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247

COLOR PRINTING


Information about printing in color with New Deal software

Some History

Geoworks Ensemble 1.0 will not print in color at all.

Geoworks Ensemble 1.2, Geoworks Pro, and Quick Start will print in color only on PostScript-compatible color printers.

Geoworks Ensemble 2.0 and New Deal software will print in color on most dot matrix and inkjet color printers, and most laser and PostScript printers.

Specific Printers

As of this writing, we are aware of several inkjet printers that do not print in color from New Deal:
  1. HP PaintJet - original model (The newer Paintjet XL-300 is supported.)
  2. HP DeskJet 1200C - unless you add the optional Post Script support to the printer
  3. Canon BJC "Windows-only" printers - Some of the newer models in the Canon BJC line use a proprietary language for color printing that is not yet supported by New Deal software. Some may print in black and white using the Canon BJ drivers or by emulating other printers, however.

Note: If your printer is not listed in Preferences, New Deal might still support it. Printer manufacturers introduce new printer models every few months. Most unlisted printers will work with our printer drivers because they emulate other existing printers. Check your printer manual or consult the company that makes your printer to find out what emulations are supported. For more information on unlisted printers, see support document 242.

Some General Notes About Color and Printing

Our software supports 24 bit color internally. You can create objects using over 16 million different colors. Simply change the values in the RGB (red, green, blue) controls where available in the applications.

When using video drivers that support only 16 fixed colors or 256 fixed colors, other colors are displayed on screen using a dithering (blending dots of the available colors to simulate the desired color) or a closest match process, as appropriate.

Printer drivers support more colors, however, so you may be able to print more colors than you can see on your video monitor. Matching colors from video display to printed output is a complicated process that no software or hardware is able to perform with complete accuracy. This is due to the fact that printing uses a CYMK (cyan, yellow, magenta, black) model to blend inks, while video uses the RGB (red, green, blue) model to blend light.

You may wish to create and print some sample documents containing objects with a variety different RGB settings to use as a guideline when choosing colors in your work.

The software supports import and export of 8 bit (256 color) graphics. The imported images are mapped to the closest colors in the standard IBM fixed 256 color palette, so the results range from excellent to not-so-great, depending on the palette of the original graphic.

If an imported image is not giving you satisfactory results, it may help to dither the image to match the fixed palette before you import it. Several graphic manipulation softwares are available that can perform this task, including some that are distributed electronically as shareware or for free. Among the more popular are PicLab 1.83 and PaintShop Pro, along with commercial offerings like Adobe PhotoShop or MicroGrafx Picture Publisher.

The distinction between RGB and CMYK is an important one. Many RGB colors have no CMYK equivalent, so you'll get the nearest color, but the color may not be what you expect. An example is RGB Blue (R 0 G 0 B 255) which appears bright and intense on screen, somewhat like a royal blue, but prints very dark, closer to a medium midnight blue. RGB provides over 16 million colors, while CMYK is limited to about one million different colors. The ability of the driver to transmit the correct values and the ability of the printer to render the correct values are other factors that will affect your output.

Gradient Fills

When I do a gradient fill, the display shows a coarse transition with large dots, lines, and patterns, why?

Our software supports 24 bit RGB color, that is over 16 million colors. However, your video driver may only be providing a 16 color or 256 color display.

If you are using the standard 16-color VGA display, all colors outside of the 16-color IBM palette (or the 256 color IBM palette, if using the 256 color video driver) appear dithered on screen. A smooth gradient requires hundreds and sometimes thousands of colors. So your gradients may look coarsely dithered because of the video limitations.

If you export a gradient filled object to an 8-bit (256 color) format and view it in a program supporting 256 color display, you'll see that gradient looks a lot smoother than it did in our software if you are using the standard 16 color VGA or EGA video driver. The information is there, the software simply wasn't displaying it in all its glory.

Will my gradient print with a smooth transition?

Colors will print as CMYK to CMYK color printers, or as grayscale to printers supporting grayscale. How well the gradient looks will very much depend on the printer driver and the printer; how close the colors match what you see on the screen will also depend on how well your monitor renders color.

An image with a 255-step gradation may display beautifully on screen, but the printed image may appear broken into distinct sections. Even PostScript printers and high-end imagesetters can be prone to gradient banding. Check to see how many gray levels your printer can handle. If it cannot handle at least 64 gray levels, then gradients may not appear very smooth.

Color Palettes

Our standard VGA video driver displays the IBM 16 color palette:

0 0 0

0 0 170

0 170 0

0 170 170

170 0 0

170 0 170

170 85 0

170 170 170

85 85 85

85 85 255

85 255 85

85 255 255

255 85 85

255 85 255

255 255 85

255 255 255

Our import filters map colors from the original files to the nearest colors in the standard IBM 256 color palette:


0 0 0

0 0 170

0 170 0

0 170 170

170 0 0

170 0 170

170 85 0

170 170 170

85 85 85

85 85 255

85 255 85

85 255 255

255 85 85

255 85 255

255 255 85

255 255 255

0 0 0

17 17 17

34 34 34

51 51 51

68 68 68

85 85 85

102 102 102

119 119 119

136 136 136

153 153 153

170 170 170

187 187 187

204 204 204

221 221 221

238 238 238

255 255 255

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 51

0 0 102

0 0 153

0 0 204

0 0 255

0 51 0

0 51 51

0 51 102

0 51 153

0 51 204

0 51 255

0 102 0

0 102 51

0 102 102

0 102 153

0 102 204

0 102 255

0 153 0

0 153 51

0 153 102

0 153 153

0 153 204

0 153 255

0 204 0

0 204 51

0 204 102

0 204 153

0 204 204

0 204 255

0 255 0

0 255 51

0 255 102

0 255 153

0 255 204

0 255 255

51 0 0

51 0 51

51 0 102

51 0 153

51 0 204

51 0 255

51 51 0

51 51 51

51 51 102

51 51 153

51 51 204

51 51 255

51 102 0

51 102 51

51 102 102

51 102 153

51 102 204

51 102 255

51 153 0

51 153 51

51 153 102

51 153 153

51 153 204

51 153 255

51 204 0

51 204 51

51 204 102

51 204 153

51 204 204

51 204 255

51 255 0

51 255 51

51 255 102

51 255 153

51 255 204

51 255 255

102 0 0

102 0 51

102 0 102

102 0 153

102 0 204

102 0 255

102 51 0

102 51 51

102 51 102

102 51 153

102 51 204

102 51 255

102 102 0

102 102 51

102 102 102

102 102 153

102 102 204

102 102 255

102 153 0

102 153 51

102 153 102

102 153 153

102 153 204

102 153 255

102 204 0

102 204 51

102 204 102

102 204 153

102 204 204

102 204 255

102 255 0

102 255 51

102 255 102

102 255 153

102 255 204

102 255 255

153 0 0

153 0 51

153 0 102

153 0 153

153 0 204

153 0 255

153 51 0

153 51 51

153 51 102

153 51 153

153 51 204

153 51 255

153 102 0

153 102 51

153 102 102

153 102 153

153 102 204

153 102 255

153 153 0

153 153 51

153 153 102

153 153 153

153 153 204

153 153 255

153 204 0

153 204 51

153 204 102

153 204 153

153 204 204

153 204 255

153 255 0

153 255 51

153 255 102

153 255 153

153 255 204

153 255 255

204 0 0

204 0 51

204 0 102

204 0 153

204 0 204

204 0 255

204 51 0

204 51 51

204 51 102

204 51 153

204 51 204

204 51 255

204 102 0

204 102 51

204 102 102

204 102 153

204 102 204

204 102 255

204 153 0

204 153 51

204 153 102

204 153 153

204 153 204

204 153 255

204 204 0

204 204 51

204 204 102

204 204 153

204 204 204

204 204 255

204 255 0

204 255 51

204 255 102

204 255 153

204 255 204

204 255 255

255 0 0

255 0 51

255 0 102

255 0 153

255 0 204

255 0 255

255 51 0

255 51 51

255 51 102

255 51 153

255 51 204

255 51 255

255 102 0

255 102 51

255 102 102

255 102 153

255 102 204

255 102 255

255 153 0

255 153 51

255 153 102

255 153 153

255 153 204

255 153 255

255 204 0

255 204 51

255 204 102

255 204 153

255 204 204

255 204 255

255 255 0

255 255 51

255 255 102

255 255 153

255 255 204

255 255 255

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