Color communicates. Color sells. Color is the sizzle that drives the sale of virtually every consumer product in the world. It evokes a wide range of emotions that draw the buyer to the product. As design, graphics, and imaging professionals, we know that color is a crucial part of the selling process because it is such an important part of the buying decision. If we use color effectively in the manufacturing and marketing of an item, potential buyers will perceive added value in that product.

These GATF test images demonstrate colors that must be reproduced with careful precision. If the color of skin tones, sky blue, grass green, or food items are “off” by even a small margin, the appearance of the entire image will be adversely affected.

To use color effectively, it must be kept under tight control. The color workflow begins with the designer’s ideas and the customer’s specifications. From there, these colors must be communicated among several different individuals who will render and reproduce the colors on many different devices. At each stage of production, output from the previous step becomes the input for the next process. Every exchange brings the color into a new color space—from photographic film to monitor RGB to CMYK process proofing and printing on a variety of systems. And every evaluation is made by a different viewer under new viewing conditions.

So, how do we ensure that our original ideas and specifications will remain intact throughout this complicated process? This book is designed to answer that very question. In short, the answer is color measurement—if you can measure color, you can control it. The remainder of this booklet explains the fundamentals of color communication, measurement, and control.

Download pdf The Color Guide and Glossary