LaCie blue eye pro
Color Management
User Manual
page 9
RGB Values Are Device-Dependent
As we noted earlier, every monitor has its own individual settings
for reproducing the RGB, because monitor manufacturers make
very different choices as to the components that are used in their
monitors. This leads to very strong differences between the color
produced by any given RGB settings on separate monitors. Be-
sides the different components, there are also several reasons for
this variation. On a TFT, for instance, here are some of the most
important factors that come into consideration:
✦
The color filters used to create the dots of each pixel
✦
The nature of the backlights
✦
The light transmittance characteristics of the liquid crystal
technology used in the display
✦
The brightness, contrast and other settings used on the
monitor
✦
The age of the monitor
With this in mind, moving back to our example about the RGB
setting to produce blue. We know that we’re getting the color
blue, but is the color of blue being displayed accurately? One
particular monitor could display the blue as akin to sky blue, an-
other as Navy Blue, and another as another shade of blue. And
this is the case for all colors, not just blue. Because the color that
is actually produced by a given RGB setting is not necessarily the
same from one monitor to another, color scientists say that RGB
values are device-dependent.
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 correc-
tion needs to be performed on the photograph, even though it
may already have been done by the photographer before send-
ing 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.
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