Steve
02-11-2005, 10:13
New Microsoft Colour Control Panel Applet for Windows XP helps you manage Windows colour settings in one place.
Professional-level photographers and designers know that getting consistent, accurate colour from file to screen to print and beyond is a requirement for great results. On Microsoft Windows XP, the means to obtain great colour is built right into the operating system via Image Colour Management (ICM) 2.0. ICM 2.0 is an International Colour Consortium (ICC)-compliant colour management system exposed through Win32 API functions, so it is readily available to any application, device driver, device calibration tool, or Colour Management Module (CMM). Windows itself and many Windows-based software applications use ICM 2.0 "under the covers" to improve the appearance of pictures and graphics.
However, until now Windows has lacked a central Control Panel interface for managing ICC colour profiles and ICM 2.0 colour settings across the system. The new Microsoft Colour Control Panel Applet for Windows XP addresses this by adding a Colour tool to the Windows Control Panel, making it easier for you to manage Windows color settings.
Using the Microsoft Colour Control Panel Applet, you can:
Install and uninstall ICC colour profiles
Inspect, rename, and compare two different colour profiles
View a 3D graphics plot of color profile colour gamuts
Associate colour profiles with devices such as printers, monitors, and scanners
Apply custom colour gamut adjustments to one or more displays on the fly
Set up display calibration reminders at intervals you specify
For example, using this tool a photographer can easily switch between two different display colour profiles (one for the internal LCD, and a second for the external projector) when delivering a presentation using a Windows XP notebook computer. Windows will apply the correct colour profile so that images look best on the intended display.
Note that you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to use this software to install or uninstall colour profiles and to associate colour profiles with devices. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from doing these tasks.
Full info and the free download is available from here ( http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/colorcontrol.mspx)
Professional-level photographers and designers know that getting consistent, accurate colour from file to screen to print and beyond is a requirement for great results. On Microsoft Windows XP, the means to obtain great colour is built right into the operating system via Image Colour Management (ICM) 2.0. ICM 2.0 is an International Colour Consortium (ICC)-compliant colour management system exposed through Win32 API functions, so it is readily available to any application, device driver, device calibration tool, or Colour Management Module (CMM). Windows itself and many Windows-based software applications use ICM 2.0 "under the covers" to improve the appearance of pictures and graphics.
However, until now Windows has lacked a central Control Panel interface for managing ICC colour profiles and ICM 2.0 colour settings across the system. The new Microsoft Colour Control Panel Applet for Windows XP addresses this by adding a Colour tool to the Windows Control Panel, making it easier for you to manage Windows color settings.
Using the Microsoft Colour Control Panel Applet, you can:
Install and uninstall ICC colour profiles
Inspect, rename, and compare two different colour profiles
View a 3D graphics plot of color profile colour gamuts
Associate colour profiles with devices such as printers, monitors, and scanners
Apply custom colour gamut adjustments to one or more displays on the fly
Set up display calibration reminders at intervals you specify
For example, using this tool a photographer can easily switch between two different display colour profiles (one for the internal LCD, and a second for the external projector) when delivering a presentation using a Windows XP notebook computer. Windows will apply the correct colour profile so that images look best on the intended display.
Note that you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to use this software to install or uninstall colour profiles and to associate colour profiles with devices. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from doing these tasks.
Full info and the free download is available from here ( http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/colorcontrol.mspx)