Xerox 701P40210 manual Stock Management and Calibration, Characterization

3.Stock Management and Calibration

Color DocuSP systems achieve high-quality color results due to an efficient and flexible stock management model. Stock associations, calibration, and characterization are important processes used for stock management.

Calibration is a process that is used to return the print engine to a known standard to achieve and maintain consistent color quality for each stock or color group and halftone.

DocuSP calibration uses the X-Rite DTP41 Spectrophotometer to measure and adjust the gray balance of the CMYK color output. You should calibrate the X-Rite DTP41 daily. Refer to the DocuSP on-line help for complete calibration instructions.

Calibration is generally performed once for each color group/ halftone combination. If you do not use a specific halftone for printing, you need not calibrate it.

Once a stock is calibrated, DocuSP saves that calibration and automatically selects the latest calibration for the stock when the stock is required by a job. DocuSP can save up to five calibrations per stock. These saved calibrations are assigned to the color group in which the stock resides, for use with any stock within that color group.

Characterization

Characterization is the process of creating a destination color profile for stocks. Stocks have different characteristics such as coated and uncoated, color, and weight which impact how color appears on the sheet. For most users, characterization is not recommended for a new stock; instead, you should place the new stock in an existing color group.

DocuSP comes with 3 pre-installed color groups, containing Xerox Qualified Stocks. Xerox Qualified Stocks are automatically part of one of the pre-installed color groups and have a destination profile pre-assigned to them; therefore, they do not require characterization.