Details:
Summary:
Color calibration is becoming an important technology for many electronic imaging applications. Electronic image acquisition devices typically produce uncalibrated RGB (red, green, blue) or CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) signals. Calibrating such devices to a standard CIE color reference space requires software for performing the color space transform and a color reference target for performing the device characterization. Most color calibration reference targets in use today in the graphic arts, video, and photography industries are manufactured using photographic dyes or colored pigments. Targets made from these materials suffer from a number of intrinsic defects for the color calibration of imaging devices. They fade with prolonged exposure to light and are not well suited for incorporation into the image acquisition device itself. This paper presents an improved approach to characterizing film scanners and other image acquisition devices using a linear variable filter device manufactured using thin film deposition technology.