NewDeal Technical Support Document 247

COLOR PRINTING


Information about printing in color with NewDeal software

Note: This support document is about NewDeal software. You must have NewDeal software to use NewDeal print drivers.

Some History

Geoworks Ensemble 1.0 will not print in color at all.

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

Geoworks Ensemble 2.0 and NewDeal 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 only two inkjet printers that do not print in color from NewDeal:
  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

Note: If your printer is not listed in Preferences, NewDeal might still support it. Printer manufacturers introduce new printer models every few months. Most unlisted printers will work with our print 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 (Unlisted Printers) or look for more information about your printer in document 272 (Specific Printer Notes).

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.

print 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.

NewDeal 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.

Pantone Matching System (PMS)

The Pantone Matching System is a standard used by some softwares to generate colors that are reliable across various video displays and printers. Pantone generally requires special hardware, or hardware that has been carefully adjusted. NewDeal software does not support Pantone at this time.

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 print 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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Last Modified 16 Feb 1999