In order to display the most accurate image possible, the display/graphics adapter combination must be calibrated. Our group has used Minolta's CA-100 CRT color analyzer together with our own calibration software to accomplish this task. Less accurate calibration may be done without instruments.
The calibration program displays known colors at varying intensities. The instrument measures the actual intensity of the color from the face of the display. The differences are analyzed to determine the appropriate transformation to produce accurate colors on the given display and the results are saved in a file which characterizes the display/adapter combination in terms of primary colors, white point, and non-linear brightness curves.
The device independent TIFF or JPEG images we have captured are then displayed by our software which uses the calibration measurements to produce a device specific image tailored to the current setup to produce the most accurate images.
In cases where it is not possible to calibrate the display, or where we do not control the display software (as when the images are viewed over the Internet with web browsers), we produce image files with SMPTE-standard primary chromaticities, a D65 white point and a gamma of 2.2. The result is an image intended for a "typical" CRT display and, in many cases, the image quality is still striking.
