Patent ID: 7738140

Claim:
A method for enabling accurate and consistent imaging of selected colors within a document for various printing device configurations utilizing an automated spot color editor, the method comprising: determining appropriate target values for a selected color within a print job, wherein said selected color may be described as within at least one color space, wherein said color space includes at least one member selected from the group consisting of reflectance spectra, L*a*b*, XYZ, LHC, CMYK, RGB, sRGB, parameters describing color and a color number; operating an automated spot color editor to modify or adjust said selected color, comprising: selecting a quality level and a maximum number of iterations, wherein said quality level comprises a color difference metric, and wherein said maximum number of iterations is the maximum number of times the automated spot color editor is operated to calculate a CMYK color formula; printing at least one sample patch for said selected target value; analyzing the color composition of said sample patch, calculating a CMYK color formula based on said color composition of said sample patch; and inserting said CMYK color formula into a spot color editing table; and providing capability for acceptance of said color formula by an operator through a graphical user interface.