Colors

For each shape (shapeblocks / forms from the editor) or character (text), as long as this function is not disabled via the block settings, the color can be changed in the printformer editor. 

Excepted are image blocks and text blocks:

• For image frames, a fill color and/or stroke can be created in the InDesign document, but it cannot be changed in the editor. 

• If fill and/or stroke color are defined for text frames in the InDesign document, the color can be changed in the editor.
  

Color management

The Color Management menu (Publish > Colors > Overview) contains an overview of the colors that have already been created. The table contains information about the color name, the display color and the print color, as well as the clients assigned to each color.

By using Add color, the color name, display color and printing color can be defined for a new color. In addition, you can enter an individual name for each color and assign it to a client (necessary if your system has more than one client).

A monitor uses the RGB color space, while printing usually uses the CMYK color space or special spot colors. Since these cover different areas of the visible color spectrum, an exact conversion between print and display colors is not possible. Therefore, there are visible differences between colors on the monitor and in print. For this purpose it is possible to create self-defined display colors in the color management, which are as close as possible to the print result.

The display color always uses the RGB color space and is specified as a hexadecimal value. The CMYK, Pantone, HKS and SPOT color spaces (drop-down menu) are available for the printing color. 
For Pantone or HKS colors, the desired color number is entered: as soon as two or three digits have been entered, a corresponding selection appears; the hex value for the display color is then entered automatically. SPOT allows to define a free custom color. 
(If the color is activated in a color profile and assigned to a template, the color value defined via Display color is automatically applied in the editor. So the color display in the editor can be optimized).

addition, there is a function to import and export colors in tabular format.

When creating a printformer template, the colors contained in the IDML are read out (Used colors menu). If these are not yet available in the system, they can be created directly from the link to the Color menu and assigned to a color set or color profile. Note: Spot colors cannot yet be read out of the IDML file and applied.

Special features of color setting in the printformer editor

• In the printformer editor, there is a free color picker by default and no predefined color swatches unless a color set is assigned to the template.

• If the template has a color assignment (color set) and "User can add own colors" has been activated in it, the user can add own color fields.
  These are then saved across templates in the user profile and are thus also available (and deletable) in other templates, provided that the template has been assigned a color set, with the function "User can add own colors".

• No gradients are possible (if a shape with a gradient is defined in the InDesign document, it appears transparent in the editor and no other color can be assigned to the shape). If the design of the template provides for gradients, these can be created on the background layer (not editable) or placed as an image (e.g. JPG, SVG).

• It is not possible to create fill colors or strokes in the editor; if a block already has a fill or stroke color in the IDML file, this color can be changed in the editor. However, the strength of the stroke cannot be changed in the editor. Shapes with strokes can currently cause problems.

• The brightness of the hue cannot be changed, but the opacity of the element can be reduced.

• If the template contains SVG files, the colors are imported from the file (color-mapping) and can be changed.

Color sets

In the Color sets menu, the colors created in printformer can be grouped, e.g. to limit the color selection in a template to predefined colors.

The color set is then assigned to the template in the template configuration.

This makes the colors selected here available to the user as color fields in the editor.

If the checkbox User can add own colors is activated, the user has the additional possibility to add more colors in the editor.

The plus symbol opens a pop-up. Depending on which color spaces are available in the color set, the user can enter the color values he wants in RGB or CMYK mode, or select a color by clicking on it. In the case of Pantone and HKS colors, he can enter the color code via drop-down and then confirm it using the selection displayed (from the color library).

The colors created by the user are also displayed as color fields below the system colors. A color can be selected and deleted via the trash can icon.

Alternatively, a color set can be used to restrict the selection of colors for a template to spot colors only. (However, at least one predefined color must be included in the set).

If the IDML of the template contains elements with colors that are not stored in the color set, but which can be customized by the user, a note appears (color is not in the color set).

Color profiles

Color profiles can be used to adjust the display of colors in the printformer editor.
This way, specially defined web colors can be used to replace the standard view of the colors in the browser and thus adapt it to the later print result.

When creating a color, the value for the display color is already defined in the editor. If this is now activated in a color profile and assigned to a template, the RGB color value defined via display color is automatically used in the editor for all elements with the print color defined in the color.

To do this, the colors already created in printformer for a color profile are selected and saved in the Color profiles menu.

In the template configuration under color assignment, the profile is then assigned to the desired template(s):

In order for the display color to be applied correctly in the editor, the color values of the individual elements must exactly match the print color that was created in printformer.

ICC-Profile

To convert images in the editor (via the Color Space Conversion block effect), corresponding ICC profiles can be uploaded here.

(ICC profiles that have already been uploaded can also be downloaded later for other use via a button).