Simulation profile question

Yes, just a simulation of the selected color profile.

I have never fully understood how the values reported are of any great use - of course, to actually 'see' what will actually 'happen' - you would need to 'convert' or 'apply' the profile onto that PDF using the actual CMM and device link profile - and (for example) if this conversion was for a 6 color HP Indigo digital press, the resulting PDF - assuming you are not using Acrobat but some gadget that could re-combine the ripped and separated plates - probably would not properly, as I do not think it is a simple task to compute pixel by pixel back to something that makes sense - in this example, each ink colorant in that indigo would need a way 'back' to some single RGB value (never mind the 6 to 3 matrix computation - that would take a while!)

I guess this is why I am not sure why one would view values in some simulation preview - what do they really tell you, and what consitiutes "i don't want that' moment, or what would you actually do to fix the "i don't want that' moment ?

For example, lets assume you have some object that is Pantone 150 - and you are hoping that this tone can be simulated better on that Indigo than the CMYK rendition - how would the values help you, and what would you do if you think you could change the recipe ?

I Ran into this dilemma when working on a flexo project doing Hexachrome separations from a 12 color spot only job (it was a label) - very complex math to convert LAB to 6 channels.

*sigh* - I guess some might hope Pantone Goe version 2 is based on the LAB values of the target Pantone color - i think. Not sure, as I am no color scientist.