Getting the Right Color

If you've printed more than a few pages of color documents, you know about this problem. Colors on the screen don't match colors on the printer, and sometime neither match colors of real world objects.

It's a wonder that colors match at all. After all, your eyes can see millions of different colors, but not exactly the same colors as other humans. And paper, lighting, and other factors can make color look different.

Setting The Standards

As with most things in life, there is a standard body with a three letter acronym. In this case the International Color Consortium (the ICC). Of course they have a web site about color standards and a deal with your printer manufacturer.

If you want to really make sure all the colors match, you need Pantone™ color matching. You've probably seen their formula guides at your local print shop. Pantone defines some 10,109 precise colors.. many times the number of paint chips at the hardware store, with a system that's been used for decades by the graphics art industry, manufacturers advertising agencies and others to make sure colors look the same.

Pantone color definitions can be used to make sure the color on your business cards matches the color on your outdoor signs, packaging, TV commercial and even your products. Once you decide on the perfect color, the Pantone color number allows you to specify what matches and what doesn't.

If you want to know what Pantone color an item is, you can get a Pantone Color Cue™,  hold it up to the color in question, push a button and know the color matches. You can find out about this an dozens of other such tools at http://Pantone.com

What About My Printer?

Most computer printer manufacturer work with the ICC and Pantone to have the colors systems certified to match colors. Naturally, the colors made by toner and ink combinations are going to work differently than the solid ink colors used at a print shop or the dye used in manufacturing of other goods. However, the matching systems should get you a lot closer to the colors you need.

By installing color profiles for your monitor, scanner, and printer, colors will be matched to the Pantone system. You can read about this, and get downloads at the Microsoft Color Management page (Microsoft uses Pantone PMS 279 for their logo in case you're wondering).

Shopping For A Printer

All the manufacturers claim that they have beautiful color printing, with millions of color combinations. But each printer has a kind of signature called a gamut, printing some colors better than others.

Hewlett Packard uses ColorSmart to actually adjust the way colors are used on your printer to match the combinations of colors used in each individual page. This all happens while the print is being processed and allows for more precise matching and a largest gamut of colors.

It's a complex process, but it's at the heart of how HP manages to beat everyone at the color matching game. Even the cheapest color printers will print a nice looking photo, but for color matching, most experts will go with the HP Color LaserJet line.

If you're looking for the best way to buy a color laser printer, look at Landmark special "factory refurb" program... limited quantities of printers that look, act, and guaranteed like new, but sold at a very substantial discount. Click here for color laser printer deals

Copyright 2003, LaserPage.com, all rights reserved