The Practical Zone System for Film and Digital Photography, 5th Edition

Appendix A   

Color Management, Profiles, and Color Spaces

I didn’t really appreciate how efficient and inspiring digital photography could be until I produced the first print after color managing my system. Before that, I was never sure that my monitor was a reliable tool for editing and previewing my work. After color management, digital printing finally began to make sense and felt like a creative process.

“Color management” is the general term used to describe the coordination of the key elements of digital image processing that allows for consistent color rendition from one step in the process to the other. Without proper color management, ...