The color management experience for users

You have many options for how you work: You can work with proven default settings, implement source setups and output setups from a color expert, or work within a legacy color management environment.


Working in the default color management environment

The default settings are designed to provide accurate previews and excellent output in the majority of situations. You do not need to set anything, but if you want to look at the default settings, you can check the monitor profile, source setup, and soft proofing selections in the Preferences dialog box (QuarkXPress/Edit menu).


Specifying a color engine

The Color Engine drop-down menu lets you choose which color engine is used to transform colors for color management. The available options include LogoSync CMM, Kodak CMM, and System Settings.


Specifying a monitor profile

The Display pane’s Monitor area shows the monitor profile in use. The default setting, Automatic, refers to the current monitor recognized by Mac OS or Windows. You can choose a different profile from the Profile drop-down menu. You might change the default monitor profile, for example, if you have a custom profile for your monitor or if you’re switching between a laptop and a desktop computer and want to simulate the same viewing environment.


Specifying a source setup

The Color Manager pane’s Source Options area shows the default source setup, QuarkXPress 7.0 Default, which provides the most recent, proven color management environment. If you prefer the color management environment from a version of QuarkXPress prior to 7.0, you can choose QuarkXPress Emulate Legacy from the Source Setup drop-down menu.


Specifying a default proof output setup

To specify a default output setup for viewing color in Print layouts, choose an option from the Proof Output drop-down list.


Specifying a rendering intent

The Rendering Intent drop-down menu shows the method used for converting colors from one color space to another. The default setting, Absolute Colorimetric, renders in-gamut colors precisely and maps out-of-gamut colors to the closest possible hue. Depending on the type of jobs you work on — for example, if the emphasis is on line art and Pantone colors rather than on photographs — you may want to choose a different option from the Rendering Intent drop-down menu.


Color managing multi-color-space EPS and PDF pictures

Some EPS and PDF files can contain elements that use different color spaces. For example, a PDF or EPS file might contain a picture that uses the RGB color space and a color that uses the CMYK color space. To allow QuarkXPress to manage these various elements appropriately using the specified output setup, check Color manage imported EPS/PDF in layout.

Parent topic: Color management

The color management experience for users