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Managing Color With ColorSync


Devices and Color Management Modules

Your device driver can use the color conversion functions, described in Converting Between Color Spaces , to convert colors between color spaces belonging to the same base family without relying on a CMM. However, color matching, gamut checking, providing color rendering dictionaries to PostScript printers, and other tasks you perform using ColorSync Manager functions all require use of a CMM. It is the CMM that actually carries out the work of the ColorSync Manager functions, such as performing the low-level calculations required to match colors from a source device to a destination device.

If your ColorSync-supportive device driver can use the Apple-supplied default CMM, you need only provide one or more profiles for your device. However, you may want to provide a custom CMM that is optimized for your device and its profiles. For example, a profile can provide private tags containing information a custom CMM might use to achieve better results for the device.

To provide your own CMM, you can create one or obtain one from a vendor. For information describing how to create a CMM, see Developing Color Management Modules and ColorSync Reference for Color Management Modules

For additional information on CMMs, see Setting a Preferred CMM and How the ColorSync Manager Selects a CMM .


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