In addition to sophisticated digital color controls, some high-end monitor manufacturers (e.g., Nanao) are offering
Colorific color management software
free of charge. Colorific (Sonnetech, Ltd., San Francisco, CA) is a software-only color-calibration system that supports all Windows and Macintosh color applications. It provides communication between the printer and the display, which ensures that the displayed colors match the printed output. Its patent-pending process measures the individual characteristics of your monitor and makes adjustments to display optimum colors. Adjustments accommodate environmental variables
such as room lighting, monitor brightness settings, and variations in different video cards. Colorific provides the functionality of costly hardware calibration devices used by graphics professionals and can cut costs by reducing trial-and-error draft printing.
Colorific works with all color monitors and virtually any graphics program, format, or adapter. You are led through a series of choices that determine the color space (i.e., the mathematical description of the monitor's color-rendering characteristics). Template cards and on-screen color combinations guide you through the process. When the process is complete, the utility will create a profile of your monitor and measure it against an international standard for perfect color. You can then optionally reset the monitor to a more accurate set of colors. Once settings are complete, they are saved until you change them. Colorific functions at the operating-system level and requires no special commands. If your scanner does not provide color correctio
n, Colorific will let you correct the color of the scanned input on your monitor.
Colorific for Windows incorporates the Kodak Precision color management system standard for color rendering. Kodak Device Color Profiles are available for most commonly used printers; additional profiles are available from Sonnetech. Colorific for Mac includes Apple's ColorSync color management utility and works with every ColorSync-compatible printer, including Adobe PostScript Level 2 printers.
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