Real World Color Management: Industrial-Strength Production Techniques

Having done much of my graduate work in image processing, much of the basic color perception information was already familiar to me. This book has some of the best discussions of color theory and the perception of color in the context of computer systems I have ever seen. I wish I had had these explanations when I was starting my graduate work! Having provided for the basic background, the book covers many aspects of handling color within computers systems in a clear and concise manner. Even though I have a stronger than average background in color theory and management, much of the information about how color is handled in operating systems, applications, scanners, and printers was quite valuable and illuminating. This is a must have reference book for anyone who is serious about color in photography, desktop publishing, or as a hobbiest.

This is more readable, information rich, and practical than Tim Grey's well-written "Color Confidence" which had set a high standard. Like most books on the subject, it starts with a color theory chapter. Besides being a pleasure to read, it is almost certain to teach something you didn't already know. Even a science whiz will be impressed at how gently, thoroughly, and coherently the topics are brought together. Most of the remaining chapters can be read in isolation. Many will immediately focus on a chapter relating to their specific software and then proceed to the all important workflow chapter. For those buying tools, the book offers excellent coverage of the major products including hardware (densiometers, colorimeters, spectrophotometers, targets, monitors, printers, and inks), profiling packages (Gretag-Macbeth, Monaco, etc), and ICC visualization/editing tools (ColorThink and such). The book empowers you to make thoughtful choices on every Photoshop setting (black-points, colorspaces, rendering intents, etc). Also, the section on evaluating profiles is excellent. This topic is usually omitted from other books on the subject. All in all, I give this one an A+.

This is the most thorough, and easy-to-understand book on color management that I've ever seen. They start with some color theory, but don't bog down on the technical, like some other books I've seen. They explain the color management and profile process, then tell you how to build profiles for various devices. They spend six (!) chapters on building and editing profiles. There are separate chapters for measurement & calibration, displays, input devices, output devices, etc. As an example, they cover the steps and procedures to profile RGB inkjet printers, CMYK inkjets, CMYK color lasers, CMYK solid inks, Dye-sub printers, and much more.That process has always seemed like a bunch of mumbojumbo to me, but I found their explanations to be easy to follow. They explain the need for the right lighting in the room where you proof and print and how color shifts can occur.Then, they deal with applications and workflow. Chapter twelve covers the Adobe Color architecture. subsequent chapters deal with separate apps like Freehand, Corel Draw, QuarkXPress and PDF. They explain Colorsync and ICM color management systems. And there is a nice discussion about WHEN in the process to convert the color profile of an image.The appendices have some very useful info on profiles and workflows.It's a bit pricey, but if you NEED color management, it is worth it.

Real World Color Management addresses the all too familiar lament: "My inkjet prints photos that do not reflect what's on my screen."Color management always seemed like an arcane science. While Colorsync is in its 4th iteration, we have yet to see some sort of a definitive manual from Apple.Real World Color Management puts all these to rest. It's not a color book for color scientists. This is a book for people who are interested in how color interacts between what they see through their digital cameras, what they on their screens, what comes out of their printers.There are sections that cover profiling devices, the software and hardware used to profile, how color management is implemented in the Macintosh and in Windows systems, and in the most popular graphics applications (Adobe, Macromedia, Corel). There has been a gaping silence from Apple, from Microsoft, from Epson (and other printer manufacturers) on how to use color management, on how to get good color from input device to output device. This book addresses that.This book answers most of the questions I had on color management. Color management is no longer a mysterious black box in which you see the input and output but in which you have practically no idea what happens in between.This is the definitive book on color management.

First, I have no idea who William X is but his review is a slam to Mr. Murphy and just useless dribble. I know Chris lives in Bolder so I have to assume this is a person with some kind of agenda towards Chris. Now onto the book. I am a color geek myself although I try not to get into all the discussions like how many ICC Profiles will fit on a pin. I have purchased nearly every book on the subject of color, color theory and color management. I have been reading Frasers, Buntin and Murphy's posts on the Apple ColorSync list for years and have literally hundreds of posts from each archived. Real World Color Management is the best book on the subject bar none. It's VERY easy to read and well explained. Even the first few chapters on color theory are so well explained that I not only picked up some good concepts I didn't know, I learned how to explain them to others in a much more concise manner. For those that feel that color management and computer imaging are moving at such a pace that no book can be useful for any length of time, I would say that RWCM is worth the price of admission just for the foundation in color and computer theory it presents in the first 100 or so pages. There is a huge wealth of information that I've never seen anywhere else! The areas in the book discussing how to evaluate the quality of ICC profiles is worth it's weight in gold. The various chapters covering specific software products and how they deal with color management is invaluable. What makes this book so wonderful is it's tone. It has a sense of humor (so needed with this kind of topic). It doesn't look down on the reader and more importantly, it's clear and to the point. There's virtually no math to make your head explode. I happen to know all three authors (some more than others) and I am proud that they have finally achieved the final goal of producing what I believe is the definitive book on the subject of color management. Anyone that works with computer graphics or produces output from a computer should have this book.