Color Management & Printing
With more and more technical capabilities of modern printers, the demands of users are growing as well. Especially printing photos in color confronts many customers with the question of how to achieve an optimal result. The differences between the colors displayed on the monitor and the colors printed, how to repeatedly print the same color in the same quality and the use of spot colors are just a few of the aspects that are of interest to users when it comes to color management.
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Colors on A Computer Screen - RGB
There is a fundamental difference between the colors displayed on a screen and the color output of a printer. While the screen works with RGB colors, the printer uses CMYK colors. A monitor creates color perception by mixing three basic colors red, green and blue (RGB). There are about 16 million colors based on RGB.
Printing Colors - CMYK
The printer's CMYK mode or four-color printing is based on the colors cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (Key). Offset printing is based on these four color types, whereby all colors are superimposed with defined color intensities in such a way that the impression of the desired overall color is created.
A Comparison of RGB and CMYK
CMYK allows significantly more color combinations than RGB. At the same time, CMYK colors are often less distinct, which is related to the multiple presence of the same colors. This explains why the color sensations on a screen and a printed picture can differ from each other.
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Full-Tone Color & Spot Color Systems
When printing with CMYK it is also possible to print with spot colors. Spot colors are special colors which are pre-mixed. One printing plate or drum per color is required for spot color printing. Spot colors and full-tone colors usually look richer and more vibrant than colors printed in CMYK mode. The most common full-tone color system worldwide is Pantone. In Germany, the HKS system is very popular. The Pantone and HKS colors can be compared and selected from palett booklets. These are available in different versions and for the most common paper types.
The HKS color system consists of 88 basic colors 3520 full-tone colors, which are used especially for art prints and printing projects with the demand for high color fidelity.
Printers and their Influencing Factors on Colors
When calibrating a printer, several factors play a role with regard to color management. An important factor is the paper. Each paper has its own individual white tone, which is why each paper basically requires its own color profile. It must also be taken into account that different types of paper absorb ink or toner in different ways. For example, paper grades with a strong whitening agent show particularly strong blue tones in the print result. During calibration, a profile can be created that matches as many paper types as possible. However, if you want an exact color representation, you should pay close attention to the type of paper used during calibration.
Printer Calibration
Calibration basically means a form of shaping the printer. A test page with certain types of ink and paper allow an exact evaluation of the color quality. The color fields of the test printout can be measured with a so-called spectral colorimeter. This measuring device helps to evaluate the color patches, whereby a higher number of color patches considered enables a more accurate profile. To ensure that the test print really allows conclusions to be drawn about the hardware used, software-supported color management systems of the computer or printer should be deactivated.
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Calibration Options for Color Management
There are special software solutions for calibration. A simple calibration is also possible by manually adjusting the computer and the printer. Software offers are often available in combination with a spectral colorimeter. Since the display on the monitor must also correspond to this color scheme in order to calibrate the devices, the accessories are usually found in combination with the software. The color profiles of these software solutions generally offer a more precise display than pre-installed programs. When using them, it is important to disable automatic color management of the printer.
Color Management for Home Users
Cost-intensive software is not required for color management if a user only needs the printer for occasional personal use (such as printing photos). The Digital Quality Tool (DQ-Tool) provides a simple and easy to implement method of calibration. The tool was developed by the initiative of the Photoindustrie-Verband e.V. (PIV) in cooperation with providers of digital image services. It allows monitor and printer to be matched to each other. Setting the color quality to 24 bits on the desktop already ensures a rich color depth. For the monitor, we recommend a color temperature at daylight level, i.e. around 6,000 Kelvin. The PIV has provided test files on the Internet that users can use as references for printer calibration. For example, if the screen brightness is too high, the reference black appears as a dark grey. Afterwards, the contrast has to be adjusted. The image file of the DQ-Tools called DQ-Tool Contrast in JPG format can be taken as a reference in the image processing program. In the following, users can compare the printout of the file with the image DQ Tool Monitor. Finally, this is compared with the image in the image editing program. Possible deviations can be compensated with the on-screen display.
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