Applying the Spectrum

Wherever there is a need to bring an image from one medium to another, this new formal description of accuracy, and the methods for obtaining it will apply. The fields that have this need are as diverse and plentiful as the current approaches to this problem. Now a powerful fundamental principle unites all of these fields, making their tasks much more simple and effective.

Printing

The classic example most computer-users are familiar with. It is the process of turning an image composed of monitor light into an image composed of ink on paper. Certainly almost everyone who has printed out something important has at some point been frustrated with the results. Some colors appear too dull or dark, while other times, the color is far too intense. And in these instances, the detail is likely obscured. If the image is important, they will likely spend a good amount of time cajoling the colors this way and that, using a program like Photoshop, until the printout in reasonably within their expectations.

None of this is necessary with Master Colors' insights about the new spectrum. The color ranges of both devices (monitor and printer) are both understood already. Thus the image can be copied directly through the HVC space, minimizing any such visual distortions. If the color range of the printer is significantly different from that of the monitor (which is often the case), then certain compromises come into play as discussed earlier, ensuring that the most accurate copy possible is produced, by definition.

The benefits of obtaining accurate printouts with such ease are enormous. Not only for the individuals who may save time, printing out photos and graphics in one shot, but also for printing companies which can now have more confidence in printing perhaps millions of copies that are of top accuracy.

Digital Photography / Scanning

Digital photography is quickly becoming the standard for photographers and film makers as a cheaper, easier alternative to film. The nature of the technology makes it inherently susceptible to color correction problems. You might ask, what are the two mediums that an image is being copied between? Actually, when taking a digital photograph, we are copying an image from the ultimate medium, the real world, into the confined medium of the camera's digital color space.

In this sense, it is a truly monumental color correction task. The range of color in the outside world it the full gamut of all visible light. The confines of the digital color space (such as for a monitor) are puny by comparison. So the question is, how do we get the most accurate representation of the real-world image just snapped, using only the colors on a display device? We have already given the answer: only through the new spectrum of accuracy will we ensure that the real-world image will stay as true as possible on the display device.

This is not to say there aren't already many marvelous color correction techniques in place for digital photography. But the capacity for perfect accuracy we suggest can be the final piece to the puzzle, bestowing on the photographer the last, most critical way to exercise control over the way images are captured.

Scanning is mentioned here, too, because the problem is similar. A scanner evaluates colors from the real world (a photo or an image) and converts it to a digital color space. The case is not as extreme with digital photography - it will no scan piercing daylight, nor pitch blackness, but the concepts are the same. This procedure can be improved through the new spectrum, just as digital photography can be.

Film Photography

The process of color correction is particularly unwieldily with film, during the post-production phase of film making. The process generally entails converting the contents of the film onto a monitor for viewing and editing, and then back to film. Both conversions frequently exhibit distortions in the images that are so common to color correction problems. The typical practice is to combat these distortions by manual adjustments, loosely aided by software, until the images look right. This exhausts endless hours of many professionals during this phase, and is consequently very expensive.

The insights revealed here about the new spectrum provide such a powerful basis for attaining accurate copies, such a process can be more or less automated, with the loose guidance of a professional. This can save an enormous amount of time and money, and considerably cut the overhead which has always been involved with film.

Naturally, the same principles apply to more basic forms of film photography. The process of producing single prints has become highly integrated with computers, thus has become another two-way color correction problem. Applying these methods can ensure greater accuracy when the image is copied to the computer, and then back to the form of a print.

Image Editing

This is a more general application for these ideas, and is not a color correction problem per se. It is the process of manipulating an image on a computer screen for any purpose, through a program such as Photoshop. Such programs are used sometimes for manual color correction, as mentioned in a few examples above. Programs like these give you a good deal of power over an image, adjusting its contrast, brightness, and other color qualities, and also provide access to a number of valuable visual effects.

If it is not a color correction problem, then why is it here? Well, this is not quite true. When performing some of these adjustments to an image, like changing brightness, we are really emulating a color correction problem. The whole image is being shifted into a new range of color (even though it remains on the same device). During such a shift, it is still desirable to preserve all of the qualities of the image we mentioned. We would like all of the color distance proportions to be conserved, so the information is not warped. At the same time, we hope that the colors themselves are not too distorted or offline. In this respect, the new spectrum, and the process for achieving accuracy, apply perfectly.

In fact, for any type of visual effect like this, we may apply the principles of the new spectrum of accuracy. No matter how the image is changed, accuracy may be preserved by our definition (unless of course the purpose is to distort even this information).

So, not only can Master Colors' insights revolutionize the process of color correction in all fields, it can also revolutionize the tools one would use if choosing to do it manually.

Home