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...
