Setting up range colors for the Color Coded Light Meter is simple. Getting appropriate numbers for the ranges can be somewhat more difficult. There are however, some generalized starting values we can supply that will be safe for starters. To modify Range Colors you’ll need to display a luminance image displayed. Freeze a focus image or change a color image: View>Luminance to display an appropriate image. Choose Range Colors: Setup>Range to bring up the Range Colors dialog box.
Adjust the individual colors by clicking left of the square colored boxes and change the range using the adjusting arrows at the bottom of the dialog box. Or, click the cursor at the upper and lower margins of the colors in the stack at the right of the dialog box and drag the margin line up or down until the appropriate number displays to the left of the colored squares.
Adjust highlight, minimum density, shadow, maximum detailed dot, and any other values in between that you want. Some shooters like to assign a range color to the quarter and three/quarter tone buttons of the Capture Curve dialog box which allows the shooter to see which values will be affected if the curve is adjusted using these key transition levers.
What are normal settings for coated stock? Try 3%-5% for minimum dot. You’ll find 3% on the better sheetfed presses and 5% on the coated web presses that typically print magazines and such. Maximum dot on the better presses can be as low as 98% but you’ll more typically find 96% to be a target dot. Coated web presses can go as low as 88% depending on the number of impressions and the speed of the paper running through the press. Uncoated paper and newsprint have remarkably different target densities. Highlight starts at 10% and goes darker, depending on the paper quality. Shadow percentage starts in the high 80’s and goes lighter. Check with your printer for starting aimpoints.