[Scribus] Re: Spot colors

[celiosanto9]

Dear Scribus Team,

There is no need to name a Spot Color as Pantone 145 CV  ( just an 
example)  you can name the color "Spot Color 145 Coated" and leave the 
Pre-Press workflow system substitute it by whatsoever is desired.

A lot of big companies have done it without any royaltie or penalty.

Regards to ALL and have a Happy New Year !

Celio Santos
celio at electronic.srv.br

Louis Desjardins wrote:
>> At 06:25 28/12/2004, you wrote:
>>
>>> Its not about the code, its about the fee/royalties/large sums of 
>>> cash that
>>> need to be paid to use the systems.
>>
>>
>> Craig
>>
>> I don't know of how much money we are talking about, but what if 
>> someone comes with a commercial plugin to support those features in 
>> Scribus?
>> It could be a welcomed option for many Scribus potential users may be.
>>
>> Gabriel
> 
> 
> Hi,
> 
> [I changed the subject line to reflect more the discussion.] ;-)
> 
> Spot color support is a feature we need. No questions on that.
> 
> Support for "Pantone" or for any other "color match system" raises the 
> royalty/fee issue like Craig points out.
> 
> And we can't offer "Pantone" under GPL in Scribus, obviously, unless 
> Pantone releases its own system under GPL.
> 
> Now, tell me if I am wrong, but "spot color support" does not implies 
> Scribus needs, in an absolute manner, Pantone or the like color matching 
> systems. At least not in all cases.
> 
> On top of the royalty issue, I see 3 other issues related with color 
> matching systems like Pantone.
> 1. The color (plate) name that appears in the Postscript file and 
> ultimately on the film or plate.
> 2. Onscreen rendering of the spot color
> 3. Printed rendering on digital printers of the spot color (not offset 
> presses because it's up the pressmen to put the right ink... and then, 
> there is no other issue at the software end than being able to output a 
> plate for the extra color).
> 
> Solutions
> 1. Scribus lets users put any color name in the color creation dialog.
> 2. Scribus lets users put any combination of cmyk inks to produce a 
> color in the dialog box.
> 3. Most digital printers have their own rips and are all getting more 
> and more "Pantone certified"...
> 
> Basically, the only fundamental issue here is Scribus not being able to 
> output that spot color plate, so far. To my knowledge, the idea of "spot 
> color" itself is not copyrighted, or is it?
> 
> As you know, I am not an expert at "under the hood" software mechanics 
> but from what I've seen so far with various printers is they render 
> Pantone colors in many ways due to the printing engine, the 
> quality/type/number of the toners/inks they use in each particular 
> printer AND to the algorithm for Pantone matching built into their rips 
> - each vendor has its own solution based on the printer's gamut (and the 
> paper used). Some printer vendors claim to be able to reproduce up to 
> 85% of the Pantone palette on their machine. I never seen such a claim 
> in any DTP app.
> 
> All this to say, and again you tell me if I'm wrong, what Scribus needs 
> to send the printer is a color name it will recognize. The critical info 
> which is asked from the source app is that color name. How this 
> particular color is printed is up to the printer. Right?
> 
> When you want more control it must be done at the printer's rip, where 
> you can tweak the values for any spot color you want until you get the 
> desired result from your printer for that particular color (provided of 
> course you have access to these settings, which is not the case for many 
> if not all low-end printers/rips - you are then tied to your printer's 
> capabilities).
> 
>  From what I know, the only control Quark has over Pantone rendering is 
> screen related. The GUI offers an onscreen palette (the printed 
> equivalent on paper can be bought in graphic art supplies stores). It's 
> easier to work with a palette you can pick color from, I agree. At that 
> point, I think the vast majority of Scribus users, even profesionnals, 
> will be able to get along with a basic and usable "spot color support" 
> that will allow them to enter a color name such as "Pantone 185 C" (or 
> any other name), specify a decent screen rendering of that color, and 
> output the plate.
> 
> The idea of having an extra "commercial" plug-in for anyone of us who 
> absolutely need the Pantone palette for their work may be the preferred 
> solution. Unless we come up with an open source solution of which I 
> can't think of right now.
> 
> Coffee time!
> 
> Louis
> 
> P.S. The copyright aknowledgment about Pantone on the Quark splash 
> screen clearly say that onscreen color might differ from the actual 
> Pantone specs. Users are asked to refer to the printed material for 
> accurate color reference...