You can modify the appearance of a spot color, print and compare the color
reproduction of neighboring colors that have slightly different hues and saturation or
brightness levels, and choose one to use.
To print 21 variations, you require a
media size that is at least Letter or A4 size. To print 70 variations, you require a
media size that is at least Tabloid or A3 size.
By default, spot color
variations are imported into the Command WorkStation Job Center and the job prints automatically on import.
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In Spot Pro, under Group,
click to select one custom spot color or shift-click or cmd-click to select
multiple custom spot colors to generate 21 or 70 variations.
For variations of a single color, the currently selected color
is reflected in the center patch of the center hexagon in the lower area of
the Spot Pro color editor pane under
Variations.
The active controls for changing the color are the
poly-hexagonal shapes. The target color is highlighted. The hexagons to the
left and right represent the next variation of saturation or brightness. The
color variations arrows (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow) show the
direction of the color hue shift from the center patch. Clicking on an arrow
moves the targeted color in the direction of the arrow.
For variations of multiple colors, the currently selected color is reflected
in the center patch of the 21 or 70 patch rectangular layout.
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Select a tuning mode, Saturation or
Brightness.
The tuning mode allows you to make changes to a spot color based
on brightness or saturation.
Move the Less arrow or
More arrow to increase or decrease the percentage
of saturation or brightness.
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To control the magnitude of variation in the neighboring patches, move the
slider closer to Fine (for smaller variation) or
Coarse (for larger variation).
The Fine or Course slider
provides the increment of edit that will occur per click. The default
setting is in the middle.
Note: When you select certain
colors, an exclamation point icon may appear in the upper-right corner of
the Spot Pro color editor pane. This icon
indicates that one or more colorants have reached their maximum
values.
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To print variations for a single spot color, click the Print icon next to
Variations, or to print variations for multiple spot
colors, either right-click or click Send to Ready to
Print in the menu bar and select
Variations, then choose a paper source and select
either 21 or 70 variations.
For variations for a single spot color, you may choose the patch
layout for the variations, and select the media or substrate source.
Variations for multiple spot colors print in either a 3 x 7 rectangular grid
for 21 variations, or 5 x 14 rectangular grid for 70 variations.
Matching spot colors accurately on a monitor is very difficult.
Always print a test page to get the proper color match.
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To print variations for a single spot color, select one of the following
pattern layouts:
- Color search pattern - Prints three
groups of color patches that are arranged similarly to the honeycomb
pattern.
- Color neighbor pattern - Prints
color patches in a 3 x 7 grid. The middle patch of the top row shows the
original spot color. Furthermore, the grid pattern provides details of each
color patch's color values.
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To print variations for multiple spot colors, the Color neighbor
pattern prints color patches in a 3 x 7 rectangular grid for 21
variations, or in a 5 x 14 rectangular grid for 70 variations.
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Select the media or substrate source.
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Click OK.
You can print color neighbor patterns for multiple iterations,
and then select which color patch to use from each chart by typing in the
desired color values.
Note: If you print the color search pattern, do not exit Spot Pro until the chart has been printed and you have selected
the color patch you want to use.
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Identify the spot color patch with the best color reproduction and do one of
the following:
) to return to the original spot color and
its variations.