Computer hardware and software functionality that ensures the color fidelity of an image seen on a monitor, or printed on a desktop printer or on a commercial printing machine. The need for CMS exists because a gap exists where normally no ‘What You See Is What You Get’ (WYSIWYG) occurs when it comes to colors. This is due to the very nature of varied color capabilities of varied devices. The human eye, for example, can differentiate between hundreds of colors, a photograph can show some of them, a monitor a fewer, and a printing machine the fewest. Moreover, all monitors use the RGB color model while the printing machines of all types use the CMYK color model. To complicate the matter further, each monitor and printing machine comes with its own level of quality and likely unique method of displaying or reproducing colors. A CMS is essential in this situation as an interpreter between the various color models and devices and facilitates in calibrating them to a uniform level of accuracy. Refer also to color matching system.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
