Abstract

Successful electronic color image reproduction requires knowledge and control of many parameters. These include device characterization, image storage, image manipulation, and image perception. We describe the research environment that has been developed at the Munsell Color Science Laboratory to address these parameters. The use of this environment for the psychophysical determination of device-independent perceptibility and acceptability tolerances to global color changes in pictorial images is presented. In addition, the groundwork for future research in cross-media color reproduction is described. The research environment consists of the hardware necessary for the colorimetric characterization of all type of color image input, output, and display devices, software for the manipulation of color images in a wide range of color spaces, hardware for image input, processing, display, and output, and facilities for psychophysical research. Perceptibility and acceptability tolerances were measured for pictorial images by manipulating them using transfer functions along the colorimetrically specified lightness, chroma, and hue dimensions (CIELAB L^*C^*h°). It was found that simple measures of color difference are not adequate for describing the perception of color shifts in images.

© 1991 Optical Society of America