Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
actual raw data of the selected tag or header. That is obviously useful only
if the user wants to know how the binary data looks.
There are other profile tags in an ICC profile, and one of the most
useful to examine is the
Localized Description String
. ICC profiles can have
more than one name since they are built to be cross platform. The exter-
nal name is the one most users will be familiar with. This is the name
that appears when you view the profile on the desktop of your com-
puter—the filename. This is usually a name produced when a user builds
and saves a profile to disk. The profile also has an internal name. Soft-
ware products like Photoshop see the internal name and display this to
the user in the various Photoshop dialogs. Therefore, I could have a
profile named
Epson2200Luster
both internally and externally. If I were to
click the profile name in the desktop and alter the name to
Epson4000Matt
,
Photoshop (and most other ICC-aware applications) would still show the
name as
Epson2200Luster
.
The Localized Description String entry seen in Fig. 8-2 is a location
where I can ensure the internal name is set as I want for ICC-savvy appli-
cations to display. There are the three fields in which a profile name can
be stored. If the external and internal names differ, simply edit the inter-
nal name(s) in this Localized Description String and save the profile. Note
that the profile names seen in the ColorSync utility, and in most other
products, display the internal profile name.
The Profile list is a useful place to see and compare the gamuts of two
or more profiles. Clicking a profile name in the list shows a 3D gamut
map of the profile. Clicking and dragging inside this window allows the
user to spin the gamut plot in 3D, making it much more effective to visu-
alize the entire profile's actual gamut. Holding down the Option key over
the gamut map window allows the user to zoom the size of the gamut
map in and out within this window. Holding down the Control key over
the gamut map window or clicking the small triangle allows the user to
show the gamut mapping in different ways.
The real fun begins with the
Hold for Comparison
option seen in Fig.
8-5. When this option is selected, the user can click another profile and
the 3D gamut plot will be placed over the original gamut plot so he or
she can inspect the gamut of each profile. In Fig. 8-5 I've selected a CMYK
Matchprint profile to show how much smaller its gamut is compared to
the original gamut plot of the Epson profile I selected. The original Epson
profile is grayed out to near white, making it easier to see the gamut of
the secondary device profile. Holding down the Control Key now pro-
vides a
Clear Comparison
menu option to remove the original gamut map.
Having the ability to view the profile gamut in 3D and then placing addi-
tional profiles on top of the original profile makes inspecting the gamut
maps and mismatches easy and effective and shows how a 2D gamut map
simply fails to show the entire picture. We will look at other gamut
mapping utilities; however, the functionality in the ColorSync utility is
certainly a great start and the price can't be beat.
