Apple Aperture 2 - Manual (Page 637)

Appendix B Calibrating Your Aperture System 637
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What Is a Color Space?
When compared to the full spectrum of light, the gamut of a display or printer is
relatively narrow. Because of the small gamuts of the devices, mathematical models are
used to simulate the full spectrum of light within the gamuts of the devices. These
models are known as color spaces.
Color spaces in which the interpretation of a color is not dependent on a specific device
are known as device independent. The Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) was
established in 1931 to create standards for a series of color spaces representing the visible
spectrum. The CIE color spaces, CIE XYZ and CIE Lab, are found in ColorSync Utility. As
technology evolved, new color spaces were created for RGB and CMYK color.
Device-independent color spaces are used by ColorSync Utility, Aperture, and other
color management systems to transfer and transform color data from one device to
another. Color from one device-dependent color space, such as a display, is translated
to a device-independent color space, such as sRGB, and then translated to another
device-dependent color space, such as a printer. The independent color space acts as
an objective interpreter, ensuring that the color data is accurately passed on to the
next device.
Understanding ColorSync Utility
ColorSync Utility is the color management system used by Mac OS X. ColorSync is
completely integrated with Mac OS X and available to all native Mac OS X applications,
including Aperture. ColorSync is used to manage accurate color, from image acquisition
to image manipulation and display to publishing. ColorSync is used consistently by all
devices and applications in your workflow.