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1-6 Color Printing Overview EN
Palettes and Color Selection
The PCL 5 language allows the user to define a palette of colors.
Each color is specified by three quantities or values which are
interpreted depending on the color space. For example, the color
white in an RGB palette is (1, 1, 1) while this set of values in a CMY
palette defines the color black. Each color in the palette is accessed
using an index number, starting with 0 as the first color in the palette.
The largest palette holds 256 colors, which is approximately the
largest set of distinct colors the human eye can distinguish under
normal viewing conditions.
A color from a palette can be applied to either text or vector graphics
using the Foreground Color command. Once the command is invoked
the selected color will be applied to all text and vector graphics page
marking primitives, and to a certain extent to raster images.
Palettes can be identified with a Palette ID and then stored and
recalled as needed. A palette stack mechanism is also supported for
the convenience of applications that work well with a graphics stack.
PCL 5 Color Graphics Context
The Palette acts as the focal point of the PCL 5 color graphics
context. The color space, render algorithm, color treatment, and pixel
encoding mode are stored along with the palette. Therefore, selecting
or restoring a palette also restores these values.
PCL 5 Color Mode
The PCL language has four modes or ways of specifying and using
color:
• Black-and-White (monochrome) mode is the default mode so
that backward compatibility with previous printers is
maintained. When the printer is turned on it has a 2-entry
palette containing the color white at index 0 and black at
index 1. When the printer is reset with an
?E it reverts to this
mode.
• Simple Color mode is entered with the Simple Color
command, which creates one of three fixed color palettes:
z A monochrome, two-entry palette with white at index 0 and
black at index 1.