Adobe INDESIGN 2.0 - USING HELP Help Manual page 337

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Producing Consistent Color
Why colors sometimes don't match
No device in a publishing system is capable of reproducing the full range of colors
viewable by the human eye. Each device operates within a specific color space, which can
produce a certain range, or gamut, of colors.
The RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) color models
represent two main categories of color spaces. The gamuts of the RGB and CMYK spaces
are very different; while the RGB gamut is generally larger (that is, capable of representing
more colors) than CMYK, some CMYK colors still fall outside the RGB gamut.
A
B
The extent of the RGB color gamut exceeds that of the CMYK color gamut.
A. RGB color gamut B. CMYK color gamut
In addition, different devices produce slightly different gamuts within the same color
model. For example, a variety of RGB spaces can exist among scanners and monitors, and a
variety of CMYK spaces can exist among printing presses and desktop printers.
Because of these varying color spaces, colors can shift in appearance when you transfer
documents between different devices. Color variations can result from differences in
image sources (scanners and software produce art using different color spaces), differ-
ences in brands of computer monitors, differences in the way software applications define
color, differences in print media (newsprint reproduces a smaller gamut than magazine-
quality paper), and other natural variations, such as monitor age.
About color management
Color-matching problems result from various devices and software using different color
spaces. One solution is to have a system that interprets and translates color accurately
between devices. A color management system (CMS) compares the color space in which a
color was created to the color space in which the same color will be output, and makes the
necessary adjustments to represent the color as consistently as possible among
different devices.
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Index
Producing Consistent Color
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