HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Printer - Manuel (Page 21)

3 Color management
This section provides some basic information about using color management with the HP Photosmart Pro B8800
series. For detailed information on color management, see the onscreen Help.
NOTE: In this User Guide, printer software refers to the HP Photosmart software that comes on the CD with
the printer. The printer driver is the part of the printer software which controls the printer.
What is color management?
Color management affects the way the colors in your photos are printed. Because the printer, image editing software
programs, the operating system, and imaging devices such as cameras, scanners, and monitors, all display colors
differently, the color management strategy you choose affects whether colors are printed more or less accurately.
Color management is based on color spaces 1 . Most imaging devices use the RGB 2 color space, while commercial
printers use the CMYK 3 color space. The differences between the two color spaces can cause printed photos to
look markedly different from what you see on the monitor.
Color management is a complex subject and a detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this book, which only
provides some typical examples. For more information, see the documentation that came with your third-party image
editing software program.
Choose a color management strategy
Use the HP Photosmart Pro print plug-in
for Adobe Photoshop®(versions 7.0, CS,
and CS 2 only)
.
Use application-based color
management
.
Use printer-based color management.
• Advanced color management
• Uses the Adobe Photoshop
algorithms to produce high
resolution prints
• Single streamlined dialog box with
the most commonly used color
management settings
• Advanced color management
• Uses the Adobe Photoshop
algorithms to produce high
resolution prints
• Several dialog boxes for all the color
management settings
• Simple color management
• Uses the printer driver color
management settings
TIP: 1 It is possible to have color management features turned on both in the printer driver and in a software
program such as Adobe
® Photoshop ® . This double correction produces unsatisfactory results. Use either printer-
based or application-based color management, but not both at the same time.
TIP: 2 Periodically, calibrate the printer color to ensure that the printer provides consistent color reproduction
from print to print. See
Align and calibrate the printer .
Use the HP Photosmart Pro print plug-in for Adobe
Photoshop ® (versions 7.0, CS, and CS 2 only)
The HP Photosmart Pro print plug-in for Adobe Photoshop streamlines the printing process and simplifies
professional color management. The plug-in provides a central dialog box for color management and other print
settings. It combines settings from the printer driver and the Adobe Photoshop Print with Preview dialog box so
you no longer have to make your way through a confusing maze of dialog boxes each time you print.
1 Three-dimensional mathematical models for organizing color.
2 The RGB color space creates colors by mixing red, green, and blue light. Technologies that rely on light (monitors, scanners, or digital
cameras) use this color space.
3 The CMYK color space used in the printing industry is based on the light-absorbing qualities of ink printed on paper. CMYK stands for
cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, the colors used in four-color process printing.
18 Color management
E
n
glish