Create a reference from a spot color swatch
The "Spot Colors" option of the Print Control allows you to check the color reproduction accuracy of a spot color chart on your printer.
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The "Spot Colors" option of the Print Control allows you to check the color reproduction accuracy of a spot color chart on your printer.
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In this example, we are going to use the colors of a tinted vinyl swatch that we created by measuring samples with the "Color Table" module.
It is obviously possible to control the colors of other types of color charts such as PANTONES, RAL, etc.
The imported table now appears in the left column
Click on the Print Control icon located at the top left, then click on the "Create Reference" button.
Since we want to control spot colors, we are going to select the "Spot color" pictogram.
In this new window, drag the color table into the area: "Drag a color table here".
Click the "Use norm'sLab" button to use the Lab values of the spot colors to perform the check.
A chart containing the spot colors is created, you can customize the format of this target by using the "Edit target format" tools.
Export the chart in pdf format to print it in your preferred RIP.
Export the color table that you used to create the target, in the format compatible with your RIP.
This step is important because RIPs recognize spot colors by their names. Then, thanks to internal color tables, they associate these names with their reference values to print them. It is therefore necessary to import these reference values into your RIP in order to best reproduce the named colors.
The integration of color tables in RIPs is documented in the "Color table" chapter.
When you have exported the test chart in pdf format and the color table, click on "Next".
In the information window, only the name of the setting is mandatory. All other information is optional.
Click on "Save and quit" to create the Print Control file.
The Print Control file appears in the left column.
Once the test chart has been printed, start the reading by right clicking on the Print Control file then "Start control".
Click the "Start Reading" button
Choose the reading mode of your spectrophotometer, then click on the "I'm ready" button
Position your spectrophotometer in its calibration position, then click on "Start calibration"
When the calibration is complete, start measuring the chart.
Once the measurement is complete, you can click on the "Reading done" button.
In summary
The reproduction of the tinted vinyl color chart was performed on an EFI Fiery v7.2 RIP and an Epson SC-P7500 printer on photo paper. As we can see by comparing the gamut of the P7500's paper profile, the saturated colors of vinyls are not always easy to reproduce. Even with a printer, such as the Epson SC-P7500, (which uses orange, green, and purple inks to optimize the color space), you can't seem to simulate the colors of this vinyl collection.
