Color matching

The process of matching printer output color to your computer screen is quite complex because printers and computer monitors use different methods of producing color. Monitors display colors by light pixels using an RGB (red, green, blue) color process, but printers print colors using a CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) process.

Several factors can influence your ability to match printed colors to those on your monitor. These factors include:

●Print media

●Printer colorants (inks or toners for example)

●Printing process (inkjet, press, or laser technology for example)

●Overhead lighting

●Personal differences in perception of color

●Software applications

●Printer drivers

●Computer operating system

●Monitors

●Video cards and drivers

●Operating environment (humidity for example)

Keep the above factors in mind when colors on your screen do not perfectly match your printed colors.

For most users, the best method for matching colors on your screen to your printer is to print sRGB colors.

Sample book color matching

The process for matching printer output to preprinted sample books and standard color references is complex. In general, you can obtain a reasonably good match to a sample book if the inks used to create the sample book are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These are usually referred to as process color sample books.

Some sample books are created from spot colors. Spot colors are specially created colorants. Many of these spot colors are outside of the range of the printer. Most spot color sample books have companion process sample books that provide CMYK approximations to the spot color.

Most process sample books will state which process standards were used to print the sample book. In most cases they will be SWOP, EURO, or DIC. To get optimal color matching to the process sample book, select the corresponding ink emulation from the printer menu. If you cannot identify the process standard, use SWOP ink emulation.

Printing color samples

To use the color samples, select the color sample that is the closest match to the color that you want. Use the sample’s color value in your application to describe the object you want to match. Colors can

134 Chapter 6 Color

ENWW