Reliable color reproduction can be achieved by establishing, using a model, the correspondence between the spectral reflectance of the printed surface and the amounts of deposited inks. In this article, we review the main models proposed in the literature, recall how each one is calibrated and compare their prediction accuracy for several print sets. The presented models are the Yule-Nielsen modified spectral Neugebauer model, its cellular instance, the Clapper-Yule model, its instance supporting low scattering, and the two-by-two halftone independent dot centering model. The Yule-Nielsen and Clapper-Yule based models are combined with ink spreading assessment methods that account for the interaction between light, inks, and paper. The prediction accuracy of the different models has been tested for several sets of printed colors on different supports, with different printing systems, different inks and different halftoning methods. These results show how the predictive performances and the model parameters vary according to the different printing setups. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 383-397, 2015