>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...
