Basics of Color
This section describes the basic properties of color, the relationships
between colors, and how to use color to improve the quality of your
printed documents.
Properties of color
Color is composed of three properties: Hue, Saturation, and Brightness.
Hue The name of the color, such as red, blue, or
violet. The circle that represents the relationship
between all hues is called the hue circle.
Saturation The vividness of the color. This represents the
amount of gray in proportion to the hue.
Brightness The relative lightness or darkness of the color.
The method for representing these properties is called the Munsell
renotation color system. The hue circle and the Munsell renotation color
system are useful to understand the properties of color. See also the Color
Guide.
Synchronizing monitor colors and printer colors
Your printer produces images by printing tiny patterns of ink dots on
paper. It uses the colors cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K)
to create a blending effect that makes you think you are seeing millions of
colors. This type of color, produced by pigments that absorb some colors
of light and reflect others, is called subtractive.
Note:
In theory, pure cyan, magenta, and yellow should produce black, but actually they
produce a muddy brown and must be combined with black ink to produce a true
black (K).
Your monitor produces images by illuminating color phosphors on the
screen with an electron gun. (A phosphor is a substance that gives off
light when irradiated.) Each screen point (pixel) has three colored
phosphors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
L
Fiji2 Ref.
Rev. b
A5 size Appendix B
05-20-97 DR, pass 0
B-2
Tips for Color Printing
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