Color Management for Black and White - Black and White in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Lightroom - page 8

What is a color space?
Color spaces dei ne specii c boundaries of color within the visual spectrum. A
color space is like the box in the crayon analogy: all the colors inside the box are
represented in that color space; any colors that are not inside the box are not
represented in the space. The colors inside the box are referred to as the color
space's color gamut. Ef ective color management requires that a color proi le
be attached to every image or graphic to indicate its “native” color conditions -
also known as the color space - under which the i le was created. Adobe was
actually one of the innovators in creating and implementing the concept of a
color management system, and introduced the idea of a “working” color space,
with the ideal conditions for image reproduction and editing - not specii c to
any device. A device color space simply describes the range of colors, or gamut,
that a camera can see, a printer can print or a monitor can display. Editing color
spaces, on the other hand, such as Adobe RGB, sRGB, ProPhoto and Color Match
RGB are device-independent. They also determine a color range, as their design
allows you to edit images in a controlled, consistent manner.
The dif erences between the dif erent RGB working spaces are predominantly
dei ned by the color gamut of each space. However, as with many digital
topics, there has been some recent debate over which color space is “best”
for photographic purposes. The following dei nitions will outline some of
the dif erences between the color working spaces and overview some of the
advantages and disadvantages of each.
Note:
Notice how Adobe RGB
extends into richer cyans
and greens than does
sRGB.
sRGB is the smallest working space. It is ideal for web work as it was developed
by HP and Microsoft, to approximate the color space of a typical computer
monitor. It therefore serves as a “best guess” for how another person's monitor
produces color, and as such has become the standard color space for displaying
images on the Internet. The downside of capture in the sRGB space is that most
cameras and output devices are capable of producing a much wider gamut, or a
lot more colors, than sRGB space contains.
Adobe 1998 (or Adobe RGB ) was designed by Adobe Systems, Inc. to
encompass most of the colors that can be generated by using only RGB primary
colors on a device like your monitor. The Adobe RGB working space has been