
Color reproduction is an aspect of
color science concerned with producing light spectra that evoke a desired
color
Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
, either through
additive (light emitting) or
subtractive (surface color) models. It converts physical correlates of color perception (
CIE 1931 XYZ color space tristimulus values and related quantities) into light spectra that can be experienced by observers. In this way, it is the opposite of
colorimetry.
It is concerned with the faithful reproduction of a color in one medium, with a color in another, so it is a central concept in
color management and relies heavily on
color calibration
The aim of color calibration is to measure and/or adjust the color response of a device (input or output) to a known state. In International Color Consortium (ICC) terms, this is the basis for an additional color characterization of the device ...
. For example, food packaging must be able to faithfully reproduce the colors of the foods therein in order to appeal to a customer.
This involves proper color calibration of at least four devices:
* Lighting, which must have a high
color rendering index and not give a
color cast to the object.
* Camera, which
measures the reflected spectrum of the object and converts to a trichromatic color space (e.g.
RGB).
* Screen, which reproduces color so a designer can proof the captured image and make color corrections as necessary.
* Printer, which reproduces the final color on paper.
References
Further reading
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Image processing
Visual perception
Psychophysics
Color
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