Message-Id: <mailto:199607301628.LAA26942@library.wustl.edu> Date: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 12:26:29 -0400 From: Joel Wolfson <mailto:DigiWolf@AOL.COM> Subject: Re: IMAGELIB Digest - 27 Jul 1996 to 29 Jul 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list IMAGELIB
>I suspect that some of the ICC color management systems could fix this
>problem by profiling the scanners & media. Has anyone used color management
>either for this specific problem or for calibrating the
>scanner/monitor/output device package? We are going to try Color Synergy to
>profile our devices & will post the results when we get our system up.
I've worked with many different color management systems. There are different levels of color management with varying degrees of complexity and expense. Color Synergy is on the more complex and expensive side. Of course "expensive" is relative to your return on investment and some products cost several thousand dollars more than Color Synergy. The most extensive experience I've had is with ColorBlind from Color Solutions, although most of the clients I've worked with using ColorBlind, have also used Color Synergy. These systems are based on custom profiling. This means that each piece of equipment you use is measured, it's characteristics compared to known measurements/standards, and a file (the custom profile) is created for that specific device. This equipment could be a monitor, printer, scanner, imagesetter, etc. Don't confuse these custom profiles with the numerous generic profiles available. A generic profile is better than none but not as accurate as custom. In theory, once you have custom profiles of each device you can "link" them together to acheive that ever elusive predictable, repeatable, and hopefully, accurate color.
To answer the color neg question: I have never tried using a color negative target to profile a scanner. Most of the standardized targets for color management systems are IT8 transparency targets (or prints for reflective scanning). Color Solutions currently has a negative target which is simply an interneg of an IT8 trans target. They said they are developing their own negative target with an estimated release of this fall. Using such a target would likely require setting a white and black point manually, since the software expects a trans target. I don't know if Color Synergy has a similar solution.
The more accurate you need your system's color to be, the more complex the color management becomes. I have yet to see a color management system that's both accurate and easy to use. Someday that will come. In the meantime you may be able to get by with CEC (Close Enough Color !)
Good luck and let us know your experiences with Color Synergy,
Joel Wolfson Imaging Consulting & Services 3610 N. Stone Crest Street Flagstaff, AZ 86004-6811 Phone: (520) 526-3726 E-mail: mailto:digiwolf@infomagic.com