5
5-1
Working with color
This chapter provides guidelines for defining colors in your documents to produce the
results you want. The following topics are covered:
• Factors affecting how you work with color
• Choosing colors in applications that rely on GDI or QuickDraw to communicate
data to the printer driver, such as presentation and word processing applications
• Choosing colors in applications that have the ability to write their own PostScript,
such as some page-layout, illustration, and pixel-editing applications
Working with color
The two main factors that influence how you work with color in the creation of
documents are the application you use and the final print device. Applications vary in
the methods they provide for choosing colors and in the way they transmit color data
to the print device.
•
Office applications
, such as presentation software, spreadsheets, and word processing
programs, use the RGB color model. They typically transmit only RGB data to the
print device.
•
Illustration applications
use both the RGB and CMYK color models but typically
transmit only CMYK data to the print device.
•
Pixel-editing applications
use both the RGB and CMYK color models. They also
transmit both RGB and CMYK data to the print device.
The type of printing you plan for the document—short-run color printing on the
Fiery 3850C versus color proofing for eventual printing on an offset press—
determines the way you define colors in addition to the print option settings you
choose.
• For short-run color printing on the Fiery 3850C, use any application and define
colors in either RGB or CMYK. If your application supports it, you can also choose
colors from the PANTONE color library. Placed images may be limited to the RGB
color space. Choose the appropriate settings for print options affecting color output
(see page 1-1).
Chapter 5:
Working with
Color in
Applications
