HP L 5 manual Color Concepts, Palettes, Raster Mode, Raster Color vs. Non-Raster Color

Color Concepts

This section describes some of the concepts and terminology used in this chapter, such as palettes, raster vs. non-raster color, device-independent vs. device-dependent color, black and white references, color selection, pixel encoding, and color modes.

Palettes

A palette is a collection of colors that are selected by their index numbers. You can create your own palette or choose from one of several fixed palettes. Although only one palette is active at any time, all palettes are assigned ID numbers and can be stored in the printer for later selection using the ID number. They can be deleted when desired. Palettes can also be saved (pushed) to a stack and later retrieved (popped) when needed.

Raster Mode

Raster mode is entered explicitly by the Start Raster command (?*r#A) or implicitly by a Transfer Raster command (?*b#V, ?*b#W). Raster mode is exited explicitly by an End Raster command (?*rC) or implicitly by a non-raster command.

Raster Color vs. Non-Raster Color

Palettes are used differently depending on whether the printer is in raster mode.

•In non-raster mode, the palette is always used for color selection. The color of text or patterns is specified using the Foreground Color command (?*v#S).

•In raster mode, the palette is only used for indexed color selection; it is not used for direct color selection. (Indexed and direct color selection are explained later in this section.)

EN Color Printing Overview (Color LaserJet, 5, 5M, DeskJet) A-3