Color Accuracy And Predictability - HP LP2480zx - DreamColor - 24" LCD Monitor Brochure

The most widely adopted profile format is that created by the International Color Consortium (ICC
The ICC was established in 1993 to encourage vendors to standardize on a single format, which
would allow vendors to communicate profile information within a workflow.
Figure 3. A typical digital workflow

Color accuracy and predictability

Well then, what is the problem? We have:
 A "pretty good" way of mathematically describing how a color will look on a specific device (the
CIE 1931 or CIE 1976 system);
 A collection of pre-defined color spaces that describe the range of colors applicable to that space;
 An international standards body (ICC) that defines how devices and systems can communicate
color information with each other; and
 Competitive pressures that encourage vendors to design devices that will depict color as accurately
as possible.
The challenge is to maintain both color accuracy and color predictability. Accuracy means that a
color is always the same when measured against a known reference, and generally involves some
empirical form of measurement such as a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer. Predictability means
that a color is absolutely reproducible, across workflows, across pages, across projects and across
teams spread around the globe.
Both accuracy and predictability require a closed feedback loop. In other words, a sample of an
output page on a printer (or a specific swatch on a display) must be actively measured, compared
with a standard, and the results fed back to the device. This can be a cumbersome process (and
almost always requires human intervention), and one that is only periodically performed on devices
used in color-critical workflows.
1
See www.color.org.
2
"Color 101—Basic Color Science & Color Management for Electronic Displays," Bob Myers, HP Display Technology Center, June 2007.
2
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1
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