Operation Manual

color cast An unnatural tint in an image due to a lack of color balance. Color casts are
often caused by artificial light sources such as interior lighting. Color casts in images are
commonly removed by adjusting levels, tint, or white balance. See also White Balance
adjustment.
color channels The individual channels into which color information for digital images
is divided. Each individual color channel represents one of the three individual primary
colors that combine to represent the final image. Each channel has a bit depth; most
digital image files have 8 bits per channel, meaning that there are 256 levels of color for
each channel. See also bit depth, color depth.
color depth The possible range of colors that can be used in an image. There are generally
three choices with digital images: grayscale, 8-bit, and 16-bit. Higher color depths provide
a wider range of colors but require more storage space. See also bit depth, color channels,
grayscale.
colorimeter An instrument capable of measuring the color value of a sample, using color
filters. A colorimeter is used to determine if two colors are the same. However, it does
not take into account the light under which a sample is measured. Colorimeters are often
used to calibrate displays and printers. See also calibration.
colorimetry The science of measuring color both objectively and perceptively.
color interpolation The process of calculating additional color values from light captured
via the red, green, and blue elements on the digital image sensor.
color label A type of metadata that can be assigned in Aperture to help organize and
filter images. You can assign one of five color labels to an image, as well as assign a specific
meaning to each type of color label. See also metadata.
color management system (CMS) An application that controls and interprets the
reproduction of color between devices and imaging software for accuracy. See also
ColorSync.
color matching method (CMM) A software algorithm designed to translate color
information from one device profile to another, such as from your display to your printer.
ColorSync is a thoroughly integrated CMM used by Mac OS X. See also ColorSync.
Color Monochrome adjustment An adjustment in Aperture that desaturates the image
and applies a color tint of your choosing to the midtones. See also adjustment, desaturate,
image, midtones, monochrome, Tint adjustment.
color space A mathematical model used to describe part of the visible spectrum. Color
from one device is mapped from the device-dependent value to a device-independent
value in a color space. Once in an independent space, the color can be mapped to another
device-dependent space. See also device dependent, device independent.
880 Glossary