DisplayMaker Legacy ColorMark+ - User Guide

Color Management Overview 1-11
◆ The conversion of scanned RGB data to CMYK separations
differs from one program to another.
◆ Proofing devices vary widely in color rendering (i.e. the way
they visualize colors) due to pigment and substrate
characteristics.
◆ Viewing proofs and printed matter under non-standard light-
ing conditions introduces errors of judgment.
◆ Ink-based press adjustments permit wide variations in ink
densities.
◆ Alternative ink sets and paper types affect color rendering.
◆ Paper coating and texture affect dot gain, which modifies
colors.
How Color Management
Works
Attempting to compensate for all these color variations by trial
and error is too expensive in time and materials. Color Manage-
ment Systems (CMS) solve 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
On the ColorMark CMS CD-ROM, ColorSpan supplies a large
number of ColorMark format output profiles for ColorSpan
media and ink combinations. With the ColorMark+ software
and supported input hardware, you can adjust or create the out-
put profiles yourself for ColorSpan or third-party media. To
characterize an ink and media combination, you print and read
a reference target. The target contains CMYK color patches (the
number depends on the size of the color set). ColorMark+ uses
the measured values to create a unique color profile.
The ColorMark+ software always saves the profile in two for-
mats: ColorMark (.CX) and ICC (.ICM).