Converting Colour Values
When selecting colours for a project that needs to reproduce colour consistently regardless of delivery format (Web, print, DVD etc.), use the ColorSync Utility to ensure that the colours being specified do not shift too drastically when converted.
The Calculator feature of the ColorSync Utility will measure any colour you select (or enter) and generate corresponding colour conversion results using the built-in capabilities of ColorSync.
Step 1: Open the ColorSync Utility located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.
Step 2: Select the Calculator in the toolbar.
Step 3: Choose the colour space you want to match from the pop-up menu on the left. On the right, choose the colour space and profile you want to convert to.
Step 4: Either enter the values of your original colour, or to find the colour values for any pixel on your screen, click the magnifying glass, drag the pointer over the desired sample area and click once to capture.
Step 5: Once a value has been entered or a pixel has been sampled, the resulting colour conversion will be automatically calculated by the system, delivering output values in both colour spaces selected in step 3 above.
By comparing your original colour to the colour output generated by the colour conversion, you are able to pre-determine potential colour shifts that might occur during final output or delivery.
In addition, you can drag and drop any colour defined within the utility for use in any application that uses the Mac OS X Colors panel.
