Using the Adobe Color Picker

Using the Adobe Color Picker

You can use the Adobe Color Picker to select the foreground or background color by choosing from a color spectrum or by defining colors numerically In addition you can select colors based on the HSB RGB Lab and CMYK color models choose to use only Web-safe colors and choose from several custom color systems For more information, see About color modes and models (Photoshop) on section 86 By default the program uses the Adobe Color Picker.

To display the Adobe Color Picker:

Do one of the following:

Click the foreground or background color selection box in the toolbox.

Click the active color selection box in the Color palette.

Specifying a color using the color field and color slider

With the HSB RGB and Lab color modes you can use the color field and the color slider in the Color Picker dialog box to select a color. The color slider displays the range of color levels available for the selected color component (for example R G or B). The color field displays the range for the remaining two components-one on the horizontal axis one on the vertical.

For example if the current color is black and you click the red component (R) using the RGB color model the color slider displays the range of color for red (0 is at the bottom of the slider and 255 is at the top). The color field displays the values for blue along its horizontal axis for green along its vertical axis.

To specify a color using the color field and color slider:

Click a component next to the HSB RGB or Lab values.

Select a color:

Drag the white triangles along the slider.

Click inside the color slider.

Click inside the color field.

When you click in the color field a circular marker indicates the color s position in the field. As you adjust the color using the color field and color slider the numerical values change to reflect the new color. The color rectangle to the right of the color slider displays the new color in the top section of the rectangle. The original color appears at the bottom of the rectangle.

Specifying a color using numeric values

In the Adobe Color Picker you can select a color in any of the four color models by speci- fying numeric values for each color component.

To specify a color using numeric values:

Do one of the following:

(Photoshop) In CMYK color mode (the mode PostScript printers use) specify each component value as a percentage of cyan magenta yellow and black.

In RGB color mode (the mode your monitor uses) specify component values from 0 to

255 (0 is black and 255 is the pure color).

In HSB color mode specify saturation and brightness as percentages specify hue as an angle from 0 to 360 that corresponds to a location on the color wheel For more infor- mation on the color wheel see About color modes and models (Photoshop) on

page 86

(Photoshop) In Lab mode enter a lightness value (L) from 0 to 100 and a axis (green to magenta) and b axis (blue to yellow) values from -120 to +120.

Using Web-safe colors

The Web-safe colors are the 216 colors used by browsers regardless of the platform. The browser will change all colors in the image to these colors when displaying the color on an

8-bit screen. The 216 colors are a subset of the Mac OS 8-bit color palettes By working only with these colors you can be sure that art you prepare for the Web will not dither on a system set to display in 256 colors.

To identify Web-safe colors in the Adobe Color Picker:

Click the Only Web Colors option in the lower left corner of the color picker and then choose any color in the color picker Any color you pick with this option selected is Web-safe.

Choose a color in the color picker If you choose a non-Web color an alert cube

appears next to the color rectangle in the color picker Click the alert cube to select the closest Web color (If no alert cube appears the color you chose is Web-safe.)

To select a Web-safe color using the Color palette:

Click the Color palette tab or choose Window > Color to view the Color palette.

Choose an option for selecting a Web-safe color:

Choose Make Ramp Web Safe from the Color palette menu. With this option selected, any color you choose in the Color palette is Web-safe.

Choose Web Color Sliders from the Color palette menu (Photoshop) or choose any Slider option from the Color palette menu (ImageReady) By default, Web Color Sliders snap to Web-safe colors (indicated by tick marks) when you drag them ( To override Web-safe color selection Alt-drag ( Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the sliders.) If you choose a non-Web color an alert cube appears above the color ramp on the left side of the Color palette Click the alert cube to select the closest Web color In ImageReady drag around the alert icon to select other close Web colors (If no alert cube appears the color you chose is Web-safe.)

Note: In Photoshop you must choose Web Color Sliders from the Color palette menu to view the Web-safe alert cube In ImageReady you can view the alert cube with any color slider option.

Recognizing nonprintable colors (Photoshop)

Some colors in the RGB HSB and Lab color models such as neon colors cannot be printed because they have no equivalents in the CMYK model. When you select a nonprintable color an alert triangle appears in the Color Picker dialog box and in the Color palette.

The closest CMYK equivalent is displayed below the triangle (See "Identifying out-of- gamut colors (Photoshop) on section 136

Note: The alert triangle is not available if you've chosen to use Web-safe sliders. Printable colors are determined by your current CMYK working space as defined in the Color Settings dialog box.

To select the closest CMYK equivalent for a nonprintable color:

Click the alert triangle that appears in the Color Picker dialog box or the Color palette.

Choosing custom colors (Photoshop)

The Adobe Color Picker lets you choose custom colors from the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM the TRUMATCH SWATCHING SYSTEM the FOCOLTONE COLOUR SYSTEM the TOYO Color Finder^T system the ANPA-COLOR^T system HKS color system and the DIC Color Guide.

To ensure that the final printed output is the color you want consult your printer or service bureau and choose your custom color based on a printed color swatch Manufac- turers recommend that you get a new swatch book each year to compensate for fading inks and other damage.

Important: Photoshop prints custom colors to CMYK (process color) plates in every image mode except Duotone. To print true spot color plates create spot color channels.

(See Adding spot colors (Photoshop)" on section 272

To choose a custom color:

Open the Adobe Color Picker and click Custom.

The Custom Colors dialog box displays the color closest to the color currently selected in the Color Picker.

For Book choose a color system (See "Choosing a custom color system (Photoshop)"

on section 264

Locate the color you want by entering the ink number or by dragging the triangles along the scroll bar.

Click the desired color patch in the list.

Choosing a custom color system (Photoshop)

The Adobe Color Picker supports various color systems:

PANTONE Used for printing solid-color and CMYK inks. The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM includes 1,114 solid colors. To select a color use a PANTONE Color guide printed on coated uncoated and matte stocks.

To simulate a PANTONE solid color in CMYK use the PANTONE Solid to Process Guide, which displays a visual comparison of 1,089 solid PANTONE colors beside the closest process color match.

PANTONE process guides let you choose from over 3,000 CMYK combinations printed coated and uncoated stocks.

TRUMATCH Provides predictable CMYK color matching with more than 2000 achievable, computer-generated colors TRUMATCH colors cover the visible spectrum of the CMYK gamut in even steps. The TRUMATCHCOLORFINDER displays up to 40 tints and shades of each hue each originally created in four-color process and each reproducible in four colors on electronic imagesetters In addition four-color grays using different hues are included.

FOCOLTONE Consists of 763 CMYK colors FOCOLTONE colors help avoid prepress trapping and registration problems by showing the overprints that make up the colors.

A swatch book with specifications for process and spot colors overprint charts and a chip book for marking up layouts are available from FOCOLTONE.

TOYO Color Finder 1050 Consists of more than 1000 colors based on the most common printing inks used in Japan. The TOYO Color Finder 1050 Book contains printed samples of Toyo colors and is available from printers and graphic arts supply stores.

ANPA-COLOR Commonly used for newspaper applications. The ANPA-COLOR ROP Newspaper Color Ink Book contains samples of the ANPA colors.

DIC Color Guide Commonly used for printing projects in Japan.

HKS Used for printing projects in Europe Each color has a specified CMYK equivalent. You can select from HKS E (for continuous stationary) HKS K (for gloss art paper) HKS N

(for natural paper) and HKS Z (for newsprint) Color samplers for each scale are available.

Using other color pickers

In addition to the default Adobe Color Picker you can use the built-in color pickers on your system or a plug-in color picker to select colors Any plug-in color pickers you install appear under Color Picker in the General section of the Preferences dialog box For infor- mation on installing and using a plug-in color picker see the documentation that came with the plug-in.

To use the Windows Color Picker (Windows):

Choose Edit > Preferences > General.

Choose Windows from the Color Picker menu and click OK. For more information see your Windows documentation.

To use the Apple Color Picker (Mac OS):

Do one of the following:

In Mac OS 9.x choose Edit > Preferences > General.

(Photoshop) In Mac OS X choose Photoshop > Preferences > General.

(ImageReady) In Mac OS X choose ImageReady > Preferences > General.

For Color Picker choose Apple and click OK.

The exact appearance of the Apple Color Picker varies between different system software versions For more information see your Mac OS documentation.

To return to the Adobe Color Picker after using another color picker:

Do one of the following:

In Windows and Mac OS 9.x choose Edit > Preferences > General.

(Photoshop) In Mac OS X choose Photoshop > Preferences > General.

(ImageReady) In Mac OS X choose ImageReady > Preferences > General.

Choose Adobe from the Color Picker menu and click OK.