[Openicc] Color management in gimp - not really

[Stefan Döhla]

Robin,

> Pro tools like CinePaint, Scribus, and GraphicsMagick have the users,
> mission and domain expertise for CMS. GIMP, an 8-bit paint program targeted
> to Web imagery users and hobbyists, is not relevant to the professional
> imagery market.

I will simply ignore this ...

> What are we supposed to be looking at there? Relevant to CMS, theres exactly
> one line on that web page. It says,  "first steps towards color management".

GIMP's state of color management is:
- common configuration (libgimpconfig) - including GUI
- color managed display (currently not linked to the "common config")
- profiles stored as parasites, characterising the image's working
  space

What needs to be done next:
- Writing plug-ins to change this parasite
- Writing plug-ins to change the colors (together with the parasite)
- Fixing the API of libgimpconfig - your input is appreciated!

GIMP is limited because:
- RGB 8bit with the current code-base (because of native GTK+-types)


This means: there's a chance that GIMP gets a color management system
that's good enough for the mainstream user. As soon as CMYK and other
color spaces enter GIMP, experience from the soon available RGB-based
CMS is valuable for the next steps: doing things how they were always
supposed to be ...

-- 
Stefan Döhla
mailto:color at doehla.de