HP Color LaserJet 3600dn User Manual

							ItemDescription
IP SettingsChanges the printer network settings and provides access to the embedded Web server.
Additional SettingsProvides access to the embedded Web server.
E-mail AlertsConfigures the printer to send e-mail notices for certain events.
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							6Color
This chapter describes how to produce the best possible color printing:
●
Using color
●
Managing color
●
Matching colors
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							Using color
The HP Color LaserJet 3000, 3600, and 3800 Series printers provide automatic color features that
generate excellent color results.  Carefully designed and tested color tables provide smooth, accurate
color rendition of all printable colors.
The printers also provide sophisticated  tools for the experienced professional.
HP ImageREt
HP ImageREt is a technology that provides the best  color print quality without having to change printer
driver settings or make trade-offs between print  quality, performance, and memory. ImageREt produces
photorealistic images.
Depending on your printer, the following HP ImageRE t versions offer trapping technologies, control over
dot placement, and more precise control of the toner quality in a dot.
● HP ImageREt 2400
 (HP Color LaserJet 3000 Series printer) produces a 600x600 dpi print
resolution that provides 2400-dpi laser-cla ss quality with millions of smooth colors.
● HP ImageREt 3600
 (HP Color LaserJet 3600 and 3800 Series printers) produces a 600x600 dpi
print resolution that provides  3600-dpi laser-class quality with millio ns of smooth colors.
Media selection
For the best color and image quality, select the appropriate media type from the software printer menu
or from the printer control panel. See 
Selecting print media.
Color options
Color options automatically provide optimal color output. These options use object tagging, which
provides optimal color and halftone settings for diff erent objects (text, graphics, and photos) on a page.
The printer driver determines which objects appear on a page and uses halftone and color settings that
provide the best print quality for each object.
In the Windows environment, the  Automatic and Manual  color options are on the  Color tab in the printer
driver.
Standard red-green-blue (sRGB)
Standard red-green-blue (sRGB) is a worldwide color standard that HP and Microsoft developed as a
common color language for monitors, input devices (scanners and digital cameras), and output devices
(printers and plotters). It is the default color space used for HP products, Microsoft operating systems,
the World Wide Web, and most office software. Th e sRGB standard represents the typical Windows
monitor and is the convergence standard for high-definition television.
NOTE Factors such as the type of monitor you use and the room lighting can affect the
appearance of colors on your scr een. For more information, see 
Matching colors.
The latest versions of Adobe PhotoShop®, CorelDRAW, Microsoft Office,  and many other programs use
sRGB to communicate color. Because it is the defau lt color space in Microsoft operating systems, sRGB
has been adopted broadly. When programs and de vices use sRGB to exchange color information,
typical users experience greatly improved color matching.
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							The sRGB standard improves your ability to match colors between the printer, the computer monitor,
and other input devices automatically, and eliminates the need to become a color expert.
Printing in four colors (CMYK)
NOTE This feature is available for the HP Color  LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers only.
Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) are the inks  that a printing press uses in four-color printing.
Graphic arts (printing and publishing) environment s typically use CMYK data files to provide rich,
saturated colors for text and graphics. The printer uses the PS printer driver to accept CMYK colors.
CMYK ink-set emulat ion (PostScript only)
The HP Color LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series prin ters use CMYK color rendering to emulate several
standard offset-press ink sets:
● Default CMYK+
: This selection is good for general-purpose  rendering of CMYK data. It is designed
to render photographs well while providing ri ch, saturated colors for text and graphics.
● Specifications for Web Offset Publications (SWOP)
: This selection replicates the common ink
standard in the U.S. and other locations.
● Euroscale
: This selection replicates the common ink standard in Europe and other locations.
● Dainippon Ink and Chemical (DIC)
: This selection replicates the common ink standard in Japan
and other locations.
● Device: This selection turns off emulation. Color must be managed in the software program or
operating system in order to 
render photographs correctly.
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							Managing color
Setting color options to Automatic typically produces the best possibl e print quality for color documents.
However, you sometimes might want  to print a color document in grayscale (black and white) or change
one of the printer color options.
● In Windows, use the settings on the 
Color tab in the printer driver to  print in grayscale or change
the color options.
● When using a Macintosh computer, use the 
Color Matching pop-up menu in the Print  dialog box
to print in grayscale or  change the color options.
Print in Grayscale
Select the Print in Grayscale  option from the printer driver to print a color document in black and white.
This option is useful for pr inting color documents that will be p hotocopied or faxed.
When  Print in Grayscale  is selected, the printer uses the monochrome mode, which reduces wear on
the color cartridges.
Automatic or manual color adjustment
The  Automatic  color adjustment option optimizes the neut ral-gray color treatment, halftones, and edge
enhancements for each element in a document. For more information, see yo ur printer driver online
Help.
NOTE Automatic  is the default setting and is recommended for printing all color documents.
Use the Manual color adjustment option to adjust the neut ral-gray color treatment, halftones, and edge
enhancements for text, graphics, and photographs. To gain access to the manual color options, from
the  Color  tab, select  Manual, and then select  Settings.
Manual color options
Use manual color adjustment to adjust the  Color (or Color Map ) and Halftoning  options individually
for text, graphics, and photographs.
NOTE In programs that convert text or graphics to raster images, the  Photographs settings
also control text and graphics.
Table 6-1   Manual color options
Setting descriptionSetting options
Halftone
Halftone options (available for the HP Color LaserJet
3000 and 3800 Series printers only) affect the color
output resolution and clarity.● Smooth
 provides better results for large, solid-filled print areas
and enhances photographs by smoothing color gradations. Select
this option when uniform and smooth area fills are the top priority.
● Detail
 is useful for text and graphics  that require sharp distinctions
among lines or colors, or images that contain a pattern or a high
level of detail. Select this option when sharp edges and details are
the top priority.
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							Setting descriptionSetting options
Neutral Grays
The Neutral Grays  setting (available for the HP Color
LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers only)
determines the method for creating gray colors used
in text, graphics, and photographs.● Black Only generates neutral colors (grays and black) by using
only black toner. This guarantees
 neutral colors without a color
cast.
● 4-Color
 generates neutral colors (grays and black) by combining
all four toner colors. This method produces smoother gradients
and transitions to other colors, and it produces the darkest black.
Edge Control
The  Edge Control  setting determines how edges are
rendered. Edge control has two components:
adaptive halftoning and trapping. Adaptive halftoning
increases edge sharpness. Trapping reduces the
effect of color-plane misregistration by overlapping
the edges of adjacent objects slightly.HP Color LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers:
● Maximum
 is the most aggressive trapping setting. Adaptive
halftoning is on.
● Normal
 is the default trapping setting. Trapping is at a medium
level and adaptive halftoning is on.
● Light
 sets trapping at a minimal level, and adaptive halftoning is
on.
● Off
 turns off both trapping and adaptive halftoning.
HP Color LaserJet 3600 Series printer:
● Maximum
 is the most aggressive trapping setting.
● Normal
 sets the trapping at a medium level.
● Light
 sets trapping at a minimal level.
● Off
 is the default trapping setting. Trapping is turned off.
RGB Color  (HP Color LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series
printers only) ●
Default (sRGB)
 instructs the printer to interpret RGB color as
sRGB. The sRGB standard is the accepted standard of Microsoft
and the World Wide Web Consortium (
http://www.w3.org ).
● Image optimization (sRGB)
 (HP Color LaserJet 3800 Series
printer only) instructs the printer to use the best color matching for
rendering sRGB images. Select this option to print raster objects,
such as .BMP, .TIF, or .GIF files.
● Adobe RGB (1998) (HP Color LaserJet 3800 Series printer only)
instructs the printer to use the best color matching for documents
or images that are in the Adobe RGB color space that some digital
cameras and high-end graphics programs create. When printing
with Adobe RGB from a professional software program, turn off the
color management in the program and allow the printer software
to manage the color space.
● None
 instructs the printer to print RGB data in raw device mode.
You must manage color in the program in which you are working
or in the operating system in order to render photographs correctly
when this option is selected.
● Custom Profile instructs the printer to use a custom input profile
to more accurately predict a
nd control color output. Download
custom profiles from 
www.hp.com .
Restricting color printing
NOTEThis feature is available for the HP Color  LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers only.
Table 6-1  Manual color options (continued)
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							The HP Color LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers include a RESTRICT COLOR USE setting for
networked printers. A network administrator can use th e setting to restrict user access to the color
printing features in order to cons erve color toner. If you are unable to  print in color, see your network
administrator.
1. Press  Menu.
2. Press 
 to select PRINT QUALITY , and then press .
3. Press 
 to select SYSTEM SETUP, and then press .
4. Press 
 to select RESTRICT COLOR USE, and then press .
5. Press 
 to select one of the following options:
● DISABLE COLOR: This setting denies the printe
r color capabilities to all users.
● ENABLE COLOR
: This is the default setting, which allows all users to use the printer color
capabilities.
● COLOR IF ALLOWED
: This setting allows the network administrator to allow color use for
select users. Use the embedded Web server to designate users who can print in color.
6. Press 
 to save the setting.
The network administrator can monitor color usage for a specific HP Color LaserJet 3000 Series
printer by printing a color usage job log. See 
Using printer in formation pages .
NOTEFor the HP Color LaserJet 3600 Series printer, the network administrator can deny
access to color printing through the Driver Management and Control (DMC) program.
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							Matching colors
The process of matching printer output color to your computer screen is complex, because printers and
computer monitors use different meth ods of producing color. Monitors display colors by using light pixels
that use an RGB (red, green, blue) color process, but printers  print colors by using a CMYK (cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black) process.
Several factors can influence your ability to match printed colors to those on your monitor:
● Print media
● Printer colorants (inks or toners, for example)
● Printing process (inkjet, press, or laser technology, for example)
● Overhead lighting
● Personal differences in perception of color
● Software programs
● Printer drivers
● Computer operating systems
● Monitors
● Video cards and drivers
● Operating environment (humidity, for example)
Keep these factors in mind when colors on your screen do not perfectly match your printed colors.
For most users, the best method for matching colors is to print sRGB colors.
Sample book color matching
NOTE This feature is available for the HP Color  LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers only.
The process for matching printer output to preprint ed sample books and standard color references is
complex. In general, you can obtain a reasonably good match to a sample book if cyan, magenta, yellow,
and black inks are used in the sample book. Thes e are usually referred to as process-color sample
books.
Some sample books are created from spot colors, wh ich are specially created colorants. Many of these
spot colors are outside the printer gamut (color  range). Most spot color sample books have companion
process sample books that provide CMYK approximations.
Most process sample books have a note about what  process standards were used to print the sample
book: SWOP, EURO, or DIC. In most cases, for opt imal color matching, select the corresponding ink
emulation from the printer menu. If you cannot iden tify the process standard, use SWOP ink emulation.
Printing color samples
To use the color samples, select the color sample that is the closest  match to the desired color. Use the
sample’s color value in yo ur program to describe the object that you wish to match. Colors can vary
depending on paper type and the software program used.
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							Use the following procedure to print color samples from the printer control panel:
1. Press  Menu.
2. Press 
 to highlight  INFORMATION , and then press .
3. Press 
 to highlight PRINT CMYK SAMPLES  (HP Color LaserJet 3000 and 3800 Series printers
only) or  PRINT RGB SAMPLES , and then press 
.
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