Swatch books help you determine the closest printed color to a color you are trying to match, or create a desired color when it is not printing as expected. By specifying a color recipe, you can take a sampling of a source color and its variations to print multiple swatches and determine which is closest to the desired color.

To create Swatch Books, you select the number of desired patches and a [+/-] degree of change using SaturationTerm used to describe the strength, purity, or vividness of a hue. Saturation indicates how much color is present. When there is no saturation, there is no color; the more saturation, the more color there is of the given hue., LightnessPerception by which white objects are distinguished from gray objects and light- from dark-colored objects., ChromaA three dimensional graph called ColorThe attribute of visual experience that can be described using the dimensions of Hue1. A tint or color specified by an angle on the HSV Color Wheel. Going counter-clockwise around the wheel, hues shift from red to yellow to green to cyan to blue to magenta and finally back to red. 2. The attribute of a color that permits it to be identified as a specific color. Hue combined with Saturation and Value fully defines a color., Saturation, and Brightness. Space. We can assign an absolute value to any color using three independent variables: Lightness, Chroma, and Hue. or Hue as the variant between the patches.The printed swatch is then reviewed to determine the closest color to the desired target color. Each patch lists the associated color recipe and a color replacement can be made using the recipe of the color deemed closest to the target color.

To access Swatch Books:

You can access the "Swatch Books" dialog through RIP-Queue or JobAn image coupled with RIP-Queue settings. Editor by clicking the icon on the toolbar. (Figure 1)

 

You can also show to the "Swatch Books" dialog through [Color Replacement] in Job Editor. (Figure 2)

1. Click the [Color Correction] tab, then Tools > Color Replacements
2. Click the first button to add a new color, which opens the "Color Replacement" dialog.
3. Once you have a color selected, you can click the [Swatch Books] button.

Swatch Books dialog:

The "Swatch Books" dialog is broken into five different areas (Figure 3):

 

Swatch Generation

There are three types of Swatches available:

• 1-Dimensional: Allows horizontal variation of the source color
• 2-Dimensional: Allows horizontal and vertical variations of the source color
• 3-Dimensional: Allows horizontal, vertical and individual page variations of the source color

 

The number of corresponding patches can be selected relative to the [Swatch Type] selection. The [PatchSingle color sample contained in a swatch. Used as part of profile generation. Width], [Patch Height], [Label Gap] and [Patch Gap] are defined by the user.

 

Source Color

This displays the currently selected source color; the selected color space and current device values.

When Swatch Books are accessed from the "Color Replacement" dialog the source color will already have been selected. To change the selected color, click [Edit] button..

 

When using Swatch Books without starting with “Color Replacement”, you will need to select and edit the source color by clicking button..

 

Color Type

Select the color type from any of the following:

• CMYKSystem for describing colors based on a combination of values for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black; the ink colors used in four-color process printing. In theory, 100% of Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow create Black. In practice, the addition of Black ink is necessary to print a true Black. See also RGBSystem for describing colors based on a combination of values for Red, Green, and Blue—the additive primaries. RGB is the basic additive color model used for color video display. Mixing various percentages of red, green, and blue light can recreate most of the spectrum; combining 100% of all three creates white light. See CMYK, Additive Color..
• RGB
• Lab
• Spot ColorA specific color or type applied to individual graphic items.
• Device Values (Printer Ink Channels)

 

You can also measure a source color using a supported hand-held spectrophotometer.

 

Auto Patches

When [Auto Patches] is selected, you can choose the type of variation and the [+/- ] degree of variation to be applied to the swatch.

Select a variation type from the following:

• Saturation (1-Dimensional Only)
• Lightness
• Chroma
• Hue

Swatch Books 2.0

In the Swatch Books dialog, a new set of swatches can be created from a selected swatch. The Swatch Books dialog now displays information about the selected color. To create a new set of swatches, simply click on a one of the patches in the preview and then click the "Set as Source" button in the Selected Color section of the dialog. The preview will then refresh and display the new patches which are based on the selected color.

Print ModeA Print Mode is an individual characterization of Ink, MediaA paper or other substrate that the printer creates images on. and Printer Settings. Print Modes can have any number of variables, intended for different output targets. Some examples of multiple print modes for the same media are: High Speed, Production, High Quality, and Ink Saving Modes. Print modes allow for multiple output conditions on the same material. defined color:

In the Swatch Books dialog, selected colors can be added as custom colors in the Print Mode. To do this, click on one of the patches in the preview and then click the "Add to Print Mode" button in the Selected Color section of the dialog. This will display a new dialog where additional information can be specified for the color before it is added to the Print Mode.

Measurement based Swatch selection:

Measurement based swatches can be printed when Lab or Spot colors are selected as the Source Color for Swatch Books. Measurement based swatches have the same patches as visual Swatch Books printed in a form that can be directly measured using a color measurement device.

Measurement based Swatch Books utilize the color check mechanisms for printing and measuring the swatches. In the swatch report (after swatch is printed and measured) a patch can first be selected and then device values for the selected patch can be added as a print mode based color replacement by pressing the <Add to Print Mode...> button.

Users may also create an iterative swatch book to attempt to dial in more closely on their desired color be clicking the Swatch Books button from the report results screen.

Note: Users will need to adjust the settings for successive swatch books to receive substantially different swatches. For instance, they may want to change the auto patches tolerance from +/-5 to +/-1 to get more options within a smaller range.

Interactive Swatches:

When doing a color replacement in Job Editor, a patch in the Swatch Books dialog can be specified as the replacement color. To do this, first select the color in the job that is to be replaced. Then open the Swatch Books dialog and select the replacement color from one of the patches in the preview. Make sure the "Use selected color for color replacement" check box is selected and then click the "Close" button. The selected color in Swatch Books will then be used as the replacement color in the job.