen side by side.

Colors opposite one another on the wheel are called complements (plate 9), and create a striking contrast side by side. This can be the basis for a bold graphical design, but it is an effect you should use with discretion since it can be visually fatiguing. Other bold combinations to consider are split complements (a color and the two colors adjacent to its complement) and triads (three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel). Colors 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 myriad variations of each hue to the palette (more or less saturated, darker or lighter) creates a wealth of possibilities. Taking a pair of complements from the color wheel and varying the saturation and brightness of one or both colors produces a very different result from the pure complements. Combining a light tint of a warm color with a darker shade of its cooler complement often gives pleasing results. Combining a darker shade of a warm color with a light tint of its cooler complement produces an unusual effect you may like.

1-8 Desktop Color Primer

Once you have mastered the concept of the color wheel, you have a good framework for experimenting with color combinations. Many books 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 a critical facility for judging color combinations, the more you will be able to trust your own eye for color. The Bibliography at the back of this manual includes books on design.

Color and text

It is not a coincidence that the overwhelming majority of text you see is printed in black on white paper. Text in black on white is highly legible and is not fatiguing to read for extended periods. For many color materials, using black text on a white background and conﬁning color to graphic elements and headings is a good choice.

Color text can add ﬂair to documents printed on paper when used skillfully, and is widely 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 hard to read. Color text is more legible when distinguished from its background by a difference in lightness—for example, dark blue text on a light beige background. In addition, using many different colors in a string of text makes for a confused appearance and is hard to read. However, using a single highlight color is an effective way to draw the reader’s eye to selected words. See plate 10 for color text samples.

When using color text, keep in mind that small font sizes typically do not print in color with the same sharpness as in black. In most applications, black text prints exclusively in black toner, while color text usually prints with two or more toners. Any misregistration between the different toners on paper causes color text to lose deﬁnition. You can make test prints to ﬁnd the smallest point size at which color text prints clearly. When using high-end graphics applications that allow you to specify color as percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, you can create pure cyan or pure magenta text that prints with the same sharpness as black text. (Pure yello w text is extremely hard to read on anything but a dark or complementary background.)

1-9 Raster images and vector images

Registration and trapping

With any print device, there is the possibility that the different toners may print slightly out of register, producing distracting gaps between objects. Trapping is the process of spreading one color slightly into adjacent colors to compensate for any misregistration that might occur when the ﬁle is printed. Depending on the job’s makeup, you may need to take trapping into consideration for best printed results. See the Bibliography for sources of information on trapping. See also page 2-10 for information on the Black Overprint print option.

Some Fiery ZX systems include a Combine Separations print option. This option can be used with PageMaker and QuarkXPress to proof trapping, overprinting, and other four-color printing effects before creating ﬁlm separations. With Combine Separations turned on, separations are printed in color on a single page. The Combine Separations print option also enables you to combine Desktop Color Separations (DCS) ﬁles to print at high resolution instead of printing the low-resolution master ﬁle. For more information, see the Printing Guide.

Raster images and vector images

Two broad categories of artwork can be printed from a personal computer to a color printer: raster and vector images (plate 11).

A raster image, also referred to as a bitmap, is composed of a grid of pixels, each assigned a particular color value. 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 applications, such as Photoshop and Painter.

The amount of information found in a raster depends on its resolution and bit depth. The resolution of a raster describes the density of the pixels and is speciﬁed in pixels per inch (ppi). The bit depth is the number of bits of information assigned to each pixel. Black and white rasters require only one bit of information per pixel. For photographic quality color, 24 bits of RGB color information are required per pixel, yielding 256 separate levels of red, green, and blue. For CMYK images, 32 bits per pixel are required.

1-10 Desktop Color Primer

When printing raster artwork, the quality of the output depends on the resolution of the raster. If the raster’s resolution is too low, individual pixels become visible in the printed output as small squares. This effect is sometimes called “pixelation.”

In vector images, picture elements are deﬁned mathematically as lines or curves between points—hence the term “vector.” Picture elements can have solid, gradient, or patterned color ﬁlls. Vector artwork is created in illustration and drawing applications such as Illustrator and CorelDRAW. Page layout applications such as QuarkXPress also allow you to create simple vector artwork with their drawing tools. PostScript fonts are vector-based as well.

V ector artwork is r esolution-independent; it can be scaled to any size without danger of pixels becoming visible in printed output.

Optimizing ﬁles 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 require.

Resolution of raster images

While a 72 ppi raster image appears sharp on a monitor, the same image would likely appear pixelated when printed to the Fiery ZX. Color print devices are capable of much greater detail than monitors, and require correspondingly higher resolution image ﬁles. However, high-resolution ﬁles can be large, and therefore cumbersome to transmit over a network, process for printing, store on disk, and edit.

Beyond a certain threshold, a higher image resolution greatly increases ﬁle size while having a minimal effect on output quality. The optimal image resolution depends on the resolution of the ﬁnal print device. Aim for the resolution that optimizes both ﬁle size and output quality.

1-11 Optimizing ﬁles for processing and printing

The resolution of a raster , along with its bit depth and physical dimensions, determine its ﬁle size. The following table shows the ﬁle sizes of color raster images at different dimensions and resolutions.

File size at:

Image size 100 ppi 150 ppi 200 ppi 400 ppi

RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK

x 4" x 7"

x 11"

8.5"

x 17"

11"

In this table, the shaded areas indicate that 200 ppi is typically the best trade-off between image quality and ﬁle size. However, higher resolutions (e.g., 250 to 300 ppi) may be needed 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 artwork at different resolutions. Start with a high-resolution image (400 ppi) and save versions at progressively lower resolutions, down to 100 ppi, using a pixel-editing application such as Photoshop. Always save a copy of the original high-resolution version in case you need to revert to it. The high-resolution data cannot be recreated from a lower resolution version.

0.4/0.5 MB 0.8/1.0 MB 1.4/1.8 MB 5.5/7.3 MB

1.0/1.3 MB 2.3/3.0 MB 4.0/5.3 MB 16.0/21.4 MB

2.7/3.6 MB 6.0/8.0 MB 10.7/14.3 MB 42.8/57.1 MB

5.4/7.1 MB 12.0/16.1 MB 21.4/28.5 MB 85.6/114.1 MB

Image quality

1-12 Desktop Color Primer

Print the ﬁles and examine the output. You will likely begin to see a marked deterioration in output quality at resolutions below 200 ppi, while above 200 ppi the improvement may be very subtle.

100 ppi 200 ppi 300 ppi 400 ppi

Image resolution

Raster images prepared for offset printing may need to be at higher resolutions than needed for prooﬁng on your Fiery ZX. Check with your prepress service provider and printing vendor for their recommendations on image resolution based on your job speciﬁcations.

Scaling

Ideally, each raster image should be saved at the actual size it will be placed into the document and at the optimal resolution for the print device. If the image resolution is correct for the print device, there is no quality advantage to be gained by scaling an image down to a percentage of its actual size. If you scale a large image down to a percentage of its actual size, you incur unnecessary ﬁle transfer time because the image data for the entire large image is sent to the printer . If an image is placed multiple times at a markedly different sizes in a document, save a separate version of the image at the correct size for each placement.

If you need to place an image at greater than 100% in a document, remember that the output image resolution is affected. For example, if you scale a 200 ppi image to 200%, the image is printed at 100 ppi.

1-13 Workﬂow scenarios

Workﬂow scenarios

Color print jobs can be divided into two categories:

• Short-run print jobs for which the Fiery ZX is the ﬁnal print device

• Offset print jobs being proofed on the Fiery ZX

For either type of job, issues of effective color usage, trapping, ﬁle optimization, and scaling are important ones. The areas of differ ence between the workﬂows for these two types of jobs are outlined in the following sections.

Short-run color printing

For short-run color jobs printed to the Fiery ZX:

• You can work in either the RGB color model or the CMYK color model (see the application notes). When working with RGB colors, you should take advantage of the color rendering capabilities of the Fiery ZX (see Chapter 2).

• When choosing or deﬁning colors in your application, use the Fiery ZX color reference pages to be assured of predictable results (see Chapter 3).

• When printing, choose the appropriate settings for print options that affect color output (see Chapter 2).

• When printing, make sure the resident calibration on the Fiery ZX is the appropriate one for your job. The F iery ZX includes a calibration target designed for your print device, but you can also create a custom target to achieve particular color effects (see Chapter 2 and the Job Management Guide, which describes Fiery ZX calibration).

1-14 Desktop Color Primer

Offset printing

For jobs that will be proofed on the Fiery ZX in preparation for being printed on an offset press:

• Work in the CMYK color model only (see the application notes). All elements in your document, including placed images, must be in the CMYK color model to create ﬁlm separations for printing.

• When choosing or deﬁning colors in your application, use the Fiery ZX color reference pages to be assured of predictable results (see Chapter 3).

• If cost is a factor and the document does not contain CMYK images, consider using two or three PANTONE colors, instead of the standard four process colors (see Chapter 3). This reduces the number of ﬁlm separations and printing plates needed to print the job.

• If your document contains high-resolution CMYK raster images, you can reduce processing time by saving the images in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format with Photoshop using Desktop Color Separations (DCS). A DCS image consists of ﬁve separate ﬁles—one for each of the CMYK color channels of the image, plus one lowresolution master composite ﬁle that you use for placement in the document (see your Photoshop documentation). The low-resolution master ﬁle provides a composite preview of the image for screen viewing and is used to print composites. DCS ﬁles do not use less disk space than single CMYK ﬁles, but they do reduce the amount of time needed to send image data to the printer. DCS ﬁles can be used to create ﬁlm separations as well.

• Use the Combine Separations print option to check for trapping problems (see the Printing Guide).

• Choose the appropriate CMYK Simulation and CMYK Simulation Method settings (see Chapter 2).

2-1 Controlling printed color

Chapter 2: Color Management

This chapter provides information on the factors involved in controlling and managing color output with the objective of achieving predictable color results, including:

• Controlling printed color

• Basics of color management

• Fiery ZX color management

• Optional ICC color management on Macintosh and Windows computers

Controlling printed color

When working with color materials, whether they be presentations, illustrations, or complicated page designs, you make aesthetic decisions about the colors you use. Once you have decided on your goal, you then need to realize it in print. Your color printing system becomes an ally in this creative process to the extent that you can get results that are predictable.

• If you have designed a brochure to print on the Fiery ZX, you want the printed colors to match the design speciﬁcation.

• If you are printing presentations on the Fiery ZX, you want to preserve the vivid colors in the monitor display.

• If you are working with color that will print on press, you want the Fiery ZX output to match prepress proofs or PANTONE color swatch books.

The type of print job and the ﬁnal print device, Fiery ZX or offset press, determine the methodology you use to achieve optimal results.

No matter what your goals are, two hardwar e factors always impact color print output: print device consistency and the range of colors the print device can print, known as its gamut. These factors are covered brieﬂy in this chapter. Creating successful color documents and presentations also requires an understanding of color management software as it is implemented by the Fiery ZX and on your desktop computer. Most of this chapter is devoted to discussing the various elements of color management that contribute to predictable color results.

2-2 Color Management

Maintaining print device consistency

The factors described below affect print device consistency, as well as color ﬁdelity and overall output quality.

Paper stock and toner

The paper and toner used by your print device can greatly affect printed color . F or best results, use the supplies recommended by the manufacturer of the print device.

Maintenance

Problems such as streaking and insufﬁcient or excessive amounts of one or mor e toners arise when a print device does not receive periodic maintenance or needs major repairs. In addition to having it serviced regularly, monitor the condition of your print device by making standard test prints at regular intervals. You can do this easily by printing the Fiery ZX Test Page. Save the prints and show them to the service technician whenever output densities vary from the norm or other problems appear.

Calibration

Output from color print devices is subject to changes in temperature and humidity, and is prone to drift over time, with a resulting loss in color predictability. For this reason, regular service visits alone do not guarantee consistent results from a print device. Where color accuracy and consistency are crucial, regular calibration of the Fiery ZX and print device is necessary.

Calibration compares the measured toner densities from a color print device to a set of target densities and downloads a software correction to the Fiery ZX that keeps the densities consistent. Calibration also optimizes the Fiery ZX’s color response for use with the Fiery ZX color management system (see page 2-6).

A resident calibration target is speciﬁed during Fiery ZX calibration. The administrator or operator can create custom calibration targets as needed for the speciﬁc requirements of your site. For information on performing calibration, see the Job Management Guide, which describes Fiery ZX calibration.

2-3 Controlling printed color

Print device color adjustments

Your print device may allow you to adjust printed color manually. You can typically increase or decrease toner intensity on an individual or global basis. These settings may affect Fiery ZX output. Make sure these settings remain the same (preferably at a neutral position) from one print job to the next.

Print device gamut

Different color reproduction techniques have different color capabilities, or gamuts. Color transparency ﬁlms have comparatively large gamuts, as do color monitors. The color gamut that can be produced using process inks or CMYK toners on paper is smaller. This is why some colors that can be displayed on a color monitor, especially bright saturated colors, cannot be reproduced exactly by your Fiery ZX print device— nor, for that matter, can they be reproduced on press using process colors. Moreover, different print devices have different gamuts—some colors that your print device can produce cannot be reproduced on an offset press, and vice versa. The following illustration provides a graphical representation of this concept.

Color transparency ﬁlm

RGB monitor

Offset press (white)

Other print device

You need to account for the gamut of your print device when designing on a color monitor. When printed, colors that fall outside the print device’s gamut are “mapped” to printable colors. This process, referred to as gamut mapping, takes place when color data is converted or adjusted to meet the color space and gamut requirements of a print device.

2-4 Color Management

The Fiery ZX is specially designed to perform gamut mapping at high speed with high quality results. It provides these color management features automatically, using either built-in default settings or settings that you specify for a particular print job. For added ﬂexibility, the Fiery ZX color management system can also be used in combination with color management systems on Macintosh and Windows computers (see page 2-12).

Basics of color management

The past several years have seen progress toward standardization in the ﬁeld of digital color management systems. Both the Macintosh and Windows 95 operating systems now support a standard format developed by the International Color Consortium

™

(ICC). This ICC format is implemented on Macintosh computers in ColorSync and on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 computers in Image Color Matching (ICM). More and more software developers are also incorporating color management systems into high-end applications. The Fiery ZX provides a custom color management system that can be used independent of, or together with, platform-based and application-based color management tools.

2.x

A color management system, or CMS, is a “ translator ” betw een the color space of the image source (the monitor, or a scanner, for example) and the color space of the target print device. The CMS uses a device-independent color space, such as CIELAB, as its reference point (see page 1-2). To perform its translation, the CMS needs information about the color space of the image source and the color space and gamut of the print device. This information is provided in the form of proﬁles, often created by the makers of the monitor or print device. The end product of a CMS conversion is a printed document or an image ﬁle in the color space and gamut of a particular print device.

NOTE: If color matching between computer display and printed output is critical,

calibrate your monitor as closely as possible to the printed output. For most users, predictability of printed color output is adequate and monitor calibration is not necessary. For information on monitor calibration, see your Photoshop or Illustrator documentation.

2-5 Basics of color management

Color conversion

Before a color document can be printed, the color data in it must be converted to the color space and gamut of the print device. Whether performed by Fiery ZX color management or by an ICC CMS, the process of converting color data for a print device is the same: the CMS interprets RGB image data according to a speciﬁed source proﬁle and adjusts both RGB and CMYK data according to a speciﬁed target proﬁle.

Color management system

Source proﬁle

Device-independent

color standard

Input data Printed data or ﬁle

The source proﬁle deﬁnes the RGB color space characteristics of the image’s source— characteristics such as the white point, the gamma, and the type of phosphors used. The target proﬁle deﬁnes the color space characteristics and gamut of the target print device. The Fiery ZX (or the ICC CMS) uses a device-independent color standard to translate between the source color space and the target color space.

The Fiery ZX allows you to specify default and override settings for the source color space information and the target proﬁle information (see “Fiery ZX color management” on page 2-6). When you use these settings, you do not need to use the features of other color management systems. Your Fiery ZX user software includes ICC proﬁles for use with other color management systems if you choose to use them.

Color management systems can also be used to adjust color data to conform to the gamut of a print device other than the one to which you are printing. This process of simulating another print device is commonly used for prooﬁng jobs that will print on an offset press. The Fiery ZX simulation feature is described on page 2-11.

Target proﬁle

2-6 Color Management

Fiery ZX color management

The Fiery ZX uses a simple and ﬂexible color architecture that produces excellent color results with default settings. It also allows you to customize your color results using various color controls.

The diagram below illustrates the controls in the Fiery ZX color management process that affect color data conversions. With the exception of the resident calibration, you access these controls via print options when you send a print job. Most of these options and their settings are described in subsequent sections of this chapter.

The output of the Fiery ZX color management process is data that is ready to be sent to the print device. Additional processing may be performed on board the print device before printing begins.

RGB data

CMYK data

RGB Source

Gamma Phosphors

White Point Rendering Style (CRD) Brightness Pure Black Text/Graphics Black Overprint Resident calibration

CMYK Simulation CMYK Simulation Method Brightness Pure Black Text/Graphics Black Overprint Combine Separations Spot Color Matching Resident calibration

Fiery ZX

color

processor

Color data sent to print device

2-7 Fiery ZX color management

Settings for the following Fiery ZX options can be speciﬁed via print options when you send a job. Some can also be set as defaults by the administrator during Fiery ZX Setup. Settings speciﬁed via print options override the defaults set at Setup.

Fiery ZX color print option What it does

RGB Source

EFIRGB/sRGB (PC)/Apple Standard/ Other/ Off (Default set at Setup)

(Other) Gamma

1.0/1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2.0/2.2/2.4/2.6/2.8/3.0

(Other) Phosphors

Hitachi EBU/Hitachi-Ikegami/NTSC/ Radius Pivot/SMPTE/Trinitron

(Other) White Point

5000 K (D50)/5500 K/6500 K (D65)/ 7500 K/9300 K

Rendering Style

Photographic/Presentation/Solid Color/ None (Default set at Setup)

Brightness

85% to 115%

Pure Black Text/Graphics

On/Off

Black Overprint

On/Off

Applies an RGB source space deﬁnition to RGB data (see page 2-8). If you choose the Other setting, you can specify particular settings for gamma, phosphors, and white point with the following three options.

Applies the speciﬁed gamma value to the RGB source space deﬁnition (see page 2-8). To use this print option, you must choose Other as the RGB Source setting.

Applies the speciﬁed phosphor (monitor type) information to the RGB source space deﬁnition (see page 2-8). To use this print option, you must choose Other as the RGB Source setting.

Applies the speciﬁed white point value to the RGB source space deﬁnition (see page 2-8). To use this print option, you must choose Other as the RGB Source setting. When using this print option, the recommended Rendering Style setting is Solid Color.

Applies a Fiery ZX color rendering style (CRD) to RGB data (see page 2-9).

Performs a color adjustment on all color channels to make the printed output lighter or darker.

The On setting optimizes the quality of black text and line art output (see page 2-10).

The On setting overprints black text placed on colored backgrounds (see page 2-10).

CMYK Simulation

SWOP-Coated/DIC/Euroscale/ Custom-1 through Custom-5/Match Copy/ None (Default set at Setup)

CMYK Simulation Method

Quick/Full (Default set at Setup)

Spot Color Matching

On/Off (Default set at Setup)

Adjusts CMYK color data to simulate an offset press standard or a custom color gamut deﬁned at your site. The Match Copy setting bypasses Fiery ZX calibration to produce output that matches a copy made from the copier glass. Choosing None bypasses simulation (see page 2-11).

For CMYK data using a CMYK Simulation, determines whether to use the Quick or the Full simulation method (see page 2-11).

The On setting enables Fiery ZX matching of PANTONE colors in your document (see page 2-11).

2-8 Color Management

Explanations of how these settings affect your print jobs are provided in subsequent sections of this chapter.

RGB Source

The RGB Source option is used to provide a source color space deﬁnition for RGB data in your document. The setting you specify for this option overrides any source color space proﬁles you may have speciﬁed with other color management systems. For example, if you speciﬁed a ColorSync System Proﬁle on y our Macintosh computer (see page 2-13), the RGB Source setting overrides it. In cases where you don’t want this setting to override another speciﬁed source color space, choose the Off setting.

• EFIRGB is recommended for printing to the Fiery ZX. The source color space deﬁned by this setting is optimal for color conversions that will be sent to a Fiery ZX print device. It also allows for consistent output across different platforms.

sRGB (PC) speciﬁes the source space of a generic Windows computer monitor.

•

• Apple Standard speciﬁes the source space of all standard Macintosh computer monitors.

• Other allows you to specify custom RGB source settings. If you choose Other as the RGB Source setting, you can choose settings for the Gamma, P hosphors, and White Point options.

If you set RGB Source to Off, PostScript RGB data (such as RGB EPS images) and non-PostScript RGB data (such as RGB TIFF images) are converted differently by the Fiery ZX color management system.

• PostScript RGB data is converted using the CRD speciﬁed by the Rendering Style option (see page 2-9). PostScript RGB data contains its own source color space information which is used as a reference point for the conversion.

• NonPostScript RGB data is converted using a general under-color-removal conversion method. Non-PostScript RGB data does not contain source color space information and so cannot be converted using a CRD.

2-9 Fiery ZX color management

Rendering styles

The Rendering Style option is used to specify a CRD for color conversions. The following table describes the various color rendering styles (CRDs) provided with Fiery ZX software and provides guidelines on when to use each one. Each color rendering style uses a different gamut mapping method, such as Photographic or Solid, designed for a particular kind of color usage.

The ICC rendering styles referred to in the table are settings you can choose when specifying a target proﬁle with an ICC color management system (see the application notes.)

NOTE: Your version of Fiery ZX software may not include all these color rendering

styles, or may include others.

Fiery ZX rendering style Best used for

Photographic—Preserves tonal relationships in images

rather than exact colors. This rendering style maps outof-gamut RGB colors to printable colors in a way that retains differences in lightness. Color accuracy is sacriﬁced slightly in favor of presenting color relationships in the way the human eye perceives them. Photographic rendering typically gives less saturated output when printing out-of-gamut RGB colors than Solid Color rendering does.

Presentation

rendering style does not try to match printed colors precisely to displayed colors but instead provides vibrant, dense colors. Photographic images, however , are treated the same way as by the Photographic rendering style.

Solid Color—Provides best color accuracy and preserves

the saturation of displayed colors. This rendering style matches RGB colors to printable equivalents wherever possible and maps out-of-gamut RGB colors to the closest printable colors.

—Creates bright saturated colors. This

Continuous tone photographs, including scans and images from stock photography CDs

Artwork and graphs in presentations and continuous tone photographs

Spot colors and graphic images (

Solid Color rendering may not be

appropriate for printing saturated RGB color blends, since artifacts such as banding may occur)

Equivalent ICC

rendering style

Image and Contrast and Perceptual

Saturation and Graphics

Colorimetric

2-10 Color Management

Pure Black Text/Graphics

The Pure Black Text/Graphics option provides a way to optimize the quality of black text and line art by printing one-color black at the full density of your print device. This option can also be used to minimize the amount of toner used when printing documents consisting of a mixture of color and black-only pages.

• On—Black text and line art are printed using only black toner. This setting eliminates the potential for blasting and misregistration of colors that exists when using a four-color black.

• Off—Black text and line art are printed using all four colors of toner. This setting should be used when a rich black is desired. When printing from ofﬁce applications (described in Chapter 3) you should also set Black Overprint to Off (see below) and, when printing from Mac OS computers, choose the PostScript Color Matching option (see page 4-3) to produce four-color black.

The Pure Black Text/Graphics option affects only black text and line art elements deﬁned in RGB as R0%, G0%, B0%, or in CMYK as C0%, M0%, Y0%, K100%. It does not affect colors in continuous tone images.

The Pure Black T ext/Graphics option can be used only when printing composites, not when printing separations.

Black Overprint

The Black Overprint option lets you specify whether or not black text (deﬁned in RGB as R0%, G0%, B0%, or in CMYK as C0%, M0%, Y0%, K100%) overprints colored backgrounds.

• On—Black text overprints colored backgrounds, eliminating any potential for halo effects or misregistration of colors.

• Off—Black text knocks out colored backgrounds.

Generally, this option should be set to On.

2-11 Fiery ZX color management

CMYK Simulation

There are several print option settings that affect output when printing press proofs or simulations. These options affect CMYK data only.

The CMYK Simulation setting speciﬁes the offset press standard or other color gamut that you want to simulate. You can also create up to ﬁve custom Quick simulations and ﬁve custom Full simulations using the Fiery Print Calibrator (see the Job Management Guide).

The CMYK Simulation setting you should specify depends on the press standard for which the CMYK data was separated. For example, for images that were separated for SWOP, choose SW OP-Coated as the CMYK S imulation setting. For images that were separated using a custom separation (such as a device-speciﬁc separation or a separation produced with an ICC-proﬁle), choose None as the CMYK Simulation setting.

The Match Copy setting bypasses Fiery ZX calibration to simulate the color of a copy produced by the copier.

The CMYK Simulation Method setting speciﬁes the quality of simulation to perform. Quick simulation applies one-dimensional transfer curves that adjust output density only. Full simulation provides a more complete and accurate simulation by applying four-dimensional transfer curves that adjust hue as well as output density. Depending on image size and resolution, Full simulation may take more time than Quick simulation.

Spot Color Matching

The Spot Color Matching option provides automatic matching of P ANTONE library colors with their best CMYK equivalents.

• On—The Fiery ZX uses its built-in lookup table to generate the closest CMYK matches of PANTONE colors your print device can produce.

• Off—The Fiery ZX uses the CMYK equivalents deﬁned by your application to print PANTONE colors.

2-12 Color Management

For jobs that contain P ANT ONE library colors, set Spot Color Matching to On unless you are printing press simulations. When printing press simulations, set Spot Color Matching to Off and choose the appropriate CMYK Simulation setting (see page 2-11).

The Spot Color Matching option can be used only when printing composites, not when printing separations.

Spot Color Matching and the PANTONE Coated Color Reference Book

The PANTONE Coated Color Reference Book (described on page 3-6) prints differently depending on the Spot Color Matching setting.

• On—When you print the PANTONE Coated Color Reference Book, the Fiery ZX uses its built-in lookup table to generate the best matches of the PANTONE colors that your print device can produce. The PANTONE number is printed below each swatch.

• Off—When you print the PANT ONE Coated Color R efer ence Book, the Fiery ZX prints swatches using the CMYK values recommended by Pantone (and used by applications that provide PANTONE color libraries). The CMYK values used to generate the color, as well as the PANTONE number of the color, are printed belo w each swatch.

Optional ICC color management for advanced users

This section describes how the ICC color management systems implemented on Macintosh and Windows platforms can be used in combination with Fiery ZX color management. You do not need to use the Macintosh or Windows color management systems to get good color printing results—the Fiery ZX provides its own built-in color management. This information is provided for advanced users with particular customization requirements.

2-13 Optional ICC color management for advanced users

Color management on Macintosh computers

The Macintosh operating system includes the ICC ColorSync 2.x color management system. The AdobePS 8.5.1 printer driver (included in the Fiery ZX user software) supports ColorSync 2.x features and all other PostScript Level 2 and 3 printing features. You can use the AdobePS printer driver to control color conversions of RGB data with ColorSync proﬁles. Some PostScript applications also provide independent color management features that use ColorSync proﬁles.

To use the AdobePS driver to perform color management, choose the ColorSync Color Matching setting and specify a ColorSync printer proﬁle when you print (see page 4-2). With these settings, the AdobePS driver performs color conversions and sends the resulting color data to the Fiery ZX. For information on color management tools provided with applications, see the application notes.

Source color space proﬁles

You can specify a ColorSync source color proﬁle for your Macintosh computer with the ColorSync System Proﬁle Control Panel (see Getting Started). The recommended source color proﬁle for printing to your Fiery ZX print device is the EFIRGB ICC proﬁle included in your Fiery ZX user software. The source color space deﬁned b y this proﬁle is the same as that deﬁned by the EFIRGB setting of the RGB Source option (see page 2-8).

The RGB Source setting overrides the ColorSync System Proﬁle setting for RGB data sent to the Fiery ZX. If you do not want the ColorSync proﬁle setting to be overridden, set the RGB Source print option to Off.

The RGB Source setting does not override other source proﬁle settings in cases where you use the printer driver or your application’s color management system to perform color conversions. For example, if you print using the ColorSync Color Matching setting (as described above), the printer driver performs the color conversion and sends CMYK data to the Fiery ZX. In another example, if you assign a ColorSync source proﬁle to an RGB image placed in a document, the application performs the conversion to CMYK and the assigned source proﬁle is not overridden by the RGB Source setting.

2-14 Color Management

Target profiles

The target proﬁle, or printer proﬁle, contains information about the color space and gamut of the target print device. If you use the ColorSync Color Matching setting of the AdobePS driver, you must specify the printer proﬁle that ColorSync will use to perform its color conversions.

Some applications let you assign ColorSync target proﬁles to RGB images you place in a document (see the application notes). When you print the document, the application performs color conversions on the placed images, using the proﬁles you speciﬁed, and embeds the resulting color data in the document. Three rendering styles are included in a ColorSync proﬁle, each tailored for a speciﬁc type of color output (see page 2-9).

See Chapter 4 for information on setting print option settings that affect printed color .

Color management on Windows computers

The Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems include the Image Color Matching (ICM) color management system.

• The AdobePS4 printer driver for Windows 95 (included in your Fiery ZX user software) supports ICM features and all PostScript Level 2 and 3 printing features.

With Windows 95, you can instruct the Adobe PS4 driver to perform color management using ICM. To do this, you select the “Use image color matching” option in the Graphics tab of the printer’s Properties dialog box. (See your Windows 95 documentation for more information.) With the proper ICM settings, the printer driver performs color conversions and sends the resulting color data to the Fiery ZX.

• The Microsoft PostScript Level 2 Printer Driver for Windows NT 4.0 does not currently support all ICM features.

• The Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51 operating systems do not support ICM.

• Some PostScript applications also provide independent color management features that use ICM proﬁles (see the application notes).

2-15 Optional ICC color management for advanced users

Source color space proﬁle

A default source color space is deﬁned for every Windows computer monitor. The RGB Source setting overrides this default source color space (see page 2-8). If you do not want the monitor’s default source color space to be overridden, set the RGB Source print option to Off.

The RGB Source setting does not override other source proﬁle settings in cases where you use the printer driver or your application’s color management system to perform color conversions. For example, if you print with Windows 95 using Image Color Matching (as described above), the printer driver performs the color conversion and sends CMYK data to the Fiery ZX. In another example, if you assign an ICM source proﬁle to an RGB image placed in a document, the application performs the conversion to CMYK and the assigned source proﬁle is not overridden by the RGB Source setting. (See the application notes for information on the color management tools available with different applications.)

Target proﬁles

The target proﬁle, or printer proﬁle, contains information about the color space and gamut of the target print device. If you use the “Use image color matching” option of the Adobe driver for Window 95, you must install the printer proﬁle that ICM will use to perform its color conversions.

Some applications let you assign ICM target proﬁles to RGB images that you place in a document (see the application notes). When you print the document, the application performs color conversions on the placed images, using the proﬁles you speciﬁed, and embeds the resulting color data in the document. Three rendering styles are included in an ICM proﬁle, each tailored for a speciﬁc type of color output (see page 2-9).

See Chapter 4 for information on print option settings that affect printed color.

3-1 Working with color

Chapter 3: Working with Color in Applications

This chapter provides guidelines for deﬁning colors in your documents to produce the results you want. The following topics are covered:

• Factors affecting how you work with color

• Choosing colors with QuickDraw and GDI applications, such as presentation applications and word processing programs

• Choosing colors with PostScript applications, such as page layout programs, illustration programs, and pixel-editing applications

Working with color

The two main factors that inﬂuence how you work with color in your documents are the application you use and the ﬁnal print device.

Applications vary in the methods they provide for choosing colors and in the way they transmit color data to the print device.

• Ofﬁce applications such as presentation software, spreadsheets, and word processing programs use the RGB color model.

• PostScript applications such as illustration, pixel-editing, and page layout applications use the CMYK color model.

The type of printing you plan for the document—short-run printing on the Fiery ZX versus offset press printing—determines the way you deﬁne colors as well as the print option settings you choose.

• For short-run printing on the Fiery ZX, use any type of application and deﬁne colors in either RGB or CMYK. If your application provides, you can also choose colors from the PANTONE Coated color library. Choose the appropriate settings for print options affecting color output (see Chapter 2).

• For offset printing jobs, use a PostScript application and deﬁne colors in CMYK or choose colors from the PANTONE Coated color library. Placed images should also be CMYK. Choose the appropriate settings for print options affecting color output (see Chapter 2).

3-2 Working with Color in Applications

Color reference pages

Your Fiery ZX user software includes several types of color reference pages that let you see the range of colors your print device can produce. You can be assured of predictable color results if you use the color reference pages when deﬁning the colors you want to use in your document.

• RGB color reference pages—a Microsoft Word ﬁle and a Microsoft PowerPoint ﬁle that let you view the colors available in the standard palettes of ofﬁce applications and see how those colors print on the Fiery ZX (see page 3-3).

• CMYK cpages—a downloadable PostScript ﬁle of CMYK color patches in the range of colors your print device can print (see page 3-5).

• PANTONE Coated color reference book—a downloadable PostScript ﬁle of color patches showing CMYK equivalents of PANTONE Coated colors. This ﬁle prints differently depending on the setting of the Spot Color Matching option (see page 3-6).

Ofﬁce applications

PostScript printers such as the Fiery ZX must receive PostScript instructions to print an image or a document. Many applications do not create these P ostScript instructions by themselves, and instead rely on the printer driver to create them. Included in this category are most word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation packages. These applications use Apple QuickDraw!® to display and print when running on Macintosh computers; they use the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) to display and print when running under Windows. We refer to these QuickDraw and GDI applications as “ofﬁce applications.”

All ofﬁce applications handle color similarly , using the same R GB color model used for the color monitor display. Most ofﬁce applications allow you to choose colors from a palette of preselected colors; some allow you to add new colors to the palette using a color picker. Although some applications allow you to specify color using the CMY, HSL, and HSV color models, these applications always send RGB color data to the Fiery ZX. (An exception to this is a CMYK EPS ﬁle placed in the document, which is sent as CMYK data.)

3-3 Ofﬁce applications

When working with color in ofﬁce applications, keep in mind that:

• The range of colors that can be displayed in RGB on your monitor is much larger than the range of colors that can be printed on your print device (see page 2-3). When you print the document, out-of-gamut RGB colors are mapped to colors your print device can produce.

• These applications send only RGB data to the Fiery ZX. You control the rendering intent of the color conversion with your selection of a CRD.

Each CRD uses a different color rendering style, and therefore has a different way of mapping unprintable colors to your print device’s color gamut. Fiery ZX color rendering styles are described on page 2-9.

Choosing colors in ofﬁce applications

Two RGB color reference pages, a Microsoft Word ﬁle and a Microsoft Pow erP oint ﬁle, are provided with your Fiery ZX user software. Print these ﬁles using different CRDs to see how the colors appear when printed to the Fiery ZX. For best results, print the color reference page using the same media and CRD you plan to use for your ﬁnal document. Select the colors you want to use from the printed version of the RGB color reference page and then use those colors in your document.

RGB Color Reference page (Microsoft PowerPoint)

3-4 Working with Color in Applications

Resident calibration

The resident calibration on the Fiery ZX is applied to all data in the print job, so make sure the resident calibration is the right one for your job. The Fiery ZX includes a calibration target designed for your particular print device; by default, this target is the resident calibration.

In certain cases you may wish to create and use a custom calibration target to achieve particular color effects (see the manual in your documentation set that describes Fiery ZX calibration). If a custom target is resident on the Fiery ZX, the custom calibration is applied to all data except CMYK data to which a CMYK Simulation is applied.

PostScript applications

Most applications used for illustration, pixel editing, and page layout can create the PostScript information they send to PostScript printers or save in PostScript ﬁles. Illustrator, Photoshop, PageMaker, QuarkXPress, and FreeHand are all PostScript applications.

PostScript applications work with color in many different ways. Most allow you to choose process colors (by entering a percentage for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), as well as named colors from a custom color system such as PANTONE. When you print composites, these applications send process-color equivalents for named spot colors to color print devices. In some applications, you can also choose colors using the RGB, HSB, HSL, or other color models.

Generally, PostScript applications send color information to the Fiery ZX in CMYK. An exception to this is RGB images placed in the document which are sent directly to the Fiery ZX (unless you specify special color management settings in your application). In addition, some PostScript applications that allow you to deﬁne colors in RGB or other color models can also send the data in those color spaces.

Color controls in PostScript applications are typically designed for printing on an offset press, and some adjustments are required for printing to the F iery ZX. Displayed versions of colors you choose in these applications may not match Fiery ZX output exactly, and named colors may not print accurately on the Fiery ZX, since these colors typically require custom inks.

3-5 PostScript applications

Choosing colors in PostScript applications

With PostScript applications, you can create colors using any of the color models supported by the application. All PostScript applications support the CMYK model; some also support the RGB model and other color models based on monitor display values. PostScript applications also allow you to choose named colors using one or more color libraries, such as PANTONE (see page 3-6).

The important thing to remember when creating or choosing colors is that the displayed versions of those colors may not match Fiery ZX output or the output of identically deﬁned colors from other color print devices. For this reason, you should use swatch color matching to ensure predictable color printing results with the Fiery ZX or to match your Fiery ZX color output to colors produced by other print devices.

Swatch color matching

Your Fiery ZX user software includes downloadable PostScript ﬁles of reference pages for CMYK colors and PANTONE-equivalent colors. By choosing colors from these reference pages, you can be sure of obtaining the same color from your print device.

For best results, calibrate the Fiery ZX before printing the reference pages and your ﬁnal output.

NOTE: Swatch color matching does not match monitor colors to printed colors. F or this

you must use a color management system and calibrate your monitor to the color output of your print device.

Using the CMYK color reference pages

The CMYK color reference pages, included with your Fiery ZX user software, let you see how various cyan, magenta, yellow, and black combinations look when printed on your print device. Using the CMYK color reference pages, you can easily determine the CMYK values to specify to obtain the printed colors you want.

3-6 Working with Color in Applications

The CMYK color reference ﬁle is a PostScript ﬁle that prints 11 letter/A4-size pages.

CMYK color reference page

To use the CMYK color reference pages, download the ﬁle using the Fiery Downloader. The printed pages display groups of color patches in graduated combinations of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and smaller patches that include 25, 50, and 75% black. Refer to these pages to pick colors and specify process color values in your application. (For the location of the CMYK color reference ﬁle, see Getting Started. For instructions on using the Fiery Downloader, see the Printing Guide.)

NOTE: If you plan to later print your document on press, you may need to adjust the

process values to duplicate the colors from your Fiery ZX.

Using the PANTONE Coated color reference book

The PANTONE Coated color reference book, included with your Fiery ZX user software, can help assure predictable results with colors chosen from the PANTONE Coated color library. The PANTONE Coated color reference book is a PostScript ﬁle that prints 19 letter/A4-size pages.

3-7 PostScript applications

The information printed by the PANTONE Coated color reference book depends on the setting of the Spot Color Matching option.

• On—Prints swatches of the closest equivalents of PANTONE colors your print device can produce. The equivalent PANTONE color name is printed below each swatch.

• Off—Prints swatches of the CMYK equivalents of PANTONE colors as deﬁned by Pantone. (These are the same CMYK values deﬁned in applications that include PANTONE libraries.) The CMYK values used to produce the color, as well as the PANTONE color number, are printed below each swatch.

To print the PANTONE Coated color reference book, download the ﬁle to the Fiery ZX using the Fiery Downloader. (For the location of the ﬁle on the User Software CD, see Getting Started.) If the default Spot Color Matching setting on the Fiery ZX is not the setting you want to use for printing the PANTONE colors, download the ﬁle to the Hold queue. Then use the Fiery WebSpooler, the Fiery Spooler, or the Command WorkStation to override the Spot Color Matching setting.

Resident calibration

CMYK simulation

If you are using the Fiery ZX to print proofs for an offset press job or to simulate another print device, choose the appropriate CMYK Simulation and CMYK Simulation Method print option settings.

4-1 What a printer driver does

Chapter 4: Printer Drivers and Print Options

This chapter describes the role of the printer driver in your workﬂow and explains how to use Macintosh and Windows printer drivers for Fiery ZX printing. It includes the following topics:

• An explanation of what a PostScript Level 2 or 3 printer driver does

• Information on the capabilities of various printer drivers

• Instructions for setting color options with the Adobe PostScript printer drivers for Macintosh, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1x

• Instructions for setting Fiery ZX print options with the Microsoft PostScript Lev el 2 printer driver for Windows NT 4.0

What a printer driver does

To take full advantage of the features of the Fiery ZX, your print jobs must be sent as PostScript Level 2 (or higher) ﬁles. Most applications cannot create this PostScript data directly. It is the function of a printer driver to interpret the instructions generated by the application and convert them into PostScript data.

A PostScript Level 2 or 3 printer driver also allows you to select print options speciﬁc to your print device. To do this, the printer driver must be matched with a PostScript printer description ﬁle (PPD) for your Fiery ZX. The PPD contains information about the particular features supported by the Fiery ZX and the print device. When you print a job, the printer driver lets you choose among features by specifying print options.

A few PostScript applications (for example, PageMaker 6.5) can send PostScript Level 2 data directly to the print device and present print options within the application interface. Even these applications, however, require that you use a PostScript Level 2 or greater printer driver.

4-2 Printer Drivers and Print Options

Your Fiery ZX user software includes Adobe printer drivers for Macintosh, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1x computers. These are the recommended printer drivers for printing to the Fiery ZX.

• For Windows NT 4.0 computers, you can use the Microsoft PostScript Level 2 printer driver included with Windows NT 4.0.

• For Windows NT 3.51, there is no PostScript Level 2 printer driver available. You can print from Windows NT 3.51 using the Microsoft PostScript Level 1 printer driver, but the driver does not let you specify print options. You can use only the Fiery ZX default settings when you print from Windows NT 3.51.

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Macintosh

This section explains how to set color management print options with the AdobePS 8.5.1 printer driver for Macintosh. AdobePS is a PostScript 3 driver that can take full advantage of the color features of the Fiery ZX, and lets you save a set of print option settings that you use often.

Before you proceed, make sure you have completed the following procedures:

• Install the AdobePS printer driver and the Fiery ZX PPD as described in Getting

Started.

• Select the Fiery ZX in the Chooser and match it with the Fiery ZX PPD.

NOTE: The following illustrations and instructions do not apply to all applications.

Some applications, such as PageMaker 6.5, handle color management settings independently of the printer driver. For information on speciﬁc applications, see the application notes.

Setting color management print options

You choose print options from the various panes of the AdobePS driver dialog box.

NOTE: The word “pane” is used to describe the different “pages” that appear in the

driver’s dialog box when you make selections from pull-down menus in the dialog box. Each pane presents a particular set of print options.

To access the initial AdobePS dialog box, choose Print from your application’s File menu.

4-3 Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Macintosh

The AdobePS driver offers you the following three Color Matching options.

• PostScript Color Matching—This option is intended for use with PostScript Level 2 (or higher) printers such as the Fiery ZX. It provides for color conversion on the Fiery ZX using a color rendering dictionary resident on the printer (i.e., a Fiery ZX CRD) or a color rendering dictionary that is downloaded with the print job. Typically you should use this option for printing to the Fiery ZX.

• ColorSync Color Matching—This option provides for color conversion on the computer using a color rendering dictionary generated by ColorSync from an ICC proﬁle. This option can be used with PostScript Level 2 printers such as the Fiery ZX, but is intended for use with PostScript Level 1 printers, or in cases where the computer’s processing capability exceeds that of the printer, or for use with customized ICC proﬁles. If you use this option, be sure to specify your custom ICC proﬁle or the Fiery ZX ICC proﬁle as the Printer Proﬁle.

• Color/Grayscale—This option maps color data to grayscale shades for monochrome printers and provides a generic color conversion for color print devices.

Setting Fiery ZX color management options

In the AdobePS Print dialog box, choose Color Matching from the pull-down menu.

Choose PostScript Color Matching

Choose Printer’s Default

4-4 Printer Drivers and Print Options

In the Color Matching pane, choose PostScript Color Matching as the Print Color setting and choose Printer’s Default as the Printer Proﬁle setting.

NOTE: The Printer Proﬁle setting must be Printer’s Default. If you choose a named

printer proﬁle from this menu, it overrides any Rendering Style setting you choose.

In the Printer Speciﬁc O ptions pane, choose settings for the print options described in Chapter 2.

If these settings are ones you use regularly, click Save Settings to preserve them for subsequent jobs.

4-5 Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 95

The AdobePS driver writes a PostScript ﬁle containing the instructions generated by your application and the Fiery ZX print options you selected. The driver sends the PostScript ﬁle to the Fiery ZX. The Fiery ZX performs PostScript pr ocessing and color conversions according to the settings you chose and sends rasterized color data to the print device.

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 95

This section explains how to set Fiery ZX color print options with the Adobe PostScript Printer Driver version 4.2.x for Windows 95.

Before you proceed, make sure you have completed the following pr ocedures described in Getting Started:

• Install the Adobe PostScript Printer Driver version 4.2.x and Fiery ZX PPD.

• Set up the Fiery ZX for printing.

Setting color management print options

The printer driver options described in this section can be set from the Windows Control Panel or from the P rint Setup or Page Setup dialog boxes of most applications. It is recommended that you set these options initially from the Windows Control Panel as described in this section. This pro vides you with a default conﬁguration that is appropriate for most Fiery ZX print jobs. You can choose different settings for individual jobs from the applications you use.

To set default print options, open the Printers Control Panel, right-click the Fiery ZX, and select Properties. For more information on how to access the dialog boxes shown in this section, see the Printing Guide.

NOTE: The following illustrations and instructions do not apply to all applications.

Some applications, such as PageMaker 6.5, handle color management settings independently of the printer driver. For information on speciﬁc applications, see the application notes.

4-6 Printer Drivers and Print Options

In the Fiery Options tab (or the Device Options tab), choose settings for the print options described in Chapter 2.

The printer driver writes a PostScript ﬁle containing the instructions generated by your application and the Fiery ZX print options you selected. The driver sends the PostScript ﬁle to the Fiery ZX. The Fiery ZX performs PostScript pr ocessing and color conversions according to the settings you chose and sends raster color data to the print device.

4-7 Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 3.1x

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Windows 3.1x

This section explains how to set Fiery ZX color print options with the Adobe PostScript Printer Driver version 3.01 for Windows 3.1x.

Before using the instructions in this section, make sure you have installed the printer driver and Fiery ZX PPD and set up the Fiery ZX for printing, as described in G etting Started.

Setting color management print options

To set default print options, open the Printers Control Panel and select the F iery ZX in the Installed Printers box. For more information on how to access the dialog boxes shown in this section, see the Printing Guide.

In the Features tab, choose settings for the print options described in Chapter 2.

4-8 Printer Drivers and Print Options

Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver for Windows NT 4.0

To set default print options, open the Printers Control Panel, right-click the Fiery ZX, and select Document Defaults. For more information on how to access the dialog boxes shown in this section, see the Printing Guide.

NOTE: The following illustrations and instructions do not apply to all applications.

Some applications, such as PageMaker 6.5, handle color management settings independently of the printer driver. For information on speciﬁc applications, see the application notes.

From the Advanced tab of the D ocument P roperties dialog box, choose settings for the print options described in Chapter 2.

5-1 Before you begin

Chapter 5: Adobe Photoshop 4.0

This chapter covers features of Photoshop version 4.0 for Macintosh and Windows. The illustrations show only Macintosh dialog boxes, but the information and instructions apply equally to the Windows version of Photoshop. Most of the information presented in this chapter also applies to previous versions of Photoshop.

Before you begin

A special feature of Photoshop allows you to save RGB EPS (PostScript) images that include independent source color space information. This feature is sometimes r eferred to as “PostScript Level 2 tagging” or “RGB tagging.”

Y ou deﬁne the sour ce color space to apply to R GB EPS images by specifying a M onitor Setup in Photoshop. This Photoshop-speciﬁc source color space deﬁnition is overridden by the RGB Source print option setting unless you set RGB Source to Off (see page 2-8).

If you are using a Windows version of P hotoshop or Photoshop 2.5 for Macintosh, use the instructions below to ensure proper functioning of the RGB tagging feature.

With Windows versions of Photoshop

If you use any Windows version of Photoshop, you must edit the Photoshop conﬁguration settings ﬁle in order to enable PostScript Level 2 tagging for RGB EPS ﬁles.

In the Photoshop\Prefs folder, open the Photos40.ini (Photoshop 4.0) or Photos30.ini (Photoshop 3.0) ﬁle and append the following line to it:

DISABLERGBTAGS=1

Save the ﬁle; the change takes effect the next time you start Photoshop.

5-2 Adobe Photoshop 4.0

With Photoshop 2.5 for Macintosh

If you use Photoshop version 2.5 for Macintosh, make sure the plug-in called “Don't Tag RGB PostScript®” is not placed in the Photoshop Plug-ins folder. Otherwise PostScript Level 2 tagging does not occur for RGB EPS ﬁles.

If you remove the plug-in, the change takes effect the next time you start Photoshop.

Deﬁning colors

You can choose colors in Photoshop with various color models including HSB, Lab, RGB, and CMYK. You can also choose named colors from the PANTONE Coated color library in Photoshop. For best results, use the color deﬁnition methods described in Chapter 3.

Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents

Before saving an RGB EPS ﬁle, check the Photoshop Monitor Setup. This setting deﬁnes the RGB source color space information that will be included in the RGB EPS image (see page 5-1). You can override this source color space with the RGB Source setting (see page 2-8).

Choose Photoshop EPS or TIFF

Before saving any file, perform any rotating, cropping, and resizing needed. This speeds processing when printing from the application in which the image is placed.

It is recommended that you use the EPS or TIFF ﬁle formats to save RGB images that will be imported into other documents and printed to the Fiery ZX. EPS and TIFF ﬁles can be imported into virtually all page layout applications.

5-3 Selecting options when printing

In the EPS Format dialog box, choose binary encoding and do not include transfer functions or halftone screens. A TIFF preview is compatible with both M acintosh and Windows computers.

If you experience problems printing the document in which you place the image, substitute an ASCII-encoded version of the same image, and print the document again. Binary encoding is much more compact than ASCII encoding, but occasionally causes printing problems with some system conﬁgurations.

NOTE: If you choose to try JPEG encoding, keep a backup of the original image saved

with binary encoding until you have seen the printed results of the JPEG-encoded ﬁle. The compression used for JPEG encoding may produce unwanted artifacts in the ﬁle. If you see unexpected results in the printed output of a JPEG-encoded ﬁle, use a binary-encoded version instead.

Selecting options when printing

You can print RGB or CMYK images from Photoshop.

• When you print RGB images, you can choose whether the conversion to CMYK data is performed by the Fiery ZX (using a CRD) or by Photoshop (using Photoshop’s separation settings).

• When you print CMYK images, you can print composites or color separations.

Click to print using a Fiery ZX CRD

Click to print using Photoshop’s separation settings

5-4 Adobe Photoshop 4.0

Printing RGB images

Use the following instructions to print RGB images.

Choose whether to print in RGB or CMYK. (With the AdobePS 8.5.1 printer driver for Macintosh, these options appear in the Adobe Photoshop pane of the Print dialog box.)

If you select “Print in RGB,” Photoshop sends RGB data to the Fiery ZX and a CRD is used to perform color conversion. Choose the appropriate print option settings for RGB data (see Chapter 2 and Chapter 4).

If you select “Print in CMYK,” Photoshop performs a color conversion and sends CMYK data to the Fiery ZX. With this setting, RGB Source, Rendering Style, and Spot Color Matching settings have no effect.

• If Photoshop is conﬁgured for separating to an offset press standard, apply the corresponding CMYK Simulation setting. For example, if Photoshop is conﬁgured for separating to SWOP, choose SWOP-Coated as the CMYK setting.

• If Photoshop is conﬁgured for a custom separation (not a press standard), choose None as the CMYK Simulation setting or choose the corresponding custom simulation target if one has been created.

5-5 Selecting options when printing

For fastest print times, select JPEG encoding. You should, however, check the printed output carefully for unwanted artifacts that can appear as a result of JPEG compression. If you see unexpected results in the printed output when printing with JPEG encoding, print the job again using Binary encoding.

Choose any other print options you want to use (see Chapter 4).

Printing CMYK images

Use the following instructions to print CMYK images.

Choose an encoding method. (With the AdobePS 8.5.1 printer driver for Macintosh, these options appear in the Adobe Photoshop pane of the Print dialog box.) For fastest print times, select JPEG encoding. You should, however, check the printed output carefully for unwanted artifacts that can appear as a result of JPEG compression. If you see unexpected results in the printed output when printing with JPEG encoding, print the job again using Binary encoding.

Choose any other print options you want to use (see Chapter 4).

• If the image was separated for an offset press standard, apply the corresponding CMYK Simulation setting. For example, if the image is separated for SWOP, choose SWOP-Coated as the CMYK Simulation setting.

• If the image was separated using a custom separation (not a press standard), choose None as the CMYK Simulation setting or choose the corresponding custom simulation target if one has been created.

6-1 Working with page layout applications

Chapter 6: Page Layout Applications

This chapter provides instructions for printing color documents from Adobe PageMaker 6.5 and QuarkXPress 3.32.

Before printing from these applications, make sure the appropriate printer driver and the Fiery ZX PPD are installed on your computer as described in Getting Started.

Working with page layout applications

The following sections apply to all page layout applications.

Deﬁning colors

Page layout applications generally use the CMYK color model. Some allow you to deﬁne colors with other color models and may be able to send that data to the Fiery ZX in those other color models. Generally, however, CRDs (which affect only RGB data) do not affect colors deﬁned in page layout applications. For predictable results with CMYK colors, use the CMYK Color Reference pages when deﬁning colors in page layout applications. See “Choosing colors in PostScript applications” on page 3-5.

Y ou can also choose named colors fr om the P ANT ONE Coated library. See “Using the PANTONE Coated color reference book” on page 3-6.

Importing images

EPS and TIFF are the recommended formats for images imported into page layout documents. Support for importing other ﬁle formats may be provided by individual applications.

All RGB images placed in your document are affected by the RGB Source and Rendering Style settings. The Fiery ZX color management system applies the speciﬁed RGB Source setting to all RGB data and then uses the speciﬁed Rendering Style (CRD) to perform a color conversion. An exception to this occurs if you assign ICC proﬁles to RGB images using the application’s color management tools (see “Tips for advanced users”). In this case, the application performs the color conversion of the image and sends CMYK data to the Fiery ZX.

6-2 Page Layout Applications

Tips for advanced users

Alternatively, you can save the RGB image in TIFF format and assign it an ICC proﬁle and rendering intent when you import it into the document, if your application supports this feature.

CMYK simulation and calibration

You can specify a press simulation target for the job with print option (see page 2-11). The CMYK Simulation setting affects all CMYK color data sent by the page layout application.

• If the document contains CMYK images that were separated for an offset press standard, apply the corresponding CMYK Simulation setting. For example, for images separated for SWOP, choose SWOP-Coated as the CMYK Simulation setting.

• If the document contains CMYK images that were separated for a custom separation (not a press standard), choose None as the CMYK Simulation setting or choose the corresponding custom simulation target.

6-3 Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

The Windows and Macintosh versions of PageMaker 6.5 are essentially identical. The illustrations in this section show only the Windows version, with the exception of instances where differences exist between the two versions.

PostScript Level 2 interface

PostScript Level 2 features, including color management, are incorporated into the PageMaker 6.5 application interface. When y ou print from P ageMaker 6.5, you specify print options and color settings using PageMaker print dialog boxes, not the printer driver dialog boxes described in Chapter 4. However, you must use a PostScript Level 2 (or higher) printer driver to access Fiery ZX print options when printing from PageMaker.

Windows version requirement

For the Windo ws version of P ageMaker 6.5, make sur e a copy of the F iery ZX PPD ﬁle is in both of the following folders:

• PM65\RSRC\USENGLSH\PPD4

• Windows\System

Importing images

All RGB images placed in your document are affected by your RGB Source and Rendering Style settings. For best results with placed images, use the instructions in “Importing images” on page 6-1 and “CMYK simulation and calibration” on page 6-2.

Advanced users can use PageM aker ’s color management tools for added ﬂexibility with placed RGB images (see “Assigning ICC proﬁles to RGB images” on page 6-5).

Fiery ZX name appears here

Choose the Fiery ZX PPD

6-4 Page Layout Applications

Selecting options when printing

All print settings are speciﬁed from the various Print dialog boxes in PageMaker 6.5. The printer driver interface described in Chapter 4 is not used.

Click Options

In the Print Document dialog box, select the Fiery ZX PPD from the PPD menu.

Choose Normal

Click Features

In the Print Options dialog box, choose Normal (not the Optimized Subsampling default) from the Send image data menu. This setting ensures that TIFF images print at their full resolution.

6-5 Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

If your document contains RGB placed images or colors deﬁned in RGB that will not be separated to process colors, choose RGB Source and R endering Style settings in the Print Features dialog box. If the document contains PANTONE colors, choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting. Choose any other Fiery ZX print options you wish.

When you click Print from any of the P ageMaker 6.5 dialog bo xes the job is sent to the Fiery ZX. You do not see the printer driver dialog boxes described in Chapter 4.

Assigning ICC proﬁles to RGB images

When you place a non-EPS RGB image (such as a TIFF, JPEG, or GIF image), you can specify an ICC target proﬁle and a rendering intent for the image. You can assign a unique rendering intent to each image you import.

When you use this feature, PageMaker controls the color conversion of the RGB images (using the speciﬁed ICC proﬁles) and sends CMYK data to the Fiery ZX. The CMYK data produced by these conversions is not separated for offset press standards; therefore you should set the CMYK Simulation print option to None (see “CMYK Simulation” on page 2-11). The RGB Source and Rendering Style settings have no effect on these images.

6-6 Page Layout Applications

After selecting an image to import with the Place command, the CMS Source button becomes active in the Place dialog box.

Click to select an ICC proﬁle

Choose Kodak ICC

Choose a source proﬁle Choose a rendering intent

Click CMS Source and choose settings in the CMS Source Proﬁle dialog box.

Windows

Choose ColorSync Choose a source proﬁle Choose a rendering intent

6-7 Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

Macintosh

With the Macintosh version of P ageMaker, choose ColorSync from the This Item U ses menu; with the Windows version, choose Kodak ICC.

The rendering intents correspond to Fiery ZX CRDs as follows:

• Default—uses the proﬁle’s rendering intent

• Image—similar to the Photographic CRD

• Graphics—similar to the Presentation CRD

• Colorimetric—similar to the Solid Color CRD

This dialog box can also be accessed by selecting the image and choosing Image > CMS Source from the Element menu.

6-8 Page Layout Applications

QuarkXPress 3.32 for Macintosh and Windows

Before starting QuarkXPress, make sure the EﬁColor XTension is not loaded in the XTensions folder. EFICOLOR proﬁles are not currently provided with Fiery ZX products. Without the correct EFICOLOR proﬁle, the EﬁColor XTension does not perform color conversions on placed images.

Windows version requirement

For the Windows version of QuarkXPress, make sure a copy of the Fiery ZX PPD ﬁle is in the \XPRESS\PDF folder.

Importing images

Selecting options when printing

You must select the Fiery ZX PPD from the Printer Type menu in the Page Setup (Macintosh) or Printer Setup (Windows) dialog box.

Choose the Fiery ZX PPD

Choose an output paper size

hoose Binary

Macintosh

Choose the Fiery ZX PPD

Choose Binary

6-9 QuarkXPress 3.32 for Macintosh and Windows

Windows

Choose an output

paper size

If your document contains RGB placed images or colors deﬁned in RGB that will not be separated to process colors, choose RGB Source and R endering Style settings. If the document contains PANTONE colors, choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting. Choose any other Fiery ZX print options you wish.

For instructions on setting print options, see Chapter 4.

7-1 Working with illustration applications

Chapter 7: Illustration Applications

This chapter provides instructions for using Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows, FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows, and CorelDRAW!TM 7.0 for

Windows.

Before printing from these applications, make sure the appropriate PostScript printer driver and the Fiery ZX PPD are installed on your computer as described in Getting Started.

Working with illustration applications

You can print directly from an illustration application or use it to create and save ﬁles that will be imported into a page layout document. To print from an illustration application, use the printer driver and the print settings recommended in Chapter 4.

These application notes provide instructions for printing composites only. For instructions on printing color separations, refer to the documentation for your application.

As a general rule, use the EPS ﬁle format when saving ﬁles with an illustration application.

Deﬁning colors

All illustration applications use the CMYK color model. While some also allow you to deﬁne colors using other color models, they all send CMYK data to the Fiery ZX. For predictable results with CMYK colors, use the CMYK Color Reference pages when deﬁning colors (see “Choosing colors in PostScript applications” on page 3-5).

Y ou can also choose named colors fr om the P ANT ONE Coated library. See “Using the PANTONE Coated color reference book” on page 3-6.

7-2 Illustration Applications

Importing images

In general, all images placed into illustration application documents should be in EPS format.

Tips for advanced users

If you place multiple RGB images, some non-photographic and some photographic, a single CRD may not be suitable for all the images. In this case you may want the photographic images to bypass the CRD altogether. To accomplish this, separate the image to CMYK data with a pixel-editing application such as Photoshop and perform color correction on it. Then save it as an EPS or TIFF ﬁle and import it into the document. Alternatively, you can save the RGB image in TIFF format and assign it an ICC proﬁle and rendering intent when you import it into the document (see the individual application notes in this chapter).

7-3 Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

CMYK simulation

You can specify a press simulation target for the job with print option (see page 2-11). The CMYK Simulation setting affects all CMYK color data sent by the illustration application.

Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

The Windows and Macintosh versions of Illustrator 7.0 are essentially identical. The illustrations in this section show only the Windows version, with the exception of instances where differences exist between the two versions.

Deﬁning colors

Any colors deﬁned in Illustrator are sent to the printer in CMYK—even those deﬁned using other color models. For best results, use the color deﬁnition methods described on “Choosing colors in PostScript applications” on page 3-5.

Color Settings

You can control the conversion of RGB colors deﬁned in Illustrator by specifying settings in the Color Settings dialog box.

With Macintosh computers, you can specify the EFIRGB ICC proﬁle as the Monitor proﬁle. This deﬁnes the same source color space for RGB data deﬁned in Illustrator as is deﬁned by the Fiery ZX RGB Source setting of EFIRGB (see Chapter 2).

Choose an ICC proﬁle

Choose a printer proﬁle Choose a rendering intent

For placed RGB TIFF images

7-4 Illustration Applications

If the “Use ICC proﬁles with TIFF” option is checked, you can specify an ICC proﬁle and a rendering intent for each RGB TIFF image you place in the document (see “For advanced users: Using Illustrator color management” on page 7-7).

Macintosh

Choose an ICC proﬁle Choose a printer proﬁle

Choose a rendering intent For placed RGB TIFF images

Windows

7-5 Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images

Advanced users can use Illustrator’s color management tools for added ﬂexibility with placed RGB images (see page 7-2 and page 7-7).

Selecting options when printing

Choose Composite output and PostScript Level 2.

Macintosh

Choose Composite

Choose PostScript

Level 2

Choose Composite

Choose PostScript Level 2

7-6 Illustration Applications

Windows

If your document contains placed RGB images, choose RGB Source and Rendering Style settings. With the exception of placed RGB images, these settings have no effect on colors printed with Illustrator 7.0. If the document contains PANTONE colors, choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting.

The PostScript Color Matching setting (made from the Macintosh printer driver) has no effect on colors printed from Illustrator 7.0. The effect of CRDs on placed RGB images is independent of this setting.

For instructions on setting print options, see Chapter 4.

Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents

When saving ﬁles in Illustrator 7.0 for importing into other types of documents, use the EPS ﬁle format.

Illustrator saves all color information in CMYK, so RGB Source and Rendering Style settings have no effect on color output of artwork saved with Illustrator and imported into other kinds of documents. In the case of Illustrator ﬁles imported into Photoshop,

Choose an ICC proﬁle

Choose a rendering intent

7-7 Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

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 mode you set in Photoshop.

For advanced users: Using Illustrator color management

When you place an RGB TIFF image, you can specify an ICC proﬁle and a rendering intent for the image. You can assign a unique rendering intent to each image you import. To use this feature, make sure the “Use ICC proﬁles with TIFF” option is checked in the Color Settings dialog box (see page 7-3).

Macintosh

Choose an ICC proﬁle Choose a rendering intent

Windows

The rendering intents correspond to Fiery ZX CRDs as follows:

•

Default—uses the proﬁle’s rendering intent.

• Image—similar to the Photographic CRD

• Graphics—similar to the Presentation CRD

• Colorimetric—similar to the Solid Color CRD

7-8 Illustration Applications

For more information on Illustrator’s color management features, see your Illustrator documentation.

Macromedia FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

The information in this section applies to both the Macintosh and Windows versions of FreeHand 7.0. Only Macintosh-version dialog boxes are shown, but the information and instructions are identical for the Windows version of FreeHand.

Deﬁning colors

Any colors deﬁned in FreeHand are sent to the printer in CMYK—ev en those deﬁned using other color models. For best results, use the color deﬁnition methods described on “Choosing colors in PostScript applications” on page 3-5.

You can control the conversion of RGB colors deﬁned in FreeHand by specifying settings in the Color Management Preferences dialog box (see page 7-11).

Importing images

A number of ﬁle types can be imported into FreeHand 7.0 but, once imported, all are treated as either an EPS image, a TIFF image, or editable paths. For details, see your FreeHand documentation.

When you place an EPS image into a FreeHand document, the image is imported as a unit, with a reference link to the original ﬁle; the contents of the image are not affected. If the image is a CMYK EPS ﬁle, the colors are printed just as from the application in which they were saved.

NOTE: Before placing a CMYK EPS ﬁle, be sure the ﬁle was saved with Desktop Color

Separation (DCS) set to off. If the ﬁle was saved with DCS on, FreeHand prints composites of the image at the low resolution used for screen viewing.

Advanced users can use FreeHand’s color management tools for added ﬂexibility with RGB images and colors (see page 7-2 and page 7-11).

7-9 Macromedia FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

Selecting options when printing

Refer to the following illustrations to choose options when printing.

Choose Normal Click to select a PPD

PPD name shown here

Click to access FreeHand

Print Setup

In the Print dialog box, make sure the Use PPD option is turned on. For Print setting, select Normal. If the Use PPD option is on, a plus sign (+) appears in fr ont of the word “Normal”. If the PPD name for your Fiery ZX is not displayed next to the PPD selection button, click the button marked “…” and select the appropriate PPD.

7-10 Illustration Applications

To use Fiery ZX color management features, turn off the “Convert RGB to process” checkbox in the Imaging tab of the FreeHand Print Setup dialog box. If this option is turned on, FreeHand’s color management settings are used to convert RGB colors and images to CMYK (see page 7-11).

Imaging

property sheet

of the

FreeHand Print

Setup dialog

box

Turn off to

use Fiery ZX

color

management

If your document contains placed RGB images, choose RGB Source and Rendering Style settings. With the exception of placed RGB images, these settings have no effect on colors printed with FreeHand. If the document contains P ANT ONE colors, choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting.

Refer to your FreeHand documentation for information about other FreeHand print options.

Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents

When saving ﬁles in FreeHand 7.0 for importing into other types of documents, use the EPS ﬁle format.

FreeHand saves all color information in CMYK, so RGB Source and Rendering Style settings have no effect on color output of artwork saved with FreeHand and imported into other kinds of documents. In the case of FreeHand ﬁles imported into Photoshop ,

Turn on to use FreeHand’s color management

7-11 Macromedia FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

however, vector data from the FreeHand ﬁle is rasterized into bitmaps in Photoshop, and the ﬁnal color space of the bitmap data is determined by the color mode you set in Photoshop.

For advanced users: Using FreeHand color management

For colors deﬁned in RGB and RGB images, you can activate FreeHand color management and make selections in the Color Management Preferences dialog box.

Select ICC proﬁles

Turn on the Color management checkbox and choose ICC proﬁles from the four menus. Refer to your FreeHand 7.0 documentation for instructions on setting the options in this dialog box. These settings affect only R GB images and colors deﬁned in RGB—they have no effect on RGB EPS images.

With Macintosh computers, you can specify the EFIRGB ICC proﬁle as the Monitor proﬁle. This deﬁnes the same source color space for RGB data deﬁned in FreeHand as is deﬁned by the Fiery ZX RGB Source setting of EFIRGB (see Chapter 2).

7-12 Illustration Applications

In the Imaging property sheet of the FreeHand Print Setup dialog box, turn on the “Convert RGB to process” option. This setting has no effect on RGB EPS images.

Imaging

property sheet

of the

FreeHand Print

Setup dialog

box

Turn on to use

FreeHand’s

color

management

For more information on FreeHand’s color management features, see your FreeHand documentation.

CorelDRAW 7.0 for Windows

Deﬁning colors

Any colors deﬁned in CorelDRAW are sent to the printer in CMYK—even those deﬁned using other color models. For best results, use the color deﬁnition methods described in “Choosing colors in PostScript applications” on page 3-5.

You can control the conversion of RGB colors deﬁned in CorelDRAW by specifying settings with the Color Manager (see page 7-14).

7-13 CorelDRAW 7.0 for Windows

Importing images

Advanced users can use CorelDRAW’s color management tools for added ﬂexibility with placed RGB images (see page 7-2 and page 7-14).

Selecting options when printing

In the Print dialog box, make sure the correct printer and PPD are selected.

To use Fiery ZX color management, make sure the “Use color proﬁle” option is not turned on. If this option is turned on, CorelDRAW’s color management settings are used to convert RGB colors and images to CMYK (see page 7-14).

Click Properties to specify Fiery ZX print options.

Printer name appears here

Printer driver/PPD name appears here

Turn off to use Fiery ZX color management

Click to access Fiery ZX

print options

7-14 Illustration Applications

If your document contains placed RGB images, choose RGB Source and Rendering Style settings. With the exception of placed RGB images, these settings have no effect on colors printed with CorelDRAW. If the document contains PANTONE colors, choose the appropriate Spot Color Matching setting.

Saving ﬁles for importing into other documents

When saving ﬁles in CorelDRAW for importing into other types of documents, use the EPS ﬁle format.

CorelDRAW saves all color information in CMYK, so CRDs have no effect on color output of artwork saved with CorelDRAW and imported into other kinds of documents. In the case of CorelDRAW ﬁles imported into Photoshop, however , vector data from the CorelDRAW ﬁle is rasterized into bitmaps in Photoshop, and the ﬁnal color space of the bitmap data is determined by the color mode you set in Photoshop.

For advanced users: Using CorelDRAW color management

If the document contains RGB images or colors deﬁned in RGB, you can use the CorelDRAW Color Manager to specify ICC proﬁles.

Choose a source proﬁle

Choose a printer proﬁl

In the Color Manager dialog box, select ICC proﬁles from the four menus. Refer to your CorelDRAW 7.0 documentation for instructions on setting the options in this dialog box. These settings affect only RGB images and colors deﬁned in RGB—they have no effect on RGB EPS images.

Turn on to use CorelDRAW’s color management

7-15 CorelDRAW 7.0 for Windows

In the Print dialog box, turn on the “Use color proﬁle” option. The printer proﬁle you selected appears to the right of this checkbox.

8-1 Working with ofﬁce applications

Chapter 8: Ofﬁce Applications

This chapter provides instructions for printing color documents from QuickDraw and GDI applications such as presentation, spreadsheet, and word processing applications. You can use these instructions with the Microsoft Ofﬁce 97 and Microsoft Ofﬁce 95 suite of applications and Persuasion v3.0.

Working with ofﬁce applications

Before printing from these applications, make sure the appropriate printer driver and the Fiery ZX PPD are installed on your computer as described in Getting Started. The Fiery ZX color management system provides complete color management for jobs printed from ofﬁce applications.

Deﬁning colors

Ofﬁce applications use the RGB color model. For instructions on deﬁning colors, see “Choosing colors in ofﬁce applications” on page 3-3.

Working with imported ﬁles

Use EPS format ﬁles for all raster images you import into ofﬁce applications. They print at their full resolution on the Fiery ZX (not at the low resolution used for the screen preview).

Although your application may allow you to import a variety of ﬁle formats, EPS format ﬁles are recommended for all raster images you want to import; some applications have printing problems when using ﬁle formats such as TIFF and PICT.

All RGB images placed in your document are affected by your RGB Source and Rendering Style settings.

8-2 Ofﬁce Applications

Tip for advanced users

Selecting options when printing

There are few differences between ofﬁce applications with regard to F iery ZX printing. The instructions in this chapter apply to all ofﬁce applications. Use the instructions in Chapters 2 and 4 to specify print options and color management settings. To specify these options, you must use a PostScript Level 2 (or higher) printer driver, such as the Adobe PostScript Printer Driver.

Because these applications send RGB data to the Fiery ZX, your choices of RGB Source and Rendering Style settings are important. Be sure to specify the appropriate CRD for the color effect you want (see “Rendering styles” on page 2-9).

For best quality black text and line art, set the Pur e Black T ext/G raphics option to O n. This setting generates a one-color black (as opposed to a four-color black), thereby preventing blasting and misregistration of colors. For mor e information, see page 2-10.

If the document contains black text placed on colored backgrounds, set the Black Overprint option to On. This setting prevents halo effects and makes the black text richer.

Calibration targets

All color data in the job is affected by the resident calibration on the Fiery ZX. This target may be the one designed for your print device and shipped with the Fiery ZX, or it may be a custom target created at your site (see the manual in your documentation set that describes Fiery ZX calibration). If necessary, print the Test Page to see which target is the currently resident on the Fiery ZX.

8-3 Microsoft Ofﬁce 97

Microsoft Ofﬁce 97

Before printing from Microsoft Ofﬁce 97, make sure the Fiery ZX ICM proﬁle is not installed in the Windows\System\Color folder. If the ICM proﬁle is installed, JPEG, BMP, and TIFF images print incorrectly from Microsoft Ofﬁce 97.

Browse to the Windows\System\Color folder and locate the Fiery ZX ICM proﬁle. If the icon is white, the proﬁle is installed; if it is gray, it is not installed. If the proﬁle is installed, select the proﬁle and choose the right-mouse Uninstall command.

When the ICM ﬁle is not installed, color control options do not appear in the Graphics tab of the Printer Properties dialog box, as shown below.

Glossary

additive color model

A system in which colors are produced by combining red, green, and blue light (the additive primaries). An RGB video monitor is based on an additive color model.

additive primaries

Red, green, and blue light that is used in additive color systems. When added together in proper amounts, these colors of light produce white.

banding

Visible steps between shades in a color gradient.

bit depth

Amount of information used for each pixel in a raster image. Black and white images require only one bit per pixel. Grayscale images with 256 shades of gray require eight bits per pixel. Photographic quality color images can require 24 bits per pixel (RGB images) or 32 bits per pixel (CMYK images).

bitmap

An image comprised of small squares arranged in a grid. Each square in the grid is a pixel. The number of pixels per inch deﬁnes the resolution of a bitmap.

blasting

An undesirable effect that occurs when excess amounts of toner, combined with certain types of paper stock, cause an image to spread beyond its boundaries as deﬁned in the ﬁle.

calibration

The process of ensuring that a device behaves consistently with respect to a set of speciﬁcations.

color gamut

See gamut.

color management system (CMS)

Software used to match color across different input, display, and output devices.

color rendering

A feature of color management software and PostScript Level 2 color printers that allows you to maintain the best possible translation of color from one color device to another. A color rendering dictionary (CRD) is used by the color management system or the printer’s PostScript interpreter when converting data between color spaces. The Fiery ZX includes several CRDs, including Solid Color, Photographic, and Presentation, each of which provides a different color rendering style.

CRD (Color Rendering Dictionary)

See “color rendering”

color separation

The process of separating a color image into the primary color components for printing—cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Also used to refer to the four sheets of ﬁlm that result from the process of separating a color image.

G-2 Glossary

color space

A model for representing color in terms of measurable values, such as the amount of red, green, and blue in an image. RGB and CMYK color spaces are based on color devices—monitors and printers respectively. Other color spaces, such as CIELAB are based on mathematical models and are device-independent. They are not based on the color response of a particular device.

colorant

An ink, die, toner, paint or other pigment that modiﬁes the color of media to which it is applied.

composite printer

Any printer that can print directly in color without ﬁrst creating color separations. A composite print can be used as an early proof of an offset print job.

density

A precise measurement of the light energy transmitted or reﬂected by a surface in the presence of a standard light source.

densitometer

An instrument commonly used in the graphic arts industry to measure density according to a speciﬁed standard.

DIC

A Japanese standard of speciﬁcations for separations, proofs, and color printing.

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS or EPSF)

A PostScript ﬁle format expressly designed to be embedded in another PostScript stream.

Euroscale

A European standard of speciﬁcations for separations, proofs, and color printing.

continuous tone (contone)

A characteristic of printing in which dots (in some cases very elongated dots or lines) of different sizes are printed; can represent several intermediate gray tones between highlight and shadow.

continuous tone (contone) image

An image containing ﬁne gradations of tones, such as a photographic image.

custom color system

A system of named color swatches that can be matched on press using process or spot colors. PANTONE and TruMatch are examples of custom color systems.

ﬂexography

A printing technology that uses ﬂexible raised-image plates. Flexography can be used to print on non-ﬂat materials such as cans.

four-color printer

A printing device that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink or toner.

gamma

A numeric value representing the plotted relationship (gamma curve) between the input and output values of a color monitor. If gamma equals 1, input v alues

Xerox FIERY ZX Color Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Introduction

About this manual

Tips for success

Chapter 1: Desktop Color Primer

The properties of color

The physics of color

CIE color model

Hue, saturation, and brightness

Additive and subtractive color systems

Printing techniques

Halftone and continuous tone devices

Using color effectively

A few rules of thumb

Color wheel

Color and text

Registration and trapping

Raster images and vector images

Resolution of raster images

Scaling

Short-run color printing

Offset printing

Chapter 2: Color Management

Controlling printed color

Maintaining print device consistency

Print device gamut

Basics of color management

Color conversion

RGB Source

Rendering styles

Pure Black Text/Graphics

Black Overprint

CMYK Simulation

Spot Color Matching

Optional ICC color management for advanced users

Color management on Macintosh computers

Color management on Windows computers

Chapter 3: Working with Color in Applications

Working with color

Color reference pages

Resident calibration

PostScript applications

Choosing colors in PostScript applications

Resident calibration

CMYK simulation

Chapter 4: Printer Drivers and Print Options

What a printer driver does

Adobe PostScript Printer Driver for Macintosh

Setting color management print options

Setting color management print options

Setting color management print options

Chapter 5: Adobe Photoshop 4.0

Before you begin

With Windows versions of Photoshop

With Photoshop 2.5 for Macintosh

Selecting options when printing

Printing RGB images

Printing CMYK images

Chapter 6: Page Layout Applications

Working with page layout applications

Importing images

CMYK simulation and calibration

Adobe PageMaker 6.5 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images

Selecting options when printing

QuarkXPress 3.32 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images

Selecting options when printing

Chapter 7: Illustration Applications

Working with illustration applications

Importing images

CMYK simulation

Adobe Illustrator 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows

Importing images

Selecting options when printing

For advanced users: Using Illustrator color management

Macromedia FreeHand 7.0 for Macintosh and Windows