MX-PEX1 (serv.man12). Fiery PEX1 Colour Reference Guide - Sharp Copying Equipment User Guide / Operation Manual. Page 81

Until recently, most color printing was done on printing presses using one of several printing 
techniques, such as 

techniques require lengthy preparation before a press run can take place. Short-run color 
printing, including Color Server printing, eliminates most of this preparation. By 
streamlining the process of color printing, the Color Server makes short print runs 
economically feasible.

In contemporary offset lithographic printing, digital files from desktop computers are output 
to an 

, which creates film separations. The film is used to make a 

, 

which is an accurate predictor of the final print job and allows you to make corrections before 
going to press. Once the proof is approved, the printer makes plates from the film and runs 
the print job on the press. 

With the Color Server, you simply print the file. The Color Server processes the 

information in the file and sends four 

(one each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and 

black) to the printer. The ease of Color Server printing makes possible experimentation that 
would be too costly on a press, allowing unlimited fine-tuning of color and design elements.

Halftoning is used in offset printing to print each process color at a different intensity, 
allowing millions of different colors to be reproduced using only the four process colors. 
Depending on the required intensity of a given color, toner is placed on paper in dots of 
different size. The grid of dots used for each toner color is called a screen. Halftone screens are 
aligned to unique angles designed to eliminate interference patterns called 

arise with halftoning. 

Some color printers are commonly referred to as 

 (contone) devices. They do 

not use traditional halftone screen patterns and angles. Contone devices are capable of varying 
the intensity of individual dots. 

Even if your color printing is done exclusively on the Color Server, you will encounter 
concepts from offset printing if you use high-end graphics applications. For example, color 
controls in illustration applications, such as Adobe Illustrator, are geared toward specifying 
color for offset printing using process and 

. Many applications allow you to specify 

the screening used for each printing plate.