Jan & others,
Maybe it's easier for you and some other people who use Mac systems to achieve
better color
management. But the technology that manages color is identical. Having worked
at Xerox
Desktop Software in the early 1990's we were the ones primarily responsible for
providing
the money (not the expertise in this case) to other developers and experts who
defined what
has become color management solutions on desktop computers. Adobe was also
involved because
it was decided their code from the Postscript language (this was originally
developed at
Xerox PARC) would be the standard. As you know Postscript became the de facto
standard for
the 4 color pre-press image setters. Postscript is not platform nor operating
system
dependent although many misinformed Mac users would argue. My first use of
color management
was on SUN OS back in 1991. So I guess I should argue that SUN OS is the only
valid platform
for doing color management. Anyone who is interested in professional desktop
color
management can do it on any platform. PERIOD. Steve Jobs made the biggest
mistake of his
life thinking that he could create the de facto standard in desktop
graphics/color
management when he developed Next. He relied on the same tools that were
available to
anyone. Primarily Postscript and UNIX. Pretty nice machines for their time,
however by no
means unique or revolutionary. The languages are the same as with with the
tools.
Microsoft's version which you speak of is obviously not designed for
professional color
management just as Microsoft Publisher is not professional desktop publishing
software.
Just as learning any other skill, one must choose quality tools they feel
comfortable with.
Certainly the Windows platform has the same quality tools as the Mac or SUN or
any other
desktop system. Developers of professional color software would be idiots and
soon out of
business if they did not realize that Windows has become the platform with the
most users in
any given industry.
The problem here is that most people don't realize that what they say are just
their
opinions. I understand that it easier for those trained on a particular
platform to stay
with that particular platform. However the proper use of color on Windows is
no more
difficult to learn. Same principles seeking the same result. Same languages,
same tools, and
in many cases same software.
Like I said before the main thing one must understand is that monitors and ccd
scanners are
based upon RGB color space and output devices such as printers are based upon
CMYK color
space. Newer desktop monitors and software are constantly providing better
performance just
as newer inkjet printers and their corresponding software.
Personally I see a resurgence in RGB output because we will soon see many
photographic
process digital printers. For photographers this will obviously be the least
expensive and
highest quality of output available. Look for these digital devices at your 1
hour photo
finisher near you in the very near future. Just make sure your monitor is
properly set up
in Photoshop and hand them a disk. For a couple of bucks you will have a
beautiful
photographic 8x10 print while you wait. This imaging technology is based on RGB
so there is
no proofing or postscript coding necessary for cross platform capability.
Phillip Franklin
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|