Color modeling defines the relationships be-ing the relationship between colorants, their mixtures, and their resulting spectral and colorimetric properties. This tween colorants, their mixtures, and their resulting spectral and colorimetric properties. A ''colorant'' can refer understanding is applied to computer colorant formulation, product design, and building device profiles for color to a dye, pigment, or ink, as well as chromatic lights used in various display technologies. Computer colorant management. ''Colorant'' is used rather loosely. It refers to dyes, pigments, and inks, but it also refers to colored formulation systems are an embodiment of the color modeling of materials such as textiles, plastics, and paint.
light, such as for CRT and projection displays. During the course, students study classic articles and textbook Color management systems for imaging applications exploit color models of CRT displays, photographic materi-sections on several main topics. They read about light absorption and scattering including Beer-Bouger and Ku-als, and printers. The literature on modeling material and imaging systems tends to be segregated. In the process belka-Munk. [1][2][3][4][5] They learn about the mathematics of computer colorant formulation and its application to tex-of teaching color modeling, common methodologies and theories have emerged leading to a ''generic'' approach.
tiles and paints. 2,5-10 They read about photographic modeling and its use to convert between wide-band and spec-All of these systems can be modeled using two basic stages. The first stage consists of defining a spectral de-tral definitions (the conversion between integral and analytical densities). 11-13 Finally, they read about modeling scription where colorants and their mixtures can be described using linear algebra. The second stage defines imaging devices including CRT displays, [14][15][16] scanners, 17-20 ink-jet printers, [21][22] halftone printers, [23][24][25] and the relationship between ''user controls'' and the scalars associated with the linear description of each colorant dye-diffusion thermal transfer printers. 26 Reading from such a diverse set of perspectives can be quite challeng-where the user control may be digital counts, volumetric or gravimetric concentration. The commonalities between ing. Fortunately, I have found that there are a set of underlying principles common to the color-formation properties characterizing the colorimetry of computer-controlled CRT displays and computer colorant formulation are pre-of these various color systems. Hence, I first teach a ''generic approach to color modeling'' as a preamble to study-sented.