basiccolor display

asICColor display
by Color Solutions Software
download such a working space from www.lstarrgb.com or
make your own with basICCoolTool SpaceLab from Color So-
lutions.
Gamma
The Gamma function is based on the native behavior of CRT
monitors. In CRTs, an electron beam excites red green and
blue phosphors on the tube’s surface. Depending from the
intensity of the electron beam, the phosphors glow more or
less bright.
Yet the intensity is not directly proportional to the voltage
that controls the exciting electron beam. The ratio equals a
gamma function. This gamma functiuon can easily be modi-
fied into a different gamma behavior.
In the early days of monitor calibration, it seemed a good
idea to calibrate a monitor to a gamma that is similar to the
tonal response of printed matter, to be precise, gamma 1,8
was the characteristic of an Apple LaserWriter. Thus gam-
ma 1.8 became the typical Apple monitor gamma. On a PC,
where you normally did your bookkeeping, wrote letters and
prepared presentations, a more contrasty characteristic was
desirable. Thus gamma 2.2 became the typical PC gamma.
In a color managed environment these historic gammas do not
make sense any more. For one, because LCD monitors show a
completely different nativ tonal response, on the other hand
the monitor profile compensates for different tonal curves
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