•The Dimensions of Color, a site developed by David Briggs. A well illustrated site on light, color, and its perception. The content is a course in applied color science optimized for artists but useful for all. The language is clear, with just a few simple equations and lots of descriptions.http://www.huevaluechroma.com•For artists interested in understanding the technical foundations of all aspects of watercolor painting: papers, brushes, paints, color theory, painting techniques, and more. The site's author, Bruce MacEvoy, also has another site devoted to color theory, but this one more technical in nature.http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html•A site by a photographer, Norman Koren, for photographers who want to get the maximum from the medium and who are eager to learn. From film grain to inkjet inks, all aspects of traditional and digital photography are discussed. See also the link in the Technical sites section below for his great camera analysis program "Imatest".http://www.normankoren.com
Color museum
•Most likely the first virtual color museum. An extraordinary multi-lingual site on the perception, description and characterization of color. Contains a description of almost all color systems known since Pythagoras.http://www.colorsystem.com/?lang=en
Here is a list of manufacturers specialized in light and color measurement instruments, with an emphasis on instruments dedicated to the print and paint industries.•Barbieri electronic: Mid-range industrial instruments: spectrophotometers in reflection/transmission, densitometers, and customized products.http://www.barbierielectronic.com•BYK Gardner: Mid-range industrial and laboratory instruments: spectrophotometers, light booths, gloss meters, haze meters, orange peel / DOI meters.Color appearance measurement instrumentsColor measurement instrumentsTechnical articles / Videos•Datacolor: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, light booths. http://www.datacolor.comSpyderBLOG (articles, webinars)•JETI: Mid-range instruments for industrial and laboratory use: radiometer, spectrophotometer, spectrocolorimeter.http://www.jeti.com•Konica-Minolta: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers, gloss meters, light booths, radiometers, illuminance meters, luminance meters, etc.Measuring Instruments Unit (Global)Measuring Instruments for Graphic Arts (Europe)Measurement Fundamentals (tutorials)•Ocean Optics: Full line of miniature fiber-optics based spectrometers for laboratory use.http://www.oceanoptics.com•Photo Research: Now part of Jadak, a Noventa Company): High-end instruments for industrial and laboratory use: spectroradiometers, photometers, video photometers.https://www.jadaktech.com/products/photo-research/•Techkon: Mid-range instruments for industrial use: plate measurement device, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers.http://www.techkon.com•X-Rite/GretagMacbeth: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers, light booths.http://www.xrite.comOn-line eLearningTechnical support
RGB spaces sites
Numerical data for all RGB spaces available in BabelColor is directly available trough its "Data" menu (click here for the list of RGB spaces). The information includes the coordinates of the primaries and the illuminant, gamma, as well as the XYZ to RGB and RGB to XYZ matrices. A short description of each space is also included in the help manual. The following sites contain additional information on the six spaces that were designed by individuals (as opposed to international committees).•BestRGB and DonRGB4, two spaces dedicated for film based photography. Defined by Don Hutcheson. Look in the "Free" section of his site.http://www.hutchcolor.com/profiles.html•Beta RGB, a space defined by Bruce Lindbloom to maximize the coverage of the visible spectrum (L*a*b* gamut efficiency) and, unlike ProPhoto, maximize the amount of RGB combinations corresponding to visible colors (Encoding Efficiency).http://www.brucelindbloom.com/WorkingSpaceInfo.html•Bruce RGB, created in Bruce Fraser in 1998, a compromise between ColorMatch and Adobe (1998). Designed to maximize the gamut while providing good edit precision in 8 bit per pixel images.http://creativepro.com/out-of-gamut-finessing-photoshop-color/•eciRGB, developed by the European Color Initiative, a group of experts dedicated to advancing media-neutral color data-processing in digital publishing systems. Dedicated for printing presses.http://www.eci.org/en/colourstandards/workingcolorspaces•Ekta Space PS5, a space designed by Joseph Holmes to match the gamut of Ektachrome transparency film. Also works well with color negatives.http://www.josephholmes.com/profiles.html
Technical sites
•John the math guy’s blog contains quite informative essays on science with about half of them dedicated to color, not too surprising considering John’s main field of work. The tone is light but the science is solid, yet not too dense, and always thought provoking.http://johnthemathguy.com/Blogposts.html•The Dimensions of Color, a site developed by David Briggs. A well illustrated site on light, color, and its perception. The content is a course in applied color science optimized for artists but useful for all. The language is clear, with just a few simple equations and lots of descriptions.http://www.huevaluechroma.com•Color vision, a very personal review of color theory by Bruce MacEvoy. This site covers all aspects of color perception with illustrated examples. A must read, but be ready to spend a lot of time since there is a lot of content.http://www.handprint.com/LS/CVS/color.html•The Imatest Web site. A commercial site with extensive background information on target testing. Imatest offers a suite of programs to test the sharpness and image quality of lenses, and evaluate the color rendering and image noise of cameras, using inexpensive, widely available targets. It consists of three modules, including one dedicated to owners of the ColorChecker target.http://www.imatest.com•José Pereira's Digital Heritage Web site, in Spanish, covers the application of color management in the digitalization of cultural heritage. You will find numerous articles on the use of all sorts of targets and tools in photography (18% grey targets, ColorChecker, QPcard 201, etc.) as well as software reviews.Sitio web sobre Patrimonio Digital, de José Pereira en español. Esta especializado en temas de gestión del color aplicado al campo de la digitalización del patrimonio cultural. Encontrará numerosos artículos sobre el uso de todo tipo de cartas de color y herramientas (cartas de grises, ColorChecker, QPCard, etc) así como diversas evaluaciones de software.http://www.jpereira.net•Bruce Lindbloom's Web site, a very complete and accurate site on the mathematics of colorimetry, with numerous interactive applets, equations, tables, etc. Very professional.http://www.brucelindbloom.com•The Munsell Color Science Laboratory (MCSL), one of the world's premier academic laboratories dedicated to the science of color. Its "Resources" section offers a significant amount of information on color theory as well as files of the Munsell "renotation" data.https://www.rit.edu/science/munsell-color-lab•Charles Poynton, a well known and often quoted color expert with its famous color and gamma FAQs.http://www.poynton.com
BabelColor®
Color Measurementand Analysis
White balance
•An educational article on white balance for microscopy applications, from Nikon, where we see that the microscopic world can have the same problems as the macroscopic world in terms of color accuracy.http://www.microscopyu.com
•The Dimensions of Color, a site developed by David Briggs. A well illustrated site on light, color, and its perception. The content is a course in applied color science optimized for artists but useful for all. The language is clear, with just a few simple equations and lots of descriptions.http://www.huevaluechroma.com•For artists interested in understanding the technical foundations of all aspects of watercolor painting: papers, brushes, paints, color theory, painting techniques, and more. The site's author, Bruce MacEvoy, also has another site devoted to color theory, but this one more technical in nature.http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html•A site by a photographer, Norman Koren, for photographers who want to get the maximum from the medium and who are eager to learn. From film grain to inkjet inks, all aspects of traditional and digital photography are discussed. See also the link in the Technical sites section below for his great camera analysis program "Imatest".http://www.normankoren.com
Color museum
•Most likely the first virtual color museum. An extraordinary multi-lingual site on the perception, description and characterization of color. Contains a description of almost all color systems known since Pythagoras.http://www.colorsystem.com/?lang=en
Here is a list of manufacturers specialized in light and color measurement instruments, with an emphasis on instruments dedicated to the print and paint industries.•Barbieri electronic: Mid-range industrial instruments: spectrophotometers in reflection/transmission, densitometers, and customized products.http://www.barbierielectronic.com•BYK Gardner: Mid-range industrial and laboratory instruments: spectrophotometers, light booths, gloss meters, haze meters, orange peel / DOI meters.Color appearance measurement instrumentsColor measurement instrumentsTechnical articles / Videos•Datacolor: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, light booths. http://www.datacolor.comSpyderBLOG (articles, webinars)•JETI: Mid-range instruments for industrial and laboratory use: radiometer, spectrophotometer, spectrocolorimeter.http://www.jeti.com•Konica-Minolta: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers, gloss meters, light booths, radiometers, illuminance meters, luminance meters, etc.Measuring Instruments Unit (Global)Measuring Instruments for Graphic Arts (Europe)Measurement Fundamentals (tutorials)•Ocean Optics: Full line of miniature fiber-optics based spectrometers for laboratory use.http://www.oceanoptics.com•Photo Research: Now part of Jadak, a Noventa Company): High-end instruments for industrial and laboratory use: spectroradiometers, photometers, video photometers.https://www.jadaktech.com/products/photo-research/•Techkon: Mid-range instruments for industrial use: plate measurement device, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers.http://www.techkon.com•X-Rite/GretagMacbeth: Wide instrument range, from consumer to laboratory: colorimeters, spectrophotometers, spectrodensitometers, light booths.http://www.xrite.comOn-line eLearningTechnical support
RGB spaces sites
Numerical data for all RGB spaces available in BabelColor is directly available trough its "Data" menu (click here for the list of RGB spaces). The information includes the coordinates of the primaries and the illuminant, gamma, as well as the XYZ to RGB and RGB to XYZmatrices. A short description of each space is also included in the help manual. The following sites contain additional information on the six spaces that were designed by individuals (as opposed to international committees).•BestRGB and DonRGB4, two spaces dedicated for film based photography. Defined by Don Hutcheson. Look in the "Free" section of his site.http://www.hutchcolor.com/profiles.html•Beta RGB, a space defined by Bruce Lindbloom to maximize the coverage of the visible spectrum (L*a*b* gamut efficiency) and, unlike ProPhoto, maximize the amount of RGB combinations corresponding to visible colors (Encoding Efficiency).http://www.brucelindbloom.com/WorkingSpaceInfo.html•Bruce RGB, created in Bruce Fraser in 1998, a compromise between ColorMatch and Adobe (1998). Designed to maximize the gamut while providing good edit precision in 8 bit per pixel images.http://creativepro.com/out-of-gamut-finessing-photoshop-color/•eciRGB, developed by the European Color Initiative, a group of experts dedicated to advancing media-neutral color data-processing in digital publishing systems. Dedicated for printing presses.http://www.eci.org/en/colourstandards/workingcolorspaces•Ekta Space PS5, a space designed by Joseph Holmes to match the gamut of Ektachrome transparency film. Also works well with color negatives.http://www.josephholmes.com/profiles.html
Technical sites
•John the math guy’s blog contains quite informative essays on science with about half of them dedicated to color, not too surprising considering John’s main field of work. The tone is light but the science is solid, yet not too dense, and always thought provoking.http://johnthemathguy.com/Blogposts.html•The Dimensions of Color, a site developed by David Briggs. A well illustrated site on light, color, and its perception. The content is a course in applied color science optimized for artists but useful for all. The language is clear, with just a few simple equations and lots of descriptions.http://www.huevaluechroma.com•Color vision, a very personal review of color theory by Bruce MacEvoy. This site covers all aspects of color perception with illustrated examples. A must read, but be ready to spend a lot of time since there is a lot of content.http://www.handprint.com/LS/CVS/color.html•The Imatest Web site. A commercial site with extensive background information on target testing. Imatest offers a suite of programs to test the sharpness and image quality of lenses, and evaluate the color rendering and image noise of cameras, using inexpensive, widely available targets. It consists of three modules, including one dedicated to owners of the ColorChecker target.http://www.imatest.com•José Pereira's Digital Heritage Web site, in Spanish, covers the application of color management in the digitalization of cultural heritage. You will find numerous articles on the use of all sorts of targets and tools in photography (18% grey targets, ColorChecker, QPcard 201, etc.) as well as software reviews.Sitio web sobre Patrimonio Digital, de José Pereira en español. Esta especializado en temas de gestión del color aplicado al campo de la digitalización del patrimonio cultural. Encontrará numerosos artículossobre el uso de todo tipo de cartas de color y herramientas (cartas de grises, ColorChecker, QPCard, etc) así como diversas evaluaciones de software.http://www.jpereira.net•Bruce Lindbloom's Web site, a very complete and accurate site on the mathematics of colorimetry, with numerous interactive applets, equations, tables, etc. Very professional.http://www.brucelindbloom.com•The Munsell Color Science Laboratory (MCSL), one of the world's premier academic laboratories dedicated to the science of color. Its "Resources" section offers a significant amount of information on color theory as well as files of the Munsell "renotation" data.https://www.rit.edu/science/munsell-color-lab•Charles Poynton, a well known and often quoted color expert with its famous color and gamma FAQs.http://www.poynton.com
BabelColor®
White balance
•An educational article on white balance for microscopy applications, from Nikon, where we see that the microscopic world can have the same problems as the macroscopic world in terms of color accuracy.http://www.microscopyu.com