Matrix of color transformations in ICC profiles

  1. Home
  2. Archive
  3. № 2 (63)
Author(s) Collection number Pages Download abstract Download full text
Zanko N. V., Pysanchyn N. S., Holubnyk T. S., Dubnevych M. M. № 2 (63) 112-125 Image Image

When working with digital originals at the prepress stage, it is important to choose the right RGB workspace. Today, sRGB color space is still the standard for display devices. Visual data is reproduced using digital signals. The colors can be synthesized by different visualization devices depending on the characteristics of the primary colors of a particular device, including the spectral energy distribution of the primary colors. Modern computer models are equipped with a display that has a wide color gamut, which corresponds to the coverage of the color space DCI-P3. This coverage is significantly higher than sRGB and describes more colors in areas of rich red, yellow, purple and green. These color spaces are constructed into the DCI-P3-D65.icc and sRGB.iccc profiles, respectively. When converting the colors of the digital original to DCI-P colors, one should keep in mind that they can only be displayed correctly on Wide Gamut monitors. It is shown that its use in publishing systems as a working RGB space for prepress images is impractical due to problems with color coding and reproduction of wide color coverage of this space on most devices, as well as inconsistencies with print coverage. Many colors in the blue-green area of the three-dimensional representation of color ranges in the CIE LAB space, which can be reproduced by offset printing method, but protrude beyond the DCI-P3 and, accordingly, will be lost during conversion. The method of finding matrix coefficients for converting RGB-values of pixel colors of digital originals into hardware-independent space CIE XYZ and vice versa is presented. The coefficients of transformation matrices for the DCI-P3 color space are calculated and the chromatic adaptation matrix for the spaces described with respect to different color temperatures is recorded.

Keywords: color space, color coverage, transformation matrices, profile, coeffi­cients, colorimetric recalculation, color control, color image.

doi: 10.32403/1998-6912-2021-2-63-112-125


  • 1. Stokes, M., Anderson, M., Chandrasekar, S., & Motta, R. (1996). A Standard Default Color Space for the Internet – sRGB Michael Stokes (Hewlett-Packard), Matthew Anderson (Microsoft), Srinivasan Chandrasekar (Microsoft), Ricardo Motta (Hewlett-Packard) Version 1.10, November 5. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/Graphics/Color/sRGB (in English).
  • 2. Working with Wide Color Gamut in Final Cut Pro X. Retrieved from https://images.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Wide_Color_Gamut.pdf (in English).
  • 3. Raymond, M. Galaxy S8 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out. Retrieved from https://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S8_ShootOut_01.htm (in English).
  • 4. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, D-Cinema Quality – Reference Projector and Environment for the Display of DCDM in Review Rooms and Theaters, 2011, New York: RP 431-2 (in English).
  • 5. The Ability to Display Color Correctly Is Vital: Understanding the Color Gamut of an LCD Monitor. Retrieved from https://www.eizo.com/library/basics/lcd_monitor_color_gamut/ (in English).
  • 6. Display P3 – CG Color Space. Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved 2017-08-18 (in English).
  • 7. Chromatic Adaptation. Retrieved from http://www.brucelindbloom.com/ (in English).
  • 8. Mark, D. Sherfil’d. (2006). Modeli cvetovogo vosprijatija. 2-ja red. ; per. s angl. Sankt-Pe­terburg (in Russian).
  • 9. Süsstrunka, S, Holmb, J., Graham, D. Finlaysonc. (January 2001). Chromatic Adaptation Per­formance of Different RGB Sensors: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, SPIE, 4300. Ret­rie­ved from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.14.918&rep=rep1&type=pdf (in English).
  • 10. BURNS, Scott A. (2019). Chromatic adaptation transform by spectral reconstruction: Color Research&Application, 44 (5), 682–693. Availableat: doi:10.1002/col.22384 (in English).
  • 11. International Color Consortiun. Retrieved from https://www.color.org (in English).
  • 12. European Color Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.eci.org/en/start (in English).
  • 13. Dudiak, V. O., Zanko, N. V., Kovalskyi, B. M., & Pysanchyn, N. S. (2018). Vzaiemozv’iazok osnovopolozhnykh poniat teorii koloru z kolorovidtvorenniam u suchasnykh tsyfrovykh sys­temakh: Polihrafiia i vydavnycha sprava, 1 (75), 19–30 (in Ukrainian).
  • 14. Frenkel’, A., & Shadrin, A. (2005). Kolorimetricheskaja nastrojka monitora. Teorija i praktika. Moskva : Avgust-Borg (in Russian).