3. Color Management
page 9
LaCie blue eye 2
User’s Manual
3.1.3. The Consequences Of Device Dependency
The direct consequence of this is that a given image (for instance a digital photograph) will not necessarily appear the
same on two separate monitors. One may often observe color shifts, loss of contrast or loss of detail.
As a result, considerable inefficiencies can appear in professional workflows. When receiving a picture from its
photographer, the news agency may have the impression that some color correction needs to be performed on the
photograph, even though it may already have been done by the photographer before sending the picture to the agency.
The same problem can occur when a printer receives digital art included in their customer’s document. The colors
displayed on the printer’s monitor may not be identical to the ones displayed at the customer site.
3.2. Monitor Calibration And Device Profiles
The LaCie blue eye 2 implements a convenient solution to these problems. It entails two steps:
Step 1
The monitor is set to a calibrated state that is described in terms of its Brightness, Gamma and White Point Temperature.
This allows the color-conscious professional to knowingly choose the range of colors that will be displayed on the monitor;
and in particular to be certain that the colors displayed on the monitor correspond to a standard environment.
Step 2
An ICC (International Color Consortium) monitor profile is created and systematically embedded in the artwork produced
from the professional’s workstation. The ICC profile acts as a translator between RGB values and absolute colorimetric
measurements that are expressed in a scientific color model such as CIELAB or Yxy.
PROFILE
CONNECTION
SPACE
y
x
R G B
ICC Profile
MONITOR 1
y
x
R G B
ICC Profile
MONITOR 2
MONITOR 1
MONITOR 2
ICC Profiles form the links in your image chain between device-dependent monitors and the device-independent PCS.
