Fix for 687591 Overprint Preview is not documented
"Dan Coby" <[email protected]> Thu, 22 Jul 2004 23:13:10 -0700
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.printing.ghostscript.patches |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Fix for 687591 Overprint Preview is not documented. This change adds
documentaion for how Ghostscript handles overprinting and spot colors
to Use.htm.
Index: doc/Use.htm
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/ghostscript/gs/doc/Use.htm,v
retrieving revision 1.109
diff -u -r1.109 Use.htm
--- doc/Use.htm 29 May 2004 01:21:54 -0000 1.109
+++ doc/Use.htm 23 Jul 2004 06:05:05 -0000
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
</ul>
<li><a href="#EPS">Using Ghostscript with EPS files</a>
+<li><a href="#SPOT">Using Ghostscript with overprinting and spot colors</a>
<li><a href="#Finding_files">How Ghostscript finds files</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#PS_resources">Finding PostScript Level 2 resources</a>
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@
Ghostscript on unix-like systems type:
<blockquote>
- <b><tt><pre>gs</tt></b> [options] {filename 1} ... [options] {filename <em>N</em>} ...
+ <pre><b><tt>gs</tt></b> [options] {filename 1} ... [options] {filename <em>N</em>} ...
</pre></blockquote>
<p>Here are some basic examples. The details of how these work are described below.
@@ -625,6 +626,79 @@
class="offsite">
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/technotes/postscript.html</a>
+<h2><a name="SPOT"></a>Using Ghostscript with overprinting and spot colors</h2>
+
+<p>
+In general with PostScript and PDF interpreters, the handling of
+<b>overprinting</b> and <b>spot colors</b> depends upon the
+process color model of the <a href="#Output_device">output device</a>. Devices
+that produce gray or RGB output have an <b>additive</b> process color model.
+Devices which produce CMYK output have a <b>subtractive</b> process color model.
+Devices may, or may not, have support for spot colors.
+
+<blockquote><i>
+Note: The differences in appearance of files with overprinting and spot colors
+caused by the differences in the color model of the output device are part of the
+PostScript and PDF specifications. They are not due to a limitation in the
+implementation of Ghostscript or its output devices.
+</i></blockquote>
+
+<p>
+With devices which use a subtractive process color model, both PostScript
+and PDF allow the drawing of objects using colorants (inks) for one or more planes
+without affecting the data for the remaining colorants. Thus the inks for one
+object may <b><tt>overprint</tt></b> the inks for another object. In some cases
+this produces a transparency like effect. (The effects of overprinting should
+not be confused with the PDF 1.4 blending operations which are supported for
+all output devices.) Overprinting is not allowed for devices with an additive
+process color model. With files that use overprinting, the appearance of the
+resulting image can differ between devices which produce RGB output versus devices
+which produce CMYK output. Ghostscript automatically overprints (if needed)
+when the output device uses a subtractive process color model. For example,
+if the file is using overprinting, differences can be seen in the appearance
+of the output from the <a href="Devices.htm#TIFF">tiff24nc and tiff32nc devices</a>
+which use an RGB and a CMYK process color models.
+
+<p>
+Most of the Ghostscript <a href="Devices.htm">output devices</a> do not have
+file formats which support spot colors. Instead spot colors are converted using
+the tint transform function contained within the color space definition.. However
+there are several devices which have support for spot colors. The PSD format
+(Adobe Photoshop) produced by the <a href="Devices.htm#PSD">psdcmyk device</a>
+contains both the raster data plus an equivalent CMYK color for each spot color.
+This allows Photoshop to simulate the appearance of the spot colors. The <a href="De
vices.htm#display_device">display
+device (MS Windows, OS/2, gtk+)</a> can be used with different color models:
+Gray, RGB, CMYK only, or CMYK plus spot colors (separation). The display device,
+when using its CMYK plus spot color (separation) mode, also uses an equivalent
+CMYK color to simulate the appearance of the spot color. The
+<a href="Devices.htm#TIFF">tiffsep
+device</a> creates output files for each separation (CMYK and any spot colors
+present). It also creates a composite CMYK file using an equivalent CMYK color
+to simulate the appearance of spot colors. The
+<a href="Devices.htm#XCF">xcfcmyk device</a>
+creates output files with spot colors placed in separate alpha channels. (The
+XCF file format does not currently directly support spot colors.)
+
+<p>
+Overprinting with spot colors is not allowed if the tint transform function
+is being used to convert spot colors. Thus if spot colors are used with overprinting
,
+then the appearance of the result can differ between output devices. One result
+would be obtained with a CMYK only device and another would be obtained with
+a CMYK plus spot color device. In a worst case situation where a file has overprinti
ng
+with both process (CMYK) and spot colors, it is possible to get three different
+appearances for the same input file using the
+<a href="Devices.htm#TIFF">tiff24nc</a> (RGB),
+<a href="Devices.htm#TIFF">tiff32nc</a> (CMYK), and
+<a href="Devices.htm#TIFF">tiffsep</a> (CMYK plus spot colors) devices.
+
+<blockquote><i>
+In Adobe Acrobat, viewing of the effects of overprinting is enabled by the
+'Overprint Preview' item in the 'Advanced' menu. This feature is not available
+in the free Acrobat Reader. The free Acrobat Reader also uses the tint transform
+functions to convert spot colors to the appropriate alternate color space.
+</i></blockquote>
+
+
<hr>
<h2><a name="Finding_files"></a>How Ghostscript finds files</h2>