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Print Quality
HP Designjet 4000/4020 Printer Series Service Manual
Problems with PANTONE Color Accuracy
Spot colors are special premixed inks to be used directly in the press, and
the best–known spot colors are PANTONE colors.
The PostScript Printer contains an option called Automatic PANTONE
Calibration, which can easily match most of the PANTONE Solid Coated
spot colors. When an application sends a PANTONE color to print, it sends
the PANTONE name together with its own estimate of equivalent CMYK
values. The Automatic PANTONE Calibration facility recognizes the
PANTONE name and
converts it to CMYK in a way that depends on the printer
model and the selected paper type, enabling the color to be rendered with greater
precision than is possible with the generic CMYK values sent by the application.
Even when using Automatic PANTONE Calibration, it cannot be expected
that the printer matches the PANTONE colors exactly. The printer is certified
by Pantone for some papers, but this does not mean that it can reproduce
100% of the PA NTONE colors.
Using Automatic PANTONE Calibration (the best choice)
In order to use Automatic PANTONE Calibration, an application that
recognizes the PANTONE colors, and a calibrated PostScript Printer is needed.
The Automatic PANTONE Calibration facility emulates PANTONE Solid
Coated colors only (suffix C). Other PANTONE colors will be printed using
the CMYK values sent by the application.
Converting PANTONE colors manually
If a non–PostScript Printer is being used, or if an application (such as Adobe
Photoshop) is being used that does not send the name of the PANTONE
color to the Printer, then the Automatic PANTONE Calibration will not be
available. Instead, if required, each PANTONE color has to be manually
converted to CMYK values in the application, using tables produced
especially for the printer and paper type.
If the application has a facility to convert PANTONE colors to CMYK values
automatically, it probably does not take into account the type of Printer or
paper type, so better results will be achieved with a manual conversion using
the tables.
A PANTONE calibrated color chart in EPS, TIFF, and PDF format can also be
obtained, which can be convenient if the application being used has an
eyedropper tool with which colors can be picked up from an imported graphic.
Tips
îš„ Automatic PANTONE Calibration works with PostScript printers only.
îš„ Ensure that Automatic PANTONE Calibration is turned on in the driver.
îš„ Some applications may not support PANTONE colors fully; for example,
Photoshop 7.0 does not send the PANTONE Color with its name, it sends
only the CMYK values from its standard table.
îš„ Some colors may be out of gamut and impossible to match precisely with
your Printer and paper type.
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