O
VERVIEW
OF
C
OLOR
M
ANAGEMENT
C
ONCEPTS
8
O
VERVIEW
OF
C
OLOR
M
ANAGEMENT
C
ONCEPTS
To create successful color documents and presentations, you can take advantage of the features
of color management software as they are implemented by the Color Server and on your
desktop computer. This chapter is devoted to various elements of color management that
contribute to predictable color results.
Understanding color management systems
A
color management system (CMS)
is a “translator” between the
color space
of the source
device (for example, a monitor or scanner) and the color space of the destination device
(for example, the printer). It compares the color space in which the source object is created
to the color space in which the job is output, and adjusts the colors in the document to
maintain consistency across different devices. A CMS typically uses a device-independent
color space, such as CIELAB, as its intermediate color space. To perform its translation,
a CMS needs information about the color space of the source object and the
gamut
of the
printer. This information is provided through
profiles
, often created by the manufacturers
of the computer monitor or printer. The end product of a CMS conversion is a printed
document or object file in the gamut of a particular printer.
Progress is being made toward standardization in the field of digital color management
systems. Windows and Mac OS operating systems support an industry standard format
developed by the International Color Consortium (ICC). This ICC format is implemented
on Windows and Mac OS computers. Other software developers are also incorporating CMSs
into high-end applications. The Color Server CMS,
ColorWise
, supports this standard
profile format.
You can use the EFI Color Profiler Suite (an optional software package) to create color profiles
that are fully compliant with ICC standards, evaluate the profiles, edit them, and test them.
EFI Color Profiler Suite includes a spectrophotometer that you can use to create profiles.
