Apple 12/600PS manual Appendix D Working With ColorSync, Problem that ColorSync solves

Appendix D

Working With ColorSync

The Macintosh does a lot of work to make sure that the colors you see on your monitor closely match the colors you get on your printers, scanners, and other devices. The software that does this work is called ColorSync. Because ColorSync does its work behind the scenes, you don’t have to know anything about it. But if you’re curious, this appendix explains how ColorSync works and how you can benefit from using it.

The problem that ColorSync solves

Providing consistent color with desktop computers is a technical challenge. Reproducing colors consistently from device to device is difficult because colored light on your monitor is very different from printed ink. Different color devices use different methods for representing color information and produce different ranges of colors.

Monitors (and most scanners) produce colors by mixing red, green, and blue light–called RGB color. Most printers produce colors by mixing cyan (a shade of blue), magenta (a bright pink), yellow, and black ink–called CMYK color. Since monitors and printers have different color capabilities, they cannot reproduce each other’s colors exactly.

In addition, no two monitors or printers produce exactly the same colors. (You can see an example of the differences among television sets at a consumer electronics store.)

291