Basics Of Color Management - Xerox DocuColor 40 Reference Manual

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2-4 Color Management
job. For added flexibility, the DocuColor 40 CP color management system can also be
used in combination with color management systems on Mac OS and Windows
computers (see page 2-11 and page 2-13).

Basics of color management

The past several years have seen progress toward standardization in the field of digital
color management systems. Both the Mac OS and Windows 95 operating systems now
support a standard format developed by the International Color Consortium (ICC).
This ICC format is implemented on Mac OS computers in ColorSync
Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 computers in Image Color Matching (ICM).
More and more software developers are also incorporating color management systems
into high-end applications. The DocuColor 40 CP provides a custom color
management system that can be used independent of, or together with, platform-based
and application-based color management tools.
A color management system, or CMS, is a "translator" between the color space of the
image source (the monitor, or a scanner, for example) and the color space of the target
print device. The CMS uses a device-independent color space, such as CIELAB, as its
reference point (see page 1-2). To perform its translation, the CMS needs information
about the color space of the image source and the color space and gamut of the print
device. This information is provided in the form of profiles, often created by the
makers of the monitor or print device. The end product of a CMS conversion is a
printed document or an image file in the color space and gamut of a particular print
device.
If color matching between computer display and printed output is critical,
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calibrate your monitor as closely as possible to the printed output. For most users,
predictability of printed color output is adequate and monitor calibration is not
necessary. For information on monitor calibration, see your Photoshop or Illustrator
documentation.
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