Color Management > Color management overview |
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Color management overview
You can use color management strategies in FreeHand to adjust the appearance of artwork on your monitor or in printed proofs, to match as closely as possible the appearance the artwork will have in final output (whether print or online). Color management is intended to provide you with the most accurate preview of the final output that can be achieved.
If your final output will be online (on the Web or in another multimedia format), the appearance of your FreeHand artwork will be affected by the viewers' computer system, software, and color settings. If your final output will be in print, the appearance will be affected by the type of output device used to create the printed document.
Whether you are preparing artwork for print or online use, you will want to ensure the closest possible match between the colors that appear onscreen on your system and the colors produced by a printer or another computer system used to display the artwork.
Differences between onscreen colors and those in the final output are inherent. Monitors display colors using additive RGB color, while printing presses re-create colors using subtractive CMYK color. Because the RGB gamut, or range of colors, is much larger than the CMYK gamut, some colors displayed on a monitor can only be approximated in print.
Illustrations typically pass through one or more electronic devices or software applications on the way to final output. Printing a FreeHand document to a local printer, for example, involves FreeHand, your computer's monitor and operating system, and the printer. Color interpretation from one device or application to another can vary. Even colors in artwork created strictly for the Internet can vary from monitor to monitor.
Furthermore, some elements of a FreeHand illustration may come from another electronic device or another software application. One device or application's interpretation of colors can differ from that of another device or application. Even between devices or applications of the same typeor the same brandcolor interpretation can vary depending on age, wear, current settings, and other factors.
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