Rgb And Cmy; Complementary Color; Selecting The Tone-Curve Color Channel - Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite II Instruction Manual

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RGB and CMY

The RGB color model is an additive process that uses the primary colors of light: red, green, and
blue. An additive color system mixes the three colors to recreate the entire spectrum of light. If all
three colors are mixed, white light is produced. Television sets and computer monitors use RGB
to create images.
The CMY color model is a subtractive process that uses the secondary colors: cyan, magenta,
and yellow. A subtractive color system recreates color with pigments and dyes to absorb unwant-
ed color. If all three colors are mixed, black is produced. CMY systems are used in photography
and printing. Unlike photographic systems, printing technology also requires black (K). Because
of the imperfections of printing inks, cyan, magenta, and yellow cannot produce a true black
when mixed. Printers use a four-color CMYK process to reproduce images.

Complementary color

In photography, red, green, and blue are the primary colors. The
secondary colors, cyan, magenta, and yellow, are made from com-
bining the primary colors: cyan = blue + green, magenta = blue +
red, and yellow = red + green. The primary and secondary colors
are grouped in complementary pairs: red and cyan, green and
magenta, and blue and yellow.
Knowing the complementary colors is very important in color bal-
ancing: the method of adjusting the color of the image to look nat-
ural. If the image has a specific color cast, either subtracting the color or adding its complemen-
tary color will create a natural looking image. For example, if the image is too blue, subtracting
blue or adding yellow will balance the overall color of the image.

SELECTING THE TONE-CURVE COLOR CHANNEL

1
Click the arrow next to the channel box
to select the channel.
• Each individual color channel (red, green, or blue)
can be selected. When selected, the tone curve will
be displayed in the corresponding color.
• To make adjustments to the color balance of the
image, select the appropriate color channel. To
adjust the contrast or brightness of the image without
affecting the color, select the RGB channel.
• Only the RGB channel is available with B&W images.
• The tone curves can be displayed with keyboard
shortcuts. While holding the shift key (Windows) or
command key (Macintosh), press "1" to display the
red channel, "2" to display the green channel, "3" to
display the blue channel, or "0" (zero) to display the
RGB channel.
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