HP Color LaserJet 2600n User Manual

							
Color
This chapter describes how the printer provides great color printing. This chapter also
describes ways to produce the best possible  color prints. The following topics are covered:
●
Using color
●
Managing color options
●
Matching colors
ENWW 61
 
						

							
Using color
This printer offers great color as soon as you set it up. It provides a combination of automatic
color features to generate excellent color results  for the general user, plus sophisticated
tools for the experienced color user.
The printer provides carefully designed and tested  color tables to provide smooth, accurate
color rendition of all printable colors.
HP provides free online tools to help businesses  of all sizes with their color printing. HPs
Office Color Printing Center ( http://www.hp.com/go/color) identifies solutions and information
on creating finished projects.
HP ImageREt 2400
ImageREt 2400 provides 2400 dots-per-inch (dpi)  color laser-class quality through a multi-
level printing process. This process precisely controls  color by combining up to four colors
within a single dot and by varying the amount  of toner in a given area. ImageREt 2400 has
been improved for this printer. The  improvements offer trapping technologies, greater control
over dot placement, and more precise control  of toner quality in a dot. These new
technologies, coupled with HPs multi-level printing process,  result in a 600 x 600 dpi printer
that provides 2400-dpi color laser-class quality  with millions of smooth colors.
In contrast, the single-level printing process found in  the default mode of other color laser
printers does not allow the colors to be  mixed within a single dot. This process, called
dithering, significantly hinders the ability to create  a wide range of colors without reduced
sharpness or visible dot structure.
Media selection
For the best color and image quality, it is  important to select the appropriate media type from
the software printer menu or  from the printer driver. See 
Print-media specifications for more
information.
Color options
Color options enable optimal color output  automatically for diverse types of documents.
Color options use object tagging, which allows optimal  color settings to be used for different
objects (text, graphics, and photos) on a page.  The printer driver determines which objects
are used on a page and uses color settings that  provide the best print quality for each object.
Object tagging, combined with optimized default  settings, produces great color from the
printer without having to establish any special settings.
In the Windows environment, the  Automatic and Manual  color options are on the  Color tab
in the printer driver.
62 Chapter 5  Color ENWW
 
						

							
Standard red-green-blue (sRGB)
Standard red-green-blue (sRGB) is a worldwide color standard that was \
originally developed
by HP and Microsoft 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 that
is used for HP products, Microsoft operating systems,  the World Wide Web, and most office
software that is sold today. The sRGB  standard is representative of the typical Windows
computer monitor and is the  convergence standard for high-definition television.
NOTE
Factors such as the type of monitor you  use and the rooms lighting can affect the
appearance of colors on your  screen. For more information, see 
Matching colors.
The latest versions of Adobe® PhotoShop®,  CorelDRAW™, Microsoft Office, and many
other applications use sRGB to communicate color.  Most importantly, as the default color
space in Microsoft operating systems, sRGB has  gained broad adoption as a way to
exchange color information between software programs  and devices by using a common
definition that assures that typical users  will experience greatly improved color matching.
The sRGB standard improves your ability to  match colors between the printer, the computer
monitor, and other input devices (scanners  and digital cameras) automatically, without the
need to become a color expert.
ENWW Using color63
 
						

							
Managing color options
Setting color options to Automatic typically produces the best possible print quality for color
documents. However, in some situations, you might  want to print a color document in
grayscale (black and shades of gray) or to  change one of the printers color options.
● Using Windows, print in grayscale or change the  color options by using the settings on
the  Color  tab in the printer driver.
● Using a Macintosh computer, print in grayscale or change the color optio\
ns by using the
Color Options  pop-up menu in the  Print dialog box.
Print in Grayscale
Selecting the  Print in Grayscale  option from the printer driver prints a document in black
and shades of gray. This option is useful  for printing color documents that will be
photocopied or faxed.
When  Print in Grayscale  is selected, the printer goes into monochrome mode.
Automatic versus Manual color adjustment
The Automatic  color adjustment option optimizes the  neutral gray color treatment, and the
edge enhancements that are used for each  element in a document. For more information,
see your 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  neutral gray color treatment, and the
edge enhancements for text, graphics, and photographs.  To gain access to the Manual color
options, on the  Color tab, click  Manual, and then click  Settings.
Manual color options
Use the Manual color adjustment to adjust the  Color (or Color Map ) options.
NOTE
Some software programs convert text or graphics  to raster images. In these cases, the
Photographs  setting also controls the text and graphics.
Halftone options
Halftoning is the method by which the printer  mixes the four primary colors (cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black) in varying proportions to  create millions of colors. Halftone options affect
the resolution and clarity of your color  output. The two halftone options are Smooth and
Detail .
● The  Smooth  option provides better results for  large, solid-filled print areas. It also
enhances photos by smoothing out fine  color gradations. Choose this option when
uniform and smooth area fills are the most important attributes.
● The  Detail  option 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. Choose this
option when sharp edges and details are the most important attributes.
64 Chapter 5  Color ENWW
 
						

							
Edge Control
The Edge Control  setting determines how edges are  rendered. Edge Control consists of
two components: Adaptive Halftoning and Trapping.  Adaptive Halftoning increases the edge
sharpness. Trapping reduces the effect of color-plane misregistration by slightly overlapping
the edges of adjacent objects. The  following levels of edge control are available:
● Off sets Trapping and Adaptive Halftoning to Off.
● Normal  provides the default trapping settings.  Adaptive Halftoning is set to On.
● Maximum  provides the most trapping. Adaptive Halftoning is set to On.
RGB Color
The RGB Color  option determines how colors are rendered.
● Default  interprets RGB color as sRGB, which  is the accepted standard for many
software companies and organizations, such as  Microsoft and the World Wide Web
Consortium. (See  http://www.w3.org.)
● Device  sets the printer to print RGB data  in raw device mode. To render photographs
properly when this option is selected, you must manage color in the program in which
you are working or in the operating system.
● Vivid  instructs the printer to increase the color saturation in the midtones. Less colorful
objects are rendered more colorfully. This  value is recommended for printing business
graphics.
● Photo Image  interprets the RGB color as if it  were printed as a photograph using a
digital mini-lab. It is designed to render  the deeper, more saturated colors differently
than Default mode. Use this setting for printing photos.
Neutral Grays
The  Neutral Grays  setting determines the method for creating  gray colors that are used in
text, graphics, and photographs.
● Black Only  generates neutral colors (grays and black)  by using only black toner. This
option guarantees that neutral colors  do not have a color cast.
● 4-Color  generates neutral colors by combining all  four colors of toner. This option
produces smoother gradients and transitions to  non-neutral colors. It also produces the
darkest possible black.
ENWW Managing color options65
 
						

							
Matching colors
The process of matching printer output color to your computer screen is quite complex
because printers and computer monitors use  different methods of producing color. Monitors
display colors by light pixels using an RGB  (red, green, blue) color process, but printers print
colors using a CMYK (black, yellow, cyan, and magenta) process.
The following factors can influence your ability  to match printed colors to those on your
screen:
● Print media
● Printer colorants (inks or toners, for example)
● Printing process (inkjet, press, or laser technology, for example)
● Overhead lighting
● Programs
● Printer drivers
● Computer operating system
● Monitors
● Video cards and drivers
● Operating environment (very humid or very dry)
● Personal differences in perception of color
Keep these factors in mind if colors on  your screen do not perfectly match your printed
colors. For most users, the best method for matching  colors on your screen to your printer is
to print sRGB colors. The printer uses  sRGB and automatically optimizes color output.
For more information about solving issues that are related to color outp\
ut, see 
Solving issues
with color documents .
66 Chapter 5  Color ENWW
 
						

							
How do I?
Use this section to perform basic tasks with the HP Color LaserJet 2600n printer.
ENWW 67
 
						

							
Print: How do I?
Use this section to answer printing questions.
68 Chapter 6  How do I? ENWW
 
						

							
Print on special media, such as glossy or photo paper
You can print on special media such as transparencies, labels, heavy paper, glossy paper,
photo paper, and card stock, by using  the optimizing feature in the printer driver.
1. Load the media input tray. Make sure that the  top of the media is forward and the side to
be printed on (the rough side  of transparencies) is facing up.
2. Adjust the media guides to  fit the width of the media.
3. Open a document in a program, such as Microsoft Word.
4. Select the print command. For  most programs, click the File menu, and then click  Print.
The  Print  dialog box appears.
5. On the  Print dialog box, click  Properties.
6. On the  Paper or Quality  tab, select one of these media types:
● Plain
● Preprinted
● Letterhead
● Transparency
● Prepunched
● Labels
● Bond
● Recycled
● Color
● HP Tough paper
● Envelope
● Light  60-74 g/m
2
●
Heavy paper  91-105 g/m2
●
Cardstock  106-176 g/m2
●
Light Glossy  75-105 g/m2
●
Glossy  106-120 g/m2
●
Heavy Glossy  121-163 g/m2
●
HP Premium Cover  200 g/m2
●
HP Premium Plus Photo  220 g/m2
7. Print the document. Remove the media from the  device as it prints to prevent it from
sticking together, and place the printed pages on a flat surface.
The media type can also be selected and  configured in HP Toolbox. To configure these
media types from HP Toolbox, click  Device Settings, click the System Settings  tab,
and then open the  Print Modes page. Make any necessary changes, and then click
Apply  to save the changes.
To print a single-page cover letter on  letterhead, followed by a multiple-page document,
load a single sheet of letterhead in Tray 1.  After the letterhead page has printed, the
device prompts you to load paper. Load  paper for the rest of the document.
ENWW Print: How do I?69
 
						

							
Print on both sides of the paper
To manually print on both sides of the paper, you must send the paper through the device
twice.
CAUTION
Do not print on both sides of labels or transparencies.
1. Insert enough paper into Tray 2 or  optional Tray 3 to accommodate the print job.
2. Use one of the following procedures to  configure the printer to Print on both sides
(manually).
● Windows: In the printer driver, select the  Finishing tab, select the  Print on both
sides (manually)  option, and then send the job to print.
● Mac: In the Mac Print window, in the  Copies & Pages selection drop-down list,
select  Manual Duplex . On the next menu, select  Print on both sides (manually)
and then send the job to the printer.
3. After the job finishes printing, remove any  blank paper from Tray 2 or optional Tray 3.
Insert the printed stack, with the blank side  up, and the top edge leading into the device.
Print the second side from Tray 2 or optional Tray 3.
A
4. Press  (SELECT) to continue printing.
Print on envelopes and custom media sizes
To print on envelopes, complete the following steps.
1. Set Tray 2 to the correct media size. See 
Loading Tray 2 or optional Tray 3 .
2. Load no more than 10 envelopes face-up with the  flap of the envelope to the right, and
the short edge feeding into the device first.
3. Use your computer software program  to complete the printing process.
NOTE
For Tray 1, load one envelope at a time,  face down and the flap to the right.
NOTE
Do not use envelopes with windows or clasps,  and do not use envelopes that are wrinkled,
nicked, curled, or otherwise damaged.
To print on custom media sizes, complete the following steps.
1. Load the media Tray 2 or optional Tray 3 with  the narrow side forward and the side to be
printed on facing up.
2. Adjust the side and rear  media guides to fit the media.
70 Chapter 6  How do I? ENWW