Windows Color System: The Next Generation Color Management ...
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Windows Color System: The Next Generation Color Management System
White Paper
Published: September 2005
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Abstract
This white paper provides an introduction to the Microsoft® Windows® Color System (WCS)—the color management system in the Microsoft Windows VistaTM operating system. The information provided in this white paper is for independent software vendors (ISVs), independent hardware vendors (IHVs), developers, and decision makers to help them understand how WCS can benefit their products and customers.
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Contents
Introduction 1
Market Opportunities for the Windows Color System 2
More than one market for color use 2
Broad customer base for high-quality color 3
Inconsistency in current color management solutions 3
Benefits of the Windows Color System 6
New foundation for color management 7
Seamless integration and scalable support 7
Simple measurement-based profiles and workflows 8
Unparalleled extensibility framework 8
Improved Functionality in Windows Color System Architecture 9
Revamped color infrastructure and translation engine (CITE) 10
Enhanced color processing pipeline 12
New print infrastructure 12
Centralized user control 12
Conclusion 13
This is a preliminary document and may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release of the software described herein.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, the information presented herein should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.
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All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Introduction
The Microsoft® Windows VistaTM operating system provides a new development platform for advanced color applications and devices called the Microsoft Windows® Color System (WCS). Windows Color System offers a strong foundation for ongoing innovation in color into the future. Other platform enhancements, such as the display and print infrastructure, will be delivered simultaneously. This combination will nurture a strong ecosystem in which all participants can innovate together. The WCS solution provides direct, short-term benefits as well as a path for end users toward the ultimate solution in color that just works.
Many color management solutions have been introduced over the past 15 years with the promise to deliver the next panacea for obtaining color consistency across different software applications and imaging devices. However, none of today’s solutions and standards have been successful in satisfying the needs of the vast majority of new and existing color users. Even worse, customers have grown weary of promises to “fix color management once and for all.” Unrealistic expectations combined with a lack of sustained investment have proven to be a nonproductive mix.
The Windows Color System (WCS) is a solid first step toward the goal of transparent, consistent, and predictable color across different software applications, imaging devices, imaging media, and viewing conditions. WCS introduces an innovative, forward-looking, technically superior color management solution and showcases the first stage of a long-term sustained effort.
Microsoft, in its commitment to solving color problems, has partnered with Canon, a leader in color engineering and color science. Together, they have developed a new Windows Color System architecture that provides solutions unattainable by previous color management solutions.
Market Opportunities for the Windows Color System
In recent years, there has been an exponential growth in the demand for high-quality color imaging fueled by: Rapid growth in the digital camera market, the consumer and enterprise color printer market, the development of short-run color reproduction departments within enterprises, and the emergence of high-end imaging. This demand has been met by inconsistent color solutions that are considered inadequate by today’s standards. As the demand for high-quality color continues to grow, Microsoft offers new technologies and innovative solutions.
More than one market for color use
Several markets demonstrate increased use of color content and increased demand for a new way to handle color management.
Dramatic growth in the digital camera market
Digital cameras are the fastest growing consumer electronic device category in history, exceeding the record set by the overwhelmingly fast adoption of DVD players across the globe. This has far-reaching consequences for PCs, the main device to connect and interact with the camera and most often the main hub for further processing after pictures are taken. As users download their pictures for further viewing, editing, and printing, obtaining accurate and precise colors is a major concern.
Proliferation of consumer color printers
The consumer color printer market is driven by insatiable demand for inkjet all-in-one devices and photo printers. Digital camera sales remain strong, fueling sales of photo printers of all types.
Proliferation of office workgroup color printers
Color has invaded enterprise printing. Mid-size and large companies are upgrading their printers to color printers. A low average selling price for color printers has increased their attractiveness to small and mid-size businesses as well. Many aggressively priced color products contribute to the growth in the color technology segment.
The global office copier market is also fully primed for color-capable devices. Hardware vendors and their channel partners generate user interest in color copying by educating users about the affordability of color-capable devices and about the value color can add to business documents. This momentum is increased by the prevalence of multifunction devices (that is, individual machines that can copy and print cost effectively in both monochrome and color). Large numbers of organizations are consolidating their copiers and printers.
Enterprise in-sourcing of short-run color print jobs
The production market has developed a growing demand for color as pages migrate from Web presses into short-run, centralized reproduction departments. Light production devices are gaining a presence in businesses where they enable users to produce pages in color while controlling costs.
High-End imaging
In addition to trends in home and enterprise imaging, new opportunities are being created from the emergence of high dynamic range (HDR) and large gamut color devices as well as from the adoption of camera raw imaging workflows by professional digital photographers. These influences and change agents define key technology trends that have become mainstream over time.
Broad customer base for high-quality color
Devices with color capability and color accuracy are no longer a concern exclusively reserved for service bureaus, prepress houses, and offset press operators. Microsoft partners have made it clear that swift adoption of color in the office and explosive growth of color in the home have brought us well past the demands and expectations associated with the first wave of color devices. Support statistics confirm that color quality and color management levels judged acceptable or good enough as recently as two years ago are considered inadequate by today’s standards.
For example, small companies are often unable to obtain a good color match when trying to print color-critical documents (such as corporate letterhead) on their color printers. If they succeed and want to do a longer print run at their neighborhood print shop, they experience problems with the current color solutions when moving from an RGB device to a CMYK device.
Digital photography enthusiasts have less stringent requirements than color professionals for whom meeting color quality expectations is part of their contractual obligation. Nevertheless, enthusiasts also demand high-quality color and consistency across a variety of devices. Knowledge workers and home users collect, process, and present digital color content for work and leisure. Their requirements range from a good appearance match between two devices to consistent color across a variety of devices.
Inconsistency in current color management solutions
Color is a result of interactions between light sources, physical objects, and the human visual system. The color management challenge begins with modeling the complex and variable nature of these physical and psychological effects. Reproducing color in the digital domain poses additional challenges. In today’s open computing environment, constraints are imposed by differing capabilities and closed-source technologies in devices, device drivers, applications, operating systems, and networks.
Given the currently available tools, matching colors across devices and workflows is not an easy task. Current color management solutions tend to be difficult to use because operating systems, applications, and device drivers often implement color management in proprietary, inconsistent, and conflicting ways. In an attempt to guide the user through the imaging chaos, applications present the user with complex and confusing color configuration user interfaces that rarely produce consistent results.
Troubleshooting color problems is complicated and obscure for even the most knowledgeable expert users. Device calibration is often slow and difficult. Practically, this means that a significant amount of color expertise is required to produce the most basic results. Because most end users can't precisely articulate their needs, there is a lack of understanding of what is required at the architectural (or technical) level to reproduce consistent color results on a day-to-day basis. In addition, because even advanced users have difficulty troubleshooting color problems, there is a lack of support infrastructure and resistance to the adoption of new procedures and practices.
Despite the extraordinarily rapid growth of color applications, high-quality color is still a relatively new mass-market phenomenon. In the technology adoption life cycle, we have just entered the early majority phase (that is, the phase following closely after the early adopters phase). As more and more users rely on the new technology, and as vendors continue to flood the market with higher quality color devices, expectations and aspirations will continue to rise.
Color used to be the domain of experts. However, even graphic arts experts, found mostly in advertising agencies, service bureaus, and print shops, weren’t always as educated and savvy about color science as most people thought. Amazingly, many color adjustments were made by prepress operators and pressmen who learned how to fine-tune colors empirically as opposed to relying on a well-rounded systemic approach. As color moves into mainstream use, the same pattern seems to repeat. Many people assume that color mismatches between the screen and different printers are just part of a technology limitation, and they try to work around it, often blaming themselves in frustration. The average user still assumes that if the colors are incorrect, it's because of something he or she did wrong.
International Color Consortium (ICC): Setting consistency standards
The quest for consistent color is not a new phenomenon. But, until color proliferated in the consumer electronics market, it was a problem mostly for people in high-end printing and publishing industries.
In 1993, eight industry vendors (including Microsoft) established the International Color Consortium (ICC) for “the purpose of creating, promoting, and encouraging the standardization and evolution of an open, vendor-neutral, cross-platform color management system architecture and components." The outcome of this cooperation was the development of the ICC profile specification.
The intent of the ICC profile specification was to provide a cross-platform device profile format that could be used to translate color data created on one device into the native color space of another device. The idea: Acceptance of this specification by operating system vendors would enable end users to transparently move profiles and images with embedded profiles among different operating systems and applications, and enable device manufacturers to create a single profile for multiple operating systems.
The ICC initiative attracted a lot of attention throughout the graphic arts industry and dominated many conference sessions during major graphic arts events, seminars, and trade shows. Initially, many good things came out of the initiative and good advancements were made. Apple, one of the founding members of the ICC, endorsed the new ICC standard in its Colorsync implementation. Because Apple dominated the market for graphic arts applications at that time, ICC became the de-facto standard. Microsoft followed with image color management (ICM) and later with ICM2.
The ICC standard has continued to evolve, but even the latest version 4 update did not address some of the flaws and shortcomings identified during years of practical implementations. In general, developers don’t want to become color scientists. They simply want color issues to be solved for them. In this regard, the ICC has failed to reach its full potential.
Systemic problems with ICC-based color management solutions
There is a broad misconception that an ICC-based solution can, at least theoretically, match its claims. This belief ignores some of the systemic problems associated with ICC-based color management solutions that have been left unaddressed for too long.
In the past, the ICC has made valuable contributions to advancing the color cause. ICC working groups published a list of architectural limitations over seven years ago and proposed architectural solutions to address these issues. WCS has adopted a number of these proposals, including use of the latest CIE color appearance model (CAM) recommendations (now CIECAM02), measurement-based profiles, modular separation of devices, color appearance, and gamut mapping modules among others.
Microsoft will continue to support and enhance its existing ICC-based infrastructure and maintain compatibility with current and future advances of the ICC profile specification. At the same time, Microsoft is committed to providing the new and innovative solutions that it’s broad customer base demands and deserves. Windows Vista and Windows Color System are just two examples of this.
Figure 1 provides an example of systemic problems associated with ICC-based color management solutions. This example includes the ICC profile connection space (PCS), an undefined PCS gamut, and an idealized reflection print-color space. Because the idealized space was never numerically quantified, profile creators were forced to guess at its definition. Limited clarifications were made in the ICC standard, in the version 4 update, for one of the four ICC rendering intents, but they were incompatible with previous ICC-based solutions. Currently, ICC continues to discuss how to address this limitation. In the meantime, different guesses result in different profiles and poor compatibility.
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Figure 1. Example of systemic problems with ICC-based color management solutions.
Benefits of the Windows Color System
The Microsoft Windows Color System provides the following benefits to customers:
1. A completely revamped color infrastructure and translation engine (CITE). CITE is the core of a novel color management paradigm that is modular, transparent, unambiguous, and understandable.
2. An unparalleled extensibility framework through which imaging IHV and ISV partners can enhance and improve the components of the CITE for their business-critical scenarios.
3. An enhanced color processing pipeline with support for greater bit depths, multiple color channels, and alternative color spaces. This includes support for instances of extended dynamic range and gamut color space families such as IEC 61966-2-2 (scRGB).
4. Seamless interoperability with ICC-based workflows, including continued support for current ICM2 application programming interfaces (APIs) and sRGB (IEC 61966-2-1, a standard RGB color space) with extended APIs to support new functionality.
5. A notably improved user experience through a centralized color control panel and an intuitive and easy-to-use monitor calibration wizard.
6. Important enhancements to Microsoft imaging codecs as well as key improvements to the core color management and print infrastructure to support very specific target scenarios such as enterprise color printing and out-of-box digital photography.
Improved visual quality
The primary reason for the Windows color management architecture is to improve the what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) quality for printing and imaging. Because of limitations in the ICC profile specification, most users are not achieving this today.
Interoperability
Many Microsoft customers and partners have requested: Improvements in profile interoperability, the ability to have measurement-based profiles, and improvements in the ability to edit profiles. All of these are addressed successfully in WCS. By eliminating the two major causes currently limiting interoperability (that is, color appearance differences and gamut mapping differences) and by providing a clear color management module (CMM) implementation, WCS enables cleaner interoperability. Some color experts have indicated publicly that the current ICC-based architecture is fundamentally non-interoperable and will continue to be until a color appearance-based profile connection space (PCS) is adopted.
Compound documents
WCS provides much improved gamut mapping capabilities to support different rendering intents for different parts of compound documents, including logos, graphics, and images. Modified profiles that reference a standard sRGB or scRGB profile and contain most rendering intents can also be supported in the future.
Vector graphics
Vector graphics are helped by WCS because many of the printed saturated graphics are sRGB gamut. WCS provides the first true saturation intent for ICC-based workflows with enhanced gamut mapping features. In particular, Pantone support is improved with WCS.
Wide dynamic range
WCS is now capable of cleanly supporting the wide range of colors that today’s motion pictures and digital cameras are capable of capturing. WCS eliminates artificial limitation of an ideal prints dynamic range (recently adopted by the ICC). Instead, a CAM-based profile or a CIEXYZ measurement-based profile can contain a greater dynamic range and improve accurate assessment of white and black point. This should clearly improve quality in workflows that have dynamic ranges greater than print.
Black channel information
One difficult challenge facing color management systems today is persisting black channel information. Traditionally, highly trained scanner operators would make color separations targeted at a specific press setup. In such cases, it is very important to preserve the black channel information through the color management workflow. Although we expect this will become much less important over time, the black channel information can be maintained in WCS.
Measurement-based profile
WCS addresses most concerns of ICC members, color management experts, and end users by migrating to a measurement-based profile and a smart color management module (CMM). In this way, ICC-based workflows become simple to create, manage, edit, learn, and explain. WCS enables vendors to create a single profile for a combination of device states, halftoning settings, media, and viewing conditions. This is done by enabling the use of sophisticated device model plug-ins used in combination with measurement-based profiles.
New foundation for color management
In Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft is building a solid, new foundation to cover advanced color management needs for the next decade. The new Windows Color System integrates state-of-the-art understanding of the human visual system with a component-based and flexible infrastructure. Microsoft also offers notable enhancements to the user experience by making end-user control of color variables centralized, intuitive, and easy to use.
The Windows Color System includes a new technology called Kyuanos that was developed by Canon. Kyuanos was born from Canon’s leadership in color digital imaging and printing industries. Today’s digital cameras and color printers offer advanced color reproduction capabilities that exceed the potential of today’s color management systems. Kyuanos overcomes the color management gap for these devices, making it a convenient and efficient production tool for content producers and professional users. With Kyuanos, there is a new range of possibilities for color in still images, video, and other high-quality digital image content.
Seamless integration and scalable support
The WCS color management module works with Microsoft sRGB and scRGB color architectures to provide seamless integration and scalable color management for everyone from novice to expert home users and from enterprise office workers to professional graphic artists. While sRGB and scRGB will be used primarily by novice and expert home users, WCS provides scalable support up to the enterprise and professional user levels. WCS provides direct support for sRGB and scRGB. This means that Windows Vista not only has an answer for users at each level, but these solutions interoperate cleanly.
Seamless integration also supports hybrid workflows that contain content from a mixture of novice consumers, expert consumers, and professionals. Output from an expert consumer-grade scRGB digital still camera can be converted to be sent to a printing press or pasted into a Microsoft Office file.
Backward compatibility
WCS provides a clean path from the earlier ICM architecture to the new one; although we cannot avoid some level of incompatibility that currently exists between vendors.
Simple measurement-based profiles and workflows
By migrating to a measurement-based profile and a smart CMM, profile-based workflows become simple to create, manage, edit, learn, and explain. This makes it easy for users to get the results they want. Enterprise users are offered a simple model. If they need to recalibrate a device, they just take new measurements. If they want to change the appearance of an image, they select a new gamut mapping algorithm. Photographers and graphic artists can directly examine the values in a measurement-based profile to ensure that the profile is valid.
Reduced profile proliferation
By providing the capability for simple measurement-based profiles with viewing condition tags that can be changed as necessary, WCS helps to reduce the proliferation of profiles. Because WCS provides measurement-based profiles directly to the CMM, it significantly improves the ease with which profiles can be edited (both manually and automatically) by directly relating primary profile information with adjustable device characteristics. This, in turn, will lead to a lessening of profile explosion. It will, of course, be necessary that CMMs support whatever device (or technology) characterization profiles that the ICC approves.
Unparalleled extensibility framework
The Windows Color System architecture makes it easy for ISVs and IHVs to extend the color management system by adding device characterization modules and gamut mapping modules.
The clean and well-defined baseline of the Windows Color System enables vendors to confidently add value on top of known processing models. By providing a clear set of baseline device models, color appearance models, and gamut map models, WCS opens the opportunity for vendors to add utilities that can generally address all gamut map and measurement-based profiles. It also provides a sound and scientific basis for vendors to provide extensions and solutions targeted at niche markets.
WCS supports devices with built-in calibration that are quickly becoming more prevalent. Separation of measurement data in WCS makes it easier for smart devices to recharacterize or recalibrate themselves and provide Windows Vista with a new, more accurate profile. This should also enable new media to be introduced in the field and transparently characterized by users in the office.
Vendors benefit by the extensibility of WCS because it future-proofs the architecture. By providing support for measurement-based profiles and plug-in modules, future changes to color processing can be provided that are compatible with existing profiles. By implementing the system CMM supporting this, changes can be focused on the CMM and can become transparent to IHVs, ISVs, and end users.
Improved Functionality in Windows Color System Architecture
The Windows Color System architecture for Windows Vista includes the following improvements in functionality:
7. Explicit support for digital cameras, projectors, and LCD monitors as well as traditional support for CRTs, scanners, and RGB and CMYK printers.
8. Uses CIECAM02, a modern color appearance model designed to support a color management system, rather than CIELAB, a 30-year-old color difference equation.
9. Provides device profiles containing objective measurement data that simplifies the process of creating, verifying, and editing the profiles.
10. Includes a user selectable gamut mapping model that adds flexibility.
11. Provides software vendors with the opportunity to define user selectable gamut mapping methods.
12. The image processing pipeline consists of modular steps that are easy to debug and troubleshoot.
13. Each step of the processing pipeline is documented so users can predict the results.
14. The processing pipeline is extensible, enabling vendors to add components for new devices or new gamut mapping algorithms.
15. Because the pipeline extensions are modular, supporting a new device model does not require writing a new gamut mapping model. A new gamut mapping model can be written once to support all device models current and future.
16. Supports black preservation consistently for both baseline and vendor extension plug-in models.
17. Supports floating point processing to avoid round-off errors from devices supporting up to 16 bits per color channel.
18. Supports high dynamic range by enabling devices to describe where they will map diffuse whites and specular whites. Plug-in gamut mapping models can use the more precise gamut boundary information to implement preferred algorithms.
19. Enables using a single device profile for multiple paper/ink combinations through a plug-in mechanism. This reduces the number of profiles that must be stored on a disk and managed by the user.
20. Provides forward and backward compatibility with ICC-based device profiles and sRGB.
21. Provides both system-wide and per-user defaulting for device profiles and gamut mapping models, giving more control to users who want it and simple defaults to those who don’t.
22. Uses limited user access and XML profiles to improve security.
The Windows Color System in Windows Vista represents the first phase in a long-term investment in color and color management. Although it is not a panacea for all color-related problems, WCS provides a strong foundation for a healthy color that just works ecosystem.
There are three stages to color management in Windows Vista (see Figure 2):
23. First stage: Creating color profiles for devices, viewing conditions, and gamut mapping models.
24. Second stage: Using the profiles, the color infrastructure and translation engine (CITE), and plug-in extensions to create a color transform.
25. Third stage: CITE applies the color transform to input image content to create output content appropriate for the output device.
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Figure 2. Three stages of color management in Microsoft Windows Vista.
Because color profiles are based on objective measurement data, they are much easier and faster to create than ICC-based profiles. Device colors are measured by a color measurement tool (such as a colorimeter or spectrophotometer), and the results are saved in an XML profile.
Revamped color infrastructure and translation engine (CITE)
CITE is the core of WCS and comprises the methods, classes, and components that drive the translation of a source color into a destination color. Each of these components is modularized into explicit, distinct stages (see Figure 3). With CITE, the Windows® operating system introduces novel and innovative ways to address long-standing color customer issues.
New profile formats
The color transformation steps in each stage of the transformation engine are supported by new XML color profiles. These profiles contain objective intradevice measurements and together ensure that all color has an unambiguous semantic meaning. They are based on open, published XML schemas, making it easy for third parties to edit, verify, understand, and extend them.
New device models
WCS adopted Kyuanos device model architecture to model the behavior of color device capabilities and technologies. Going beyond the limited number of ICC-based profile classes, these models are tailored to the characteristics of the particular device, providing excellent device-color-to-objective-color mappings.
Windows Vista provides a built-in set of baseline device models for out-of-box support for all major classes of devices. Additionally, support for plug-in device models enables easy inclusion of new device classes, enhanced models for baseline devices, and specialized models for high-end devices.
New visual model
A modern, state-of-the-art visual model is built-in to the WCS system for superior handling of several different viewing conditions. The color appearance model is fundamentally based on the human visual system, enabling the system to preserve the true appearance of color elements in each step of the workflow. It is clearly defined and complies with current scientific standards, providing a clean baseline for vendors to provide extensions and utilities. Kyuanos provides WCS with a color management system based on the CIECAM02 color appearance model.
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Figure 3. Stages of source color translation into destination color.
Selectable gamut mapping models
In WCS, subjective interdevice transforms in the transformation pipeline are handled by gamut mapping models. Gamut mapping occurs in a wide-gamut, perceptual color space, maximizing the effectiveness of image manipulations while minimizing information loss. The Kyuanos architecture enables an extensible set of user-selectable gamut mapping models. A built-in set of selectable baseline gamut mapping models adds flexibility beyond what ICC-based rendering intents provide. The architecture also supports the addition of third-party plug-in, gamut mapping models to enable custom color matching and vendor innovation.
Continued ICC support and improved ICM2
Kyuanos technology enables WCS to maintain seamless interoperability with ICC-based workflows, even adding support for the new ICC version 4 profiles. Several key recorded bugs in ICM2 are fixed. Existing ICM2 APIs are extended to interact with the new WCS profiles while still maintaining legacy compatibility with ICC-based profiles. And a small set of new WCS APIs are introduced for applications and drivers that are capable of taking advantage of enhanced functionality.
Enhanced color processing pipeline
An enhanced color processing pipeline is accessible through an extended set of ICM2 APIs. As in Microsoft Windows XP, most basic color-rendering scenarios are still governed by the 8-bit-per-channel sRGB color space. But for specialized applications that can handle richer content, WCS additionally supports 16-bit-per-channel sRGB (IEC 61966-2-1), 16- and 32-bit-per-channel scRGB (IEC 61966-2-2), and 8- and 16-bit-per-channel CMYK (cyan-yellow-magenta-black) color spaces.
New print infrastructure
The new print infrastructure and XPS (XML Paper Specification) Print Path in Windows Vista enable important innovations for application vendors and color printer manufacturers.
In the enhanced Windows Vista print infrastructure, applications can now deliver high, wide, and deep color information to the print spooler by using the new Windows Vista print spool format. The XPS spool file format preserves the capability to store scRGB colors, named colors, and CMYK colors. In the extensible XPS filter pipeline, XPS-capable printer drivers can integrate with new WCS functionality to implement host-based rendering and achieve a color quality not previously available in PC-based solutions.
The new PrintTicket and PrintCapabilities schemas have eliminated application and driver color management conflicts for printers that support these features. PrintTicket and PrintCapabilities are new XML-based representations of print job settings and device attributes. Using bidirectional communications between the printer and the computer, an application can query and set the printer state and ask the driver to return the color profile that best matches the current state. An application can also query, configure, and disable the color management methods of the printer driver.
Centralized user control
In Windows Vista, users can configure associations between color devices and corresponding profiles through a centralized, dedicated color control panel. The color control panel displays useful descriptive information about the available profiles. A monitor calibration wizard guides the user through each step in the video-based, monitor calibration. These features provide a more intuitive and user-friendly method for managing and tracking the behavior of color devices.
Conclusion
The new Windows Color System in Microsoft Windows Vista is the basis for a staged implementation of the next-generation color that just works solution. The core infrastructure and developer platform are based on state-of-the-art color science, built on the principles of transparency, modularity, and controllability, and provides a baseline for vendor innovation.
To learn more about how the Microsoft Windows Color System can benefit your products and customers, ISVs and IHVs are encouraged to visit or send an e-mail message to mscolor@.
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