HP L 5 manual Color Matching

With proper calibration, any device can provide a transform from device-independent color space to the device’s own color space, producing output from different devices that have the same color appearance. For example, if a monitor’s parameters are known (gamma, gain, chromaticity coordinates for each primary, and the white point), the monitor’s RGB pixel information can be transformed into device-independent color.

The Color LaserJet printers provide device-independent color specified using either the CIE L*a*b*, Colorimetric RGB, or Luminance-Chrominance color spaces.

HP Color LaserJet 5 and 5M printers also provide device independent color specified using either the CIE L*a*b*, Colorimetric RGB or Luminance-Chrominance color spaces. However, HP Color LaserJet 5 and 5M printers are somewhat restricted in what they provide. Details of this can be found in Appendix D.

Color Matching

When attempting to match color produced by different devices, it is important to know the difference between true color matching and appearance matching.

Proper device calibration can achieve true color matching, so that a side-by-side comparison of a printed page with the monitor on which the page was designed will show an exact match. However, true color matching is only satisfactory when using the monitor as a viewing reference. Viewed away from the screen, the printed page may appear flat and unsaturated because printers and monitors have different dynamic ranges. For example, black on the screen appears gray when compared to printed black, which is unacceptable if the intent is pure black. Likewise, the white produced on a monitor screen appears yellow or blue when compared to a white sheet of paper. True color matching would require that gray be printed in the black areas and colored dots be printed in the white areas.

EN Color Printing Overview (Color LaserJet, 5, 5M, DeskJet) A-11