Policies (deprecated, available till v10.2)

The regular ICC based color conversion is extended by some useful options. This includes obtainment of pure black, recognition of RGB black or adaption of tone value increase. Additional parameters for controlling these properties can be defined in "Policy" files, that can be selected in the "Convert colors" Fixup. These config files are completely text based and can be modified with a simple text editor. Exported color conversion profiles contain these additional files. You can find the available Policy files in the following directories:

%PROGRAMFILES%\callas pdfToolbox <version>\ColorConversion\Policies
%PROGRAMFILES%\callas pdfaPilot <version>\ColorConversion\Policies 

You will find details on parameters and example configurations on the following pages. When editing a color policy file, please make sure to a <tab> between the name of the parameter and the value. The use of a <space> character will result in a color conversion failure. A "#" at the beginning of a line indicates a comment and prevents the line from being processed.

Excerpt from a policy file:

DisplayName <tab> 1 <tab> MyPolicy
CMYKGraph-StripSourceProfile <tab> 1
CMYKGraph-C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black <tab> CMYK_Black
CMYKImage-PassThroughDeviceColor <tab> 1
GrayGraph-AdvancedColorConversion <tab> AdjustDotGain
GrayGraph-SetGrayColorSpaceTo <tab> Separation_Black 
... 

Overview

All parameters defined in color policy files take precedence over all settings defined in the user interface. Please note that nonetheless only objects triggered due to the Conversion settings in the user interface will be changed.

The following parameters are available (please consult section Parameter for a detailed explanation):

Conversion parameters can be influenced by modifying a static color policy file. The location of this file is:

%PROGRAMFILES%\callas pdfToolbox version\etc\ColorConversion\Policies DeviceLink\Policy_DL_Default.cfg 
%PROGRAMFILES%\callas pdfToolbox Server version\cli\etc\ColorConversion\Policies DeviceLink\Policy_DL_Default.cfg 

This applies for all DeviceLink conversions and is not part of the kfpx.

Example of a policy file

Requirements

  • Convert line art elements defined in RGB (calibrated and uncalibrated) using Quick Conversion
  • Decalibrate calibrated CMYK
  • Convert images using RGB to CMYK (Iso Coated v2 (ECI)), use sRGB as source profile uncalibrated RGB

 

Fixup settings

Convert Colors

Destination
  • Destination: ISOcoated v2 (ECI)
  • Assumed CMYK Profile: ISOcoated v2 (ECI)
  • Assumed RGB Profile: sRGB
  • Assumed Grayscale Profile: Dot Gain 15%
  • Use black point compensation
  • Preserve black objects
  • Policy: Office_Conversion_Policy
Conversion Setting
  • Objects: All Objects
  • using: Any color (except spot colors)
  • Conversion: Convert to destination

Settings of the Office_Conversion_Policy file

DisplayName 1 Office_Conversion_Policy 

# Source parameters for CMYK vector objects 
CMYKGraph-StripSourceProfile 1 
CMYKGraph-ConvertToDestination 
CMYKGraph-HandleProcessColorInDeviceN_SeparationAsDeviceCMYK 1 
CMYKGraph-PassThroughDeviceColor 1 

# Source parameters for CMYK images CMYKImage-StripSourceProfile 1 CMYKImage-ConvertToDestination 0 
CMYKImage-HandleProcessColorInDeviceN_SeparationAsDeviceCMYK 1
CMYKImage-PassThroughDeviceColor 1 

# Source parameters for RGB vector objects 
RGBGraph-StripSourceProfile 1 
RGBGraph-MakeQuickConversion 1 
RGBGraph-UndercolorRemoval 0.5 
RGBGraph-BlackGeneration 0.5 

# Source parameters for RGB images 
RGBImage-StripSourceProfile 0 
RGBImage-ConvertToDestination 1 

# Source parameters for Gray vector objects 
GrayGraph-ConvertToDestination 0 
GrayGraph-AdvancedColorConversion Off 
GrayGraph-SetGrayColorSpaceTo 0 

# Source parameters for Gray images 
GrayImage-ConvertToDestination 0 
GrayImage-AdvancedColorConversion Off 
GrayImage-SetGrayColorSpaceTo 0 

Parameters

StripSourceProfile

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-StripSourceProfile
  • CMYKImage-StripSourceProfile
  • RGBGraph-StripSourceProfile
  • RGBImage-StripSourceProfile
  • GrayGraph-StripSourceProfile
  • GrayImage-StripSourceProfile

Values

Off

Leave source profiles unchanged (default)

On

Remove source profiles

Description

If set to On source profiles are removed during conversion. This also applies if ConvertToDestination is set to Off. This parameter over­rides the conversion option for calibrated colors of the conversion settings.

  • Note: This parameter has a special implication for Lab color spaces:

Strictly speaking the 'source profile' for a Lab color space cannot be stripped or removed. Nevertheless, if StripSourceProfile is set to On, the Lab profile specified in Assumed profiles will be used instead – so this is a means to replace a Lab color space for an object with some other Lab color space.

ConvertToDestination

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-ConvertToDestination
  • CMYKImage-ConvertToDestination
  • RGBGraph-ConvertToDestination
  • RGBImage-ConvertToDestination
  • GrayGraph-ConvertToDestination
  • GrayImage-ConvertToDestination
  • LabGraph-ConvertToDestination
  • LabImage-ConvertToDestination

Values

Off

Do not convert to destination color space (default)

On

Convert to destination color space

Description

If set to On the object is converted to the destination color space as speci­fied in the settings. If the object does not have a source profile, or if the parameter StripSourceProfile is set to On, the profile specified in Assumed profiles will be used as the source profile. If the object has a source profile, and StripSourceProfile is set to Off, the object's source profile will be used.

RenderingIntent

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-RenderingIntent
  • CMYKImage-RenderingIntent
  • RGBGraph-RenderingIntent
  • RGBImage-RenderingIntent
  • GrayGraph-RenderingIntent
  • GrayImage-RenderingIntent
  • LabGraph-RenderingIntent
  • LabImage-RenderingIntent

Values

UseDoc

Rendering Intent specified in the PDF is used (default)

RelCol

Relative colorimetric

AbsCol

Absolute colorimetric

Perc

Perceptual

Satur

Saturation

Description

This parameter defines which Rendering Intent is used for a color conver­sion. This parameter overrides the option Rendering Intent of the con­version settings.

  • Note: If there is no Rendering Intent explicitely defined in the PDF the default is relative colorimetric.

BlackPointCompensation

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-BlackPointCompensation
  • CMYKImage-BlackPointCompensation
  • RGBGraph-BlackPointCompensation
  • RGBImage-BlackPointCompensation
  • GrayGraph-BlackPointCompensation
  • GrayImage-BlackPointCompensation
  • LabGraph-BlackPointCompensation
  • LabImage-BlackPointCompensation

Values

Off

Do not use Black Point Compensa­tion

On

Use Black Point Compensation (default)

Description

If the parameter is set to On, Black Point Compensation is used for the color conversion when performing an ICC based color conversion using the relative colorimetric Rendering Intent. This parameter overrides the option Use black point compensation of the destination settings.

ProfileSourceSelector

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-ProfileSourceSelector
  • CMYKImage-ProfileSourceSelector  

Values

FromDefaultProfile

Use default profile (default)

FromEmbeddedOutputIntent

Use profile from embedded Output Intent

Description

If set to FromEmbeddedOutputIntent the source profile will be taken from an embedded Output Intent for DeviceCMYK objects. (This param­eter overrides the parameter Assumed profiles). If no Output Intent is embedded an error is returned. This parameter overrides the option Out­put Intent takes precendence over assumed profiles of the destination settings.

PassThroughDeviceColor

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • CMYKImage-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • RGBGraph-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • RGBImage-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • GrayGraph-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • GrayImage-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • LabGraph-PassThroughDeviceColor
  • LabImage-PassThroughDeviceColor

Values

Off
Convert all objects as defined in the conversion settings (default)
On
Convert only objects using a calibrated color space

Description

This parameter disables color conversion for objects that do not have a source profile. Thus, if both ConvertToDestination and PassThroughDeviceColor are set to On, only objects that have a source profile will be converted. Please be aware, that in this regard if StripSourceProfile is set to On the object will be considered as hav­ing no source profile (in essence setting both StripSourceProfile and PassThroughDeviceColor to On has the same effect as setting ConvertToDestination to Off).
If ConvertToDestination is set to Off, PassThroughDeviceColor does not have any effect.

C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black
  • CMYKImage-C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black

Values

NoChange

Convert as defined for color space CMYK (default)

DeviceGray

Use DeviceGray

CMYK_Black

Use DeviceCMYK Black

Separation_Black

Use Separation Black

If only the black channel is used, the object will be converted according to the settings for color space Gray and stored in the defined color space afterwards. This parameter overrides the option Preserve black objects of the destination settings for CMYK.

C_eq_M_eq_Y_isBlack_ExcludeBlendModes

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes
  • CMYKImage-C_eq_M_eq_Y_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes

Values

Blend mode Name of Blend modes to exclude from color conversion, multiple values have to be <TAB> separated, e.g.:
ColorDodge      ColorBurn

Description

Objects, which are using a blend mode listed in this parameter, will be processed using the normal color conversion and no preservation of black objects will take place.
This might be appropriate for objects (with empty colorant channels), that are using certain blend mode, which are using these empty channels to achieve a special effect with underlying objects.
If these empty channels would be replaced by a single colorant color space, these effects would not work anymore, so they must be preserved in some certain cases.

Please see article "Processing black objects" for further details.

R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black

Keys

  • RGBGraph-R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black
  • RGBImage-R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black

 

Values

NoChange

Convert as defined for color space RGB (default)

DeviceGray

Use DeviceGray

CMYK_Black

Use DeviceCMYK Black

Separation_Black

Use Separation Black

Description

This parameter only applies to device dependent RGB color – either if the object uses DeviceRGB or if it uses ICC based RGB or CalRGB but the parameter StripSourceProfile is set to On. It only has effect if ConvertToDestination is set to On. If not set to NoChange, instead of carrying out an ICC based color conversion, RGB colors where each of the Red Green and Blue values are equal, will be converted directly to the corresponding black tint value. For images this will only have an effect if all pixels in the image have equal Red, Green and Blue values.
The color conversion engine uses an internal tolerance of 3%, this mean the differences between R and G, G and B as well as for R and B must be <=3%.

R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes

Keys

  • RGBImage-R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes
  • RGBGraph-R_eq_G_eq_B_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes

Values

Blend mode Name of Blend modes to exclude from color conversion, multiple values have to be <TAB> separated, e.g.:
ColorDodge      ColorBurn

Description

Objects, which are using a blend mode listed in this parameter, will be processed using the normal color conversion and no preservation of black objects will take place.
This might be appropriate for objects (with empty colorant channels), that are using certain blend mode, which are using these empty channels to achieve a special effect with underlying objects.
If these empty channels would be replaced by a single colorant color space, these effects would not work anymore, so they must be preserved in some certain cases.

Please see article "Processing black objects" for further details.

SetGrayColorSpaceTo

Keys

  • GrayGraph-SetGrayColorSpaceTo
  • GrayImage-SetGrayColorSpaceTo

Values

NoChange

Convert as defined for color space Gray (default)

DeviceGray

Use DeviceGray

CMYK_Black

Use DeviceCMYK Black

Separation_Black

Use Separation Black

Description

This parameter applies to gray vector and image objects. It indicates which color space to use for gray objects after the conversion. For example, it may be necessary to encode a DeviceGray object as Separation Black object, so that overprinting also works for subjacent CMYK objects.

  • Note: DeviceGray cannot overprint CMYK, even if overprint is set to true, whereas Separation Black does overprint Cyan, Magenta and Yellow once overprint is set to true.
  • Note that both DeviceGray and Separation Black do overprint spot colors if overprint is set to true.

a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black

Keys

  • LabGraph-a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black
  • LabImage-a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black

Values

NoChange

Convert as defined for color space Lab (default)

DeviceGray

Use DeviceGray

CMYK_Black

Use DeviceCMYK Black

Separation_Black

Use Separation Black

Description

If a and b is 0 the luminosity value is directly transferred to the designated color space.
The color conversion engine uses an internal tolerance of 1%, this means the differences between L and a as well as for L and b must be <= 1%.

a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black_ExcludeBlendModes

Keys

  • LabGraph-a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black_LimitToBlendModes
  • LabImage-a_eq_b_eq_0_is_Black_LimitToBlendModes

Values

Blend mode Name of Blend modes to exclude from color conversion, multiple values have to be <TAB> separated, e.g.:
ColorDodge      ColorBurn

Description

Objects, which are using a blend mode listed in this parameter, will be processed using the normal color conversion and no preservation of black objects will take place.
This might be appropriate for objects (with empty colorant channels), that are using certain blend mode, which are using these empty channels to achieve a special effect with underlying objects.
If these empty channels would be replaced by a single colorant color space, these effects would not work anymore, so they must be preserved in some certain cases.

Please see article "Processing black objects" for further details.

HandleProcessColorInDeviceN_SeparationAsDeviceCMYK

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-HandleProcessColorInDeviceN_SeparationAsDeviceCMYK
  • CMYKImage-HandleProcessColorInDeviceN_SeparationAsDeviceCMYK

Values

Off

Treat process colors defined in DeviceN or Separation as spot col­ors (default)

On

Treat process colors defined in DeviceN or Separation as DeviceCMYK

Description

This parameter defines the way process colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) in DeviceN or Separation are treated. If set to On, they are treated as DeviceCMYK objects. Not defined color channels are set to 0% in the respective color. To keep the overprint settings, the original color space (Separation or DeviceN) is recreated after the conversion if possible.

Use the AdvancedColorConversion parameters to define the treat­ment of newly added color channels.

AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries
  • CMYKImage-AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries

Values

Off

No special treatment for objects using only one colorant (not K) (default)

AdjustDotGain

Apply dot gain difference

KeepZeroChannels

Restores zero channels after conver­sion

Description

If set to Off, tints in colorants that were originally 0 are preserved. If necessary, new channels will be added for DeviceN (Separation color space becomes DeviceN after the conversion). With AdjustDotGain the dot gain difference between source and destination profile is calcuated and all color values are modified so that the dot gain difference is compensated. This is usefull mainly for standard PCS conversions. KeepZeroChannels causes all channels which were 0 before the conversion to be set back to 0. This might lead to a color shift.

AdvancedColorConversion_Secondaries

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-AdvancedColorConversion_Secondaries
  • CMYKImage-AdvancedColorConversion_Secondaries

Values

Off

No special treatment for objects using only two colorants (default)

AdjustDotGain

Apply dot gain difference

KeepZeroChannels

Restores zero channels after conver­sion

Description

Same as AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries but for all objects using exactly two colorants of CMYK.

AdvancedColorConversion_Tertiaries

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-AdvancedColorConversion_Tertiaries
  • CMYKImage-AdvancedColorConversion_Tertiaries

Values

Off
No special treatment for objects using only three colorants (default)
AdjustDotGain
Apply dot gain difference
KeepZeroChannels
Restores zero channels after conver­sion

Description

Same as AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries but for all objects using exactly three colorants of CMYK.

AdvancedColorConversion_All

Keys

  • CMYKGraph-AdvancedColorConversion_All
  • CMYKImage-AdvancedColorConversion_All

Values

Off

No special treatment for objects using all four colorants (default)

AdjustDotGain

Apply dot gain difference

Description

Same as AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries but for all objects using all channels of CMYK (none of the channels is zero).

AdvancedColorConversion

Keys

  • GrayGraph-AdvancedColorConversion
  • GrayImage-AdvancedColorConversion

Values

Off

Convert as defined for color space Gray (default)

AdjustDotGain

Apply dot gain difference

Description

Same as AdvancedColorConversion_Primaries but for all black objects. Black objects are using only the K channel of CMYK or DeviceGray or Separation Black or DeviceN with only one channel named Black.

CompressionMethod

Keys

  • Destination-CompressionMethod

Values

KeepCompressionMethod
Keep compression method of origi­nal (default)
Also "0" can be used instead of the string
AllToZip
All to Zip
Also "1" can be used instead of the string
AllToJpeg
All to Jpeg
Also "2" can be used instead of the string

Description

Specifies the method for recompression of converted images.

  • Note: All processed images are decompressed for color conversion tasks. If recompressing with JPEG the quality level is to be defined with the param­eter JPEGQuality. Please keep in mind that every JPEG compression leads to the loss of quality.

JPEGQuality

Keys

  • Destination-JPEGQuality

Values

0..100 (Highest image quality: 100)

(default value: 80)

Description

Allows for specifying the quality level in which JPEG objects are saved after the conversion.

  • Note: The given value is interpreted as a percentage declaration between 0 and 100. Following you find the possible values and the equivalent setting in Adobe Photoshop:

20

Minimum

40

Low

60

Medium

80

High

100

Maximum

Other values are not supported and will be treated like the next higher supported value.

SetTransparencyBlendSpaceToDest

Keys

  • Destination-SetTransparencyBlendSpaceToDest

Values

LeaveUnchanged
Leaves transparency blend color space unchanged
DestWithProfile
Sets destination color space as transparency blend color space
DestWithoutProfile
Sets destination color space as transparency blend color space;
if destination color space is ICC based, the respective device color space is set as transparency blend color space
DestWithoutProfileIfMatchingOut-­putIntent
Sets destination color space as transparency blend color space;
if destination color space is ICC based and the output intent matches the destination profile, the respective device color space is set as transparency blend color space

Description

Allows for specifying the transparency blend color space after the color conversion.