Louie Aguinaldo
05-13-2006, 11:48 PM
First the Why? - When we capture an image, we want to see accurate colors when we view it on the monitor and even when we print. We need color management to enable us to do just that - maintain color consistency, accuracy.
What is Color Management? - It is a technology wherein we create a system or workflow that allows our image's color to be accurately reproduced from one device to another.
How does it work? Without getting too technical, the concept is something like this: Imagine all digital devices (digital cameras, scanners, printers, monitors) speak the same language - color - unfortunately, they all speak different dialects. Dark Pink for one might be a light pink for another. Now the key here is to get all the devices to communicate and understand each other accurately. Thus, a set of dictionaries are needed. Let's say your image is in tagalog, your monitor speaks ilocano while your printer speaks visaya. If they try to communicate, there will be some miscommunications along the way. Thus sets of dictionaries are needed wherein the dialect of each device is defined.
So, if a color management system works, it would be like a conference at the United
Nations. Imagine a speaker is speaking in his native language, yet everybody can understand because they are connected to a headset wherein they hear the same speech but translated in their own language. It works because there is a translation process between all the participants concerned. In the same manner, a color management system allows your image to communicate accurately with your monitor and printer because there is a translation process that happens. This is possible because a sort of dictionary is made for the dialect of each device - we call this color 'dictionary' a profile.
What is Color Management? - It is a technology wherein we create a system or workflow that allows our image's color to be accurately reproduced from one device to another.
How does it work? Without getting too technical, the concept is something like this: Imagine all digital devices (digital cameras, scanners, printers, monitors) speak the same language - color - unfortunately, they all speak different dialects. Dark Pink for one might be a light pink for another. Now the key here is to get all the devices to communicate and understand each other accurately. Thus, a set of dictionaries are needed. Let's say your image is in tagalog, your monitor speaks ilocano while your printer speaks visaya. If they try to communicate, there will be some miscommunications along the way. Thus sets of dictionaries are needed wherein the dialect of each device is defined.
So, if a color management system works, it would be like a conference at the United
Nations. Imagine a speaker is speaking in his native language, yet everybody can understand because they are connected to a headset wherein they hear the same speech but translated in their own language. It works because there is a translation process between all the participants concerned. In the same manner, a color management system allows your image to communicate accurately with your monitor and printer because there is a translation process that happens. This is possible because a sort of dictionary is made for the dialect of each device - we call this color 'dictionary' a profile.