[Openicc] Colour Management future

[Chris Lilley]

On Friday, April 1, 2011, 10:57:29 AM, Kai-Uwe wrote:

KUB> To be honest, I am afraid, the fact that Longhorn is not based on ICC at
KUB> all, we must ask if the OpenICC group has a further chance to contribute
KUB> anything useful if it keeps the old title.
KUB> As the ICC standard appears now be obsoleted in large parts of the 
KUB> industry, I suggest to rename this email list in the near future. 

Well, yes. But while this is an encouraging development, it doesn't really go far enough. The new open-source development still pretends that colour matching can be approximated by some jumped-up computer instead of relying on a trained and seasoned eye.

I noted with interest the announcement today of several new and upcoming digital cameras that use CMYK, rather than RGB sensors. (Different models are available, depending on which press will ultimately be used for the photo print. The Nikon D4h, for example, is set up for Heidelberg presses).

As everyone knows, all RGB-based colour spaces are toys that can't be used for real work in industry, and CIE-based spaces depend on dubious and recently discredited psycho-visual experiments in the 1930s  -while real CMYK, carefully balanced off the press by the eye and instinct of an experienced foreman, is the only way to produce good colour output. So in a sense, the new breed of CMYK cameras are the first true digital cameras that conform to established industry standards.

As it is now clear that device CMYK is the way of the future, perhaps the list should simply be closed, rather than renamed?


-- 
 Chris Lilley   Technical Director, Interaction Domain                 
 W3C Graphics Activity Lead, Fonts Activity Lead
 Co-Chair, W3C Hypertext CG
 Member, CSS, WebFonts, SVG Working Groups