8.5

Color management for experts
While QuarkXPress is designed to provide great color throughout a workflow right out of
the box, a color expert can always customize and fine-tune color management settings to
specific jobs, equipment, and output processes. If you understand color theory and all the
terminology involved in color management — such as profiles and rendering intents —
you can create custom source setups and output setups that reflect specific workflows. The
setups are portable, so you can then share them with users to prevent color surprises, on
screen and on press.
Creating a source setup
A source setup describes colors in a layout as they exist prior to output — in other words,
where the colors came from. A source setup contains profiles and rendering intents for
both solid colors and pictures in RGB, CMYK, LAB, and grayscale. In addition, it includes
information about the underlying color space for named colors (such as Pantone Process
Coated colors) and inks (such as cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and multi-inks). You might
create source setups for clients based on their standard workflows, or you might create
source setups for a specific project.
To get started in creating a source setup, you will need to know some details about the
hardware and software involved in a client's workflow — what type of digital camera and
scanner they use, for example — and you'll need to make sure the relevant profiles are
available. It's also helpful to see sample projects so you know what types of pictures, colors,
inks, and devices they're working with, such as logos, charts and graphs, photographs,
and duotones, output to SWOP or displayed on the Web.
To create a source setup choose Edit > Color Setups > Source.
Creating an output setup
An output setup describes the capabilities of various types of output devices and determines
how colors are handled in various output scenarios. You can think of an output setup as
"where colors are going." An output setup specifies composite or separation output, the
output mode, and an output profile. You create output setups both for display simulation
using View > Proof Output and for actual output in print, PDF, and other formats.
As with source setups, to get started in creating an output setup, you need to know details
about typical jobs, output methods, and equipment. For example, it's helpful to know the
name and have the profiles for any composite printing devices. QuarkXPress provides
default output setups for various workflows: As Is, Composite CMYK, Composite CMYK
and Spot, Composite Hexachrome, Composite RGB, Convert To Process, Grayscale, In-RIP
Separations, and Process and Spot.
To create an output setup, choose Edit > Color Setups > Output.
Sharing source and output setups
Source setups and output setups are portable, so color experts can easily distribute them
to users and workgroups. Source setups can be appended from other projects and output
setups can be exported as individual files and saved in output styles. Both types of setups,
A GUIDE TO QUARKXPRESS 8.5: PLUS EDITION | 187
COLOR, OPACITY, AND DROP SHADOWS