Predicting Color Image Match

When assessing color printing conformity, ANSI/CGATS TR016 specifies multiple tolerances, in terms of the 95th percentile DE₀₀, and the color characterization target. This research investigates if the 95th percentile DE₀₀ metric applies to color image match. The experiment involves the selecting the CRPC6 dataset as the reference, altering the CRPC6 reference with known colorimetric differences, generating ICC profiles and preparing pictorial color images in the specified printing conditions, conducting psychometric experiments. The results show that (1) color image match is proportional to the magnitude of the device-based 95th percentile DE₀₀, and (2) color image match is scene dependent when the device-based 95th percentile DE₀₀ is between 4-5 or approaches color conformity of a printing device. Color differences between two pictorial color images of the same scene can also be quantified by image-based CRF and the 95th percentile DE₀₀. Image-based CRF only takes colors in the scene into consideration. In this research, image-based prediction of color image match did not show significant difference than the device-based prediction. This was largely due to the fact that the entire CRPC6 gamut is uniformly shifted in the direction of -L* and -b* by specified amounts. By means of simulation, we showed how image-based 95th percentile DE₀₀ differs under the same devicebased 95th percentile DE₀₀. The image-based 95th percentile DE₀₀ possesses better potential in predicting color image match than the device-based approach.