Ip4300 colour query

[hpnetserver]

The goal of color management originated by members of International Ccolor Consortium (ICC) is so that an image regarless what input device is involved to capture it will appear indentically or as close as possible on any output deveices such as different printers and computer display monitors. Ech input and output device has its own unique color space. Without color management a same scene captured by different cameras or scanners will produce image files very different from each other. When the image is displayed or printed the colors will all be different among each output device.

So color data needs to be managed and converted when they move from input to output devices. With proper standardized conversions the output will all look alike in terms of colors.

Guess what, that's pretty much what I know about. I am not doing color management so I do not have actual practical knowledge about how to set it up.

Yes, reinstall your driver and software may make a difference. But it is the default that really determines the background of the color management of your computer environment. If it is not right you still have to et in there and gets your hand dirty by changing things until colors are right.

 

[Grandad35]

Tiggzz,

I wish that there was a simple explanation for what you are seeing, but there isn't. Hpnetserver is correct that the explanation involves color management.

Here are links to several threads which discuss similar problems. There are additional links contained in these posts that you should read. Color management isn't simple or easy to understand - you will have to spend lots of time reading and learning to understand what is happening. In particular, the book by Fraser (http://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Co..._bbs_sr_1/102-0776012-2773761?ie=UTF8&s=books) is an excellent reference that covers the subject in detail, starting with an explanation of how our eyes perceive color.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=8095#p8095
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=7992#p7992
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=9124#p9124

The color numbers for R/G/B or C/M/Y/K are only relative to the color space that you are using, in the same way that 100 degrees means nothing until you know if it is Degrees F or Degrees C (or even Degrees Kelvin or Degrees Rankine). When you use C/M/Y/K, most programs use the "US Web Coated (SWOP) v2" color space. If you want to specify an absolute color value, you must use the LAB color space.

Another important point is that your monitor can't reproduce the entire range of colors that our eyes can see - the range of displayable colors is called the "color gamut" of a device. Likewise, printers can't print the full range of colors. The really interesting thing is that the color gamuts of monitors and printers have an area that overlaps, but printers can print some colors that our monitors can't display, and monitors can display some colors that our printers can't print. Good monitors usually have a larger color gamut than cheap monitors. Expensive printers (more ink colors, better inks) generally have a larger color gamut that cheap printers (fewer ink colors). Add to this the complexity that cameras that shoot in "RAW" mode can capture a wider range of colors than either our monitors or printers can handle. What do you do when the printer can't print all of the colors that a camera can capture? Now, consider how difficult it must be for your photo editing and printing software to handle all of this confusion (this is why most programs just ignore these problems). All of these factors (and many more) are handled by color management.

 

[mikling]

And not all scanners can scan everything we see either. They are also faced with their limitations and their correction routines to compensate as well.

Not a simple topic for the faint hearted.