ARCHIVED: What is ColorSync?

ColorSync is Apple's color management technology, available primarily for Mac OS and Mac OS X. ColorSync serves to simplify the task of matching color between input and output devices, monitors, and applications.

Because every device that handles color does so differently, it is often difficult to move an image from one medium to another without significantly altering its appearance. For example, to include a photograph in a document, you must digitize it with a scanner, touch it up in a graphics program, place it in a document using a word processor or page layout program, and then send it to a printer. Each device in the process interprets the photograph in its own way, potentially altering the hues, brightness, and saturation considerably. Especially for graphics professionals, who rely on the fidelity of color throughout the production process, compensating for these differences is extremely important.

ColorSync addresses this issue by providing a common color matching environment for applications and devices of all sorts. Every ColorSync-compatible device has a ColorSync profile that describes exactly how it understands color. ColorSync uses this information to automatically adjust the colors in a file, minimizing the impact of device differences.

For more information about ColorSync, visit:

Note: ColorSync was also the name of a now discontinued line of displays produced by Apple.

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