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Managing Color With ColorSync


ColorSync Manager Overview

This section provides an overview of the ColorSync Manager and how an application or device driver can use it for color conversion, color matching, color gamut checking, profile management, Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox calibration, and creating color management modules (CMMs).

The ColorSync Manager provides a set of routines contained in a system extension. ColorSync also includes a collection of display device profiles for all Apple color monitors, some default profiles for standard color spaces, and a robust default CMM. In addition, the ColorSync control panel, shown in Figure 2-1 , allows a user to specify a preferred CMM and various default profiles. CMMs and profiles are discussed throughout this material.

To provide its color-matching services, the ColorSync Manager works with color profiles and with one or more color management modules. Your application or driver can supply its own CMM, or you can use the default CMM , a robust CMM that is installed as part of the ColorSync extension and supports all the required and optional functions defined by the ColorSync Manager. The ColorSync Manager relies on the Component Manager to support plug-and-play capability for third-party CMMs. The Component Manager is described in Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox. For more information on CMMs, see Color Management Modules .

A profile is a table that contains the color characteristics of a given device in a particular state. ColorSync profiles conform to the format currently defined by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Device driver developers and peripheral manufacturers can provide their own profiles or they can obtain profiles from a number of vendors. For a list of profile vendors, see the ColorSync Web site at http://colorsync.apple.com . Profiles are described in detail in Profiles .


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