HP RIP Software - HP RIP Software User Guide

4-6 Color Management Overview
How Color Management
Works
Attempting to compensate for all these color variations by trial and error
is impractical. A Color Management System (CMS) resolves the color
mismatch between input and output devices. The CMS translates colors
from the color gamut of one device into a device-independent color
model, and then maps that color information to another device’s color
gamut.
Color profiles are electronic files that contain the necessary information
for the CMS to:
• Convert color data between native device color spaces and device-
independent color spaces
• Ensure that the printer will not deliver more ink than the media can
absorb
• Ensure that varying ink densities are printed in a consistent (linear)
manner
To characterize an ink and media combination, you print and read a ref-
erence target. The target contains CMYK color patches (the number
depends on the size of the color set). This data is used to create the
profile.
The RIP provides two different color management workflows, “HP RIP
Software” and “ICC.”
In the HP RIP Software workflow, the profile and any color correction
are applied at the RIP.
Fig. 4-2. HP RIP Software workflow