Color Management Professional Courses
Color Management Fundamentals
The Color Management Fundamentals course provides an essential education on the fundamental principles of color management in a graphic communication production environment.
The CMP Fundamentals course is a series of 17 expert on-line video lessons encompassing approximately six hours of instruction.
The course provides a strong educational foundation for any technical practitioner interested in a comprehensive understanding of a color managed graphics workflow.
"Color Management Fundamentals" is one course in a series of color management education and certification, including:
- Color Management Fundamentals
- Color Management for Photography
- Color Management for Printing
- Color Management for Premedia
Course Lessons - Table of Contents
Following are descriptions of lessons contained in the six-part, 17 lesson Color Management Professional (CMP) "Fundamentals" course.
Core Fundamentals
Lesson 1: Color Control
Lesson 2: Color Spaces
Lesson 3: Color Science
Lesson 4: Color Evaluation
Lesson 5: Photoshop Concepts
Color Capture
Lesson 6: Color Measurement Tools
Lesson 7: Color Measurement Tools - Densitometers
Lesson 8: Color Measurement Tools - Colorimeters
Calibration
Lesson 9: Process Control
Lesson 10: Linearization and Characterization
Characterization
Lesson 11: Profiling Introduction
Lesson 12: Input and Monitor Profiling
Lesson 13: Output Profiling
Conversion
Lesson 14: Applying ICC Profiles
Lesson 15: Rendering Intents
Conformance
Lesson 16: Color Variation and Delta E
Lesson 17: References and ICC profiles
Detailed Lesson Descriptions
Core Fundamentals
Topic #1: Color Control
This topic will help you to understand how color management works including the concept of gamut and how color management compensates for device differences.
Specific discussion items include:
- Device Differences and the need for color control
- Closed Loop color management versus Open (ICC)
- Achieving an understanding of color management
- Understand the concepts and terminology of color control
Topic #2: Color Spaces
This topic will provide an understanding of the concept of color spaces and how they are used in color management.
Specific discsussion items include:
- The difference between subtractive and additive
- What is Device Independent Color
- At least three ways to quantify color
- Understand concepts, terminology of color space
- How color spaces make profiles work
Topic #3: Color Science
This topic will explain how humans perceive color and the factors that can affect color perception.
Specific discussion items include:
- How to Use CIE L*a*b* to quantify color
- What three things are necessary to perceive color
- At least three factors that can affect perception
- Learn at least two standards that CIE provided
- Understand terminology related to color science including metamerism
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Topic #4: Color Evaluation
This topic will help understand the variables associated with evaluating color and how to quantify color parameters.
Specific discussion items include:
- The goal of color reproduction
- Determining what you are reproducing
- Understanding the diminshing size of gamuts
- Two ways to evaluate color
- How to quantify color differneces
- Understanding terminology of delta E
Topic #5: Photoshop Concepts
This topic will help you apply the information in topics 1 through 4 into useful Photoshop exercises to solidify your knowledge of color management.
Specific discussion items include:
- Determine which Profile to Assign in Photoshop
- Understand how to Use Convert to Profile
- Three factors that can affect perception
- Three Color Management limitations
Color Capture
Topic #6: Color Measurement Tools
This topic will help you understand the fundamentals of measuring color, the factors that influence the results and how to determine what instruments are best for your needs.
Specific discussion items include:
- Fundamentals on how color measurement devices work
- Three different types of color measurement devices
- Two important reasons for calibration
- Understand how surface issues affect color measurements
- Understand how the color of backing materials affect results
- How to determine what aperture size to use
Topic #7: Color Measurement Tools - Densitometry
This topic will help you understand the fundamentals of how a densitometer works and the variables associated with this instrument.
Specific discussion items include:
- Fundamentals on how a densitometer works
- Which Status is correct for your application
- Provide at least three values that a densitometer can measure
- Provide at least three reasons to use a densitometer
- Provide at least one reason why to measure dots
- Understand what ink film thickness is and how to measure
Topic #8: Color Measurement Tools - Colorimeters
This topic will allow you to understand the fundamentals of how a colorimeter and a spectrophotometer work.
Specific discussion items include:
- What applications a colorimeter is used for
- Three applications for a spectrophotometer
- Four ways that spectrophotometers are different
- Understanding the difference between a colorimeter and a spectrophotometer
This topic will allow you to understand methods of identifying variations in color management output quality, determining the causes, and correcting the problems in the color management workflow.
Specific discussion items include:
- Defining Process Control
- Understanding how process control measurements are selected
- Basics of selecting and making measurements for Process Control
- Concepts for process control tolerances and reporting
- Process failure correction
- Reviewing the importance of standard operating procedures
- Performing Process Control
- Troubleshooting Process Failures
- Understanding how Process Control makes Calibration more valuable
Topic #10: Linearization and Calibration
This topic will allow you to understand the process of linearization and calibration of your color management system.
Specific discussion items include:
- The definition of “Calibration”
- “Linearization” and its relationship to calibration
- Calibration Metrics and Methodologies
- The VALUE of calibration in a graphics production workflow
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Characterization
Topic #11: Profiling Introduction
This topic will explain how ICC profiles are created for different devices and how to determine the proper variables in configuring devices to accommodate and build these profiles/
Specific discussion items include:
- Why ICC profiles are used
- Where ICC profiles come from
- Where profiles reside in a computer system
- Two ICC connection spaces
- Components of a printer profile
- Four different types of profiles
Topic #12: Input & Monitor Profiling
This topic will solidify the importance of calibration and provide practical steps for characterizing input devices and monitors
- Specific discussion items include:
- Two differences between calibration and profiling
- Three components required for input profiling
- Tips for profile naming and potential renaming issues
- Two important choices when selecting the input target
- At least three choices for selecting your monitor white point
Topic #13: Output Profiling
This topic will provide an understanding of the output profiling process and the importance of choosing the correct target.
Specific discussion items include:
- Two differences between calibration and profiling
- Three components required for output profiling
- Three variables which will affect what target to use
- Four steps in making an output profile
- Output profile naming conventions
Topic #14: Applying ICC Profiles
This topic will provide an understanding of applying ICC profiles to your color management system.
Specific discussion items include:
- Learning what conversion entails
- Understanding how conversion takes place and variables of the conversion in the Color Management System and the Color Management Module (CMM)
- Reviewing the application of color management by assigning profiles and converting to profiles
Topic #15: Rendering Intents
This topic will provide an understanding of rendering intents and the preferences for compressing color ganuts in a color managed workflow.
Specific discussion items include:
- Defining "gamut"
- Defining "rendering intent"
- Understanding how rendering intents are stored in ICC profiles
- Reviewing the three basic rendering intents
- Understanding where rendering intents are selected
- Practical applications of these settings
Topic #16: Color Variation and Delta E
This topic will provide an understanding of color variation measurement in regards to the parameter of "Delta E".
Specific discussion items include:
- Learning about the concept of conforming results
- Understand the basics of collecting measurement data for conformance analysis
- Discuss why only certain measurement metrics are appropriate
- Defining “Delta E”
- Understanding additional color tolerancing formulas
- Best practices for tolerancing
Topic #17: References and ICC Profiles
This topic will provide an understanding of color reference spaces and their relation to ICC profiles.
Specific discussion items include:
- Defining Reference spaces
- Profile References for Scanners
- Profile References for Digital Cameras
- Profile References for Monitors
- Understanding when to use a reference printing condition
- Learning the benefit of using a reference printing condition
- Understanding how to create references for scanners and printers