About color management system (CMS)
Since devices such as a digital camera, scanner, monitor, or printer produce color differently, the printing result looks different from the image you see on the display. To adjust the color between devices, use the color management system. Both Windows and Mac OS X have a color management system as their standard feature. Also, some image editing software support the color management system.
Each operating system supports the color management system, such as ICM for Windows and ColorSync for Mac OS. When performing color management using the printer driver, the color management system of the operating system is also used. In this color management system, a color definition file called the ICC profile is used for performing color matching between devices.
The ICC profile is prepared for each printer model and each media type. For a digital camera, the color domain of sRGB, AdobeRGB, etc., may be specified as the profile.
In color management, the profile of an input device is called an input profile (or source profile), and an output device, such as a printer, is called a printer profile (or output profile).
Variety of Printings 64 Note:
When you print an image taken by a digital camera or scanner, usually the printing result looks different from what you see on the display. This variance occurs because each device such as a digital camera, scanner, monitor, or printer, produces colors differently. In order to reduce the differences in color between each device, please perform color
management between each device.
Methods for color management Color management by printer driver
Application Printer driver Printer
Color management is performed by specifying the input profile and the printer profile by the printer driver. Color management can be performed even if you print data from an application that does not support ICM color management. If an application supports a color management function, turn it off for printing.
See “Color management by Driver ICM (Windows only)” on page 66.
Color management by application
input profile. Specify the printer profile.
You need to perform color matching with the printer driver before printing. An application needs to support ICM or ColorSync color management. Since it prints using the color management function of operating systems, a difference may appear in a printing color between Windows and Mac OS X.
See “Color management by Host ICM or ColorSync” on page 70.
Application Printer driver Printer
The color management is performed by specifying the input profile and the printer profile by the application. You can select this method when an application supports its own color management function. Color compensation should be turned off (no color adjustment) in the printer driver. Since neither ColorSync of Mac OS nor ICM of Windows is used as a color management system, a difference may not appear in a printing result between operating systems.
See “Color management by application” on page 74.
Application Printer driver Printer
Variety of Printings 66 Color management by Driver ICM (Windows only)
The following procedures are for Adobe Photoshop CS2 running on Windows XP. When using this function with an application which does not support a color management function, you need to perform the color matching process from step 4.
1. From the File menu, select Print with Preview.
2. Select Color Management, and select Document for the Print. Select No Color Management for the Color Handling.
Then click Done.
3. Open the printer driver window.
See “From Windows applications” on page 18.
Variety of Printings 68 4. Select Custom for the Mode in the Main menu, and select
ICM, and then click Advanced.
5. In the ICM dialog box, select Driver ICM (Basic) or Driver ICM (Advanced) for the ICM Mode.
If you select Driver ICM (Advanced), you can specify the profiles and intent for image, graphics, and text data individually.
6. Check other settings, and then start printing.
Variety of Printings 70 Color management by Host ICM or ColorSync
The following procedures are for Adobe Photoshop CS2 running on Windows XP.
Note:
❏ Use image data in which an input profile has been embedded.
❏ The application needs to support ICM or ColorSync.
1. From the File menu, select Print with Preview.
2. Select Color Management, and then select Document for the Print. Select Let Printer Determine Colors for the Color Handling. Then click Done.
3. Open the printer driver window (Windows) or the Print dialog (Mac OS X).
For Windows, see “From Windows applications” on page 18.
For Mac OS X, see “Accessing the Printer Driver” on page 44.
Variety of Printings 72 4. For Windows, select Custom for the Mode in the Main menu,
and select ICM, and then click Advanced.
For Mac OS X, select Printer Color Management.
5. Select Host ICM (Windows) or ColorSync (Mac OS X) in the Printer Color Management dialog.
6. Check other settings, and then start printing.
Variety of Printings 74 Color management by application
The following procedures are for Adobe Photoshop CS2 running on Windows XP.
Refer to the application’s user manual for details of the settings.
1. From the File menu, select Print with Preview.
2. Select Color Management, and select Document for the Print. Select Let Photoshop Determine Colors for the Color Handling. Select the Printer Profile and the Rendering Intent.
Then click Done.
3. Open the printer driver window (Windows) or the Print dialog (Mac OS X).
For Windows, see “From Windows applications” on page 18.
For Mac OS X, see “Accessing the Printer Driver” on page 44.
Variety of Printings 76 4. For Windows, select Custom for the Mode in the Main menu,
and then select No Color Adjustment.
For Mac OS X, select Off (No Color Adjustment) in the Printer Color Management dialog.
5. Check other settings, and then start printing.