On Tuesday 28 December 2004 15:58, 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...
And for those who asked the question, Louis has mentioned things we plan to do (given he has been part of those plans) Craig -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://nashi.altmuehlnet.de/pipermail/scribus/attachments/20041228/59ed6d6d/attachment.pgp
