Understanding CopySmart
CopySmart
in normal COPY mode works by converting the scanned original
to data that a large format inkjet printer can understand - as the
scanner scans the original. Because no file is made from the
data
(unlike a RIP), there are no large graphics file left behind on the
computer. Also the process is relatively fast because data
from
the original is processed immediately and does not rely on transfer
backwards and forwards from any hard disk storage system.
CopySmart in PREVIEW mode works by storing the scanned data on disk
allowing the user to crop the data, insert text and select sharpening
filters if necessary. Pressing COPY applies any edits and
then
prints the original to the target printer. No rewind of the
document is made. CopySmart can be used with the ICM colour profiles already supplied by
Colortrac or the operator can choose to produce his/her own profiles
using the built-in CopySmart profiling procedure. The whole
operation takes about 10 minutes. A new scanner profile can
be
made for SmartLF but this should only be necessary infrequently because
the light source inside is designed to remain constant over the
lifetime of the scanner. New printer and consumables profiles
should always be made when consumables are changed. This will
ensure CopySmart keeps on copying from original to printer with the
best colour match possible.
When CopySmart is started for the first time, the program will prompt
the user to create a scanner profile using the supplied IT8.7/2 target
and the user should proceed by following the on-screen
prompts.
If the user chooses not to carry out profiling and cancels, a generic
scanner profile will be used instead. CopySmart Wizard will
then
continue by asking the user to produce a printer profile using its own
printer target printed by the selected printer (which itself is set up
by the Wizard). CopySmart automatically installs the newly
created profiles and will continue using these until alternatives are
manually selected or the profiling process is repeated.
The CopySmart configuration tasks handled by the Wizard at startup can
be run manually at any time using the i-button dialogue box.
Finally, CopySmart colour profiling uses a
back-to-back referencing
system based on the industry standard IT8.7/2 target. The
profiler begins by calculating any corrections needed on the scan
data. The system then calculates how the printer is
performing by
back-correcting a scan of the printer target. By combining
both
profiles CopySmart can correct along the complete path from scanner to
printer (within the limits of the printer gamut and the
scanner’s
colour characteristics) and so reproduce a high quality copy of the
original.
CopySmart uses the scanner profile and the printer profile and
'connects' them inside the mathematical LAB Profile Connection Space'
or PCS. This connecting process makes allowances for the
smaller
gamut of the printer and manages the correction of scanner colours that
would otherwise be unprintable. The rendering intent or
method that CopySmart uses
for this is the 'Relative
Colorimetric'
system. Relative Colorimetric colour movement seeks
to
preserve the natural balance between colours that have to be shifted
into gamut and white point. Other types of
rendering used in profiling can be; Perceptual,
Absolute
Colorimetric and Saturation but when moving from a higher
gamut
device (scanner) to a lower gamut device (printer) as in the CopySmart
system, relative colorimetric profiling is recommended.
