ColorSync is a color management system that provides color-conversion capabilities and improves color consistency. ColorSync "translates" the colors used on one device so they more closely match colors displayed or printed on another device.

Consistent color is a challenge because different devices use different methods to represent color, and different devices produce different ranges of colors.

For example, monitors (and most scanners) produce colors by mixing red, green, and blue light. This is called "RGB" color. Most printers produce colors by mixing cyan (a shade of blue), magenta (a bright pink), yellow, and black ink. This color system is called "CMYK". Since monitors, printers, and scanners have different color capabilities, they cannot reproduce each other's colors exactly.

How ColorSync works

When you create a TIFF, JPEG, or PICT file using a program that makes use of ColorSync, a ColorSync "profile" is embedded, or saved, in the file.

The profile contains information about the color capabilities of the equipment you're using to create the image file. For example, the profile describes the lightest and darkest possible tones (white point and black point) that the equipment can produce, and the maximum supported densities for red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Together, these values identify the color gamut (or range) that your equipment can display, capture, or reproduce.

When you work with an image file that has an embedded ColorSync profile, ColorSync identifies the colors that your monitor can reproduce by examining the profile selected as the ColorSync system profile. It compares the monitor's capabilities with the capabilities of the equipment used to create the image (as described in the embedded profile), and then picks appropriate, matching colors.

When you print an image, ColorSync compares the capabilities of your monitor with the capabilities described in the printer's profile, and picks printed colors that most closely match what you see on your monitor.

Related topic

Using ColorSync with your applications