Argyll CMS documentation index

Date: 17th July 2006
Author: Graeme Gill

Introduction

Argyll is an open source, ICC compatible color management system. It supports accurate ICC profile creation for scanners, CMYK printers, film recorders and calibration and profiling of displays. Spectral sample data is supported, allowing a selection of illuminants observer types, and paper fluorescent whitener additive compensation. Profiles can also incorporate source specific gamut mappings for perceptual and saturation intents. Gamut mapping and profile linking uses the CIECAM02 appearance model, a unique gamut mapping algorithm, and a wide selection of rendering intents. It also includes code for the fastest portable 8 bit raster color conversion engine available anywhere, as well as support for fast, fully accurate 16 bit conversion. Device color gamuts can also be viewed and compared using a VRML viewer. Comprehensive documentation is provided for each utility, and a general guide to using the tools for typical color management tasks is also available. A mailing list provides support for more advanced usage.

This is Version 0.60. The last full release was in December 2005. The first public release of Argyll was made in July 2000. Code development commenced in 1995. See Changes Summary for an overview of changes since the last release. Changes between revisions is detailed in the log.txt file that accompanies the source code.

The latest source code is available from here.

Argyll is known to compile and run in at least four environments:

1) MSWindows 2K system running the Microsoft VC++ 6.0 compiler and Jam/MR
2) MSWindows 2K system running the MingW port of the GCC compiler and Jam/MR
3) Linux on Whitebox V4 x86 using gcc and Jam/MR
4) Apple OSX 10.3 gcc and Jam/MR

but may well compile and run correctly in many more than this.

This is a command line only environment.

It still has an amount of debugging turned on.

Copyright and Licensing:

The film recorder support (spectro/filmread.c, spm.[ch], gretag.[ch]) support is Copyright 2001, DreamWorks LLC (Author Neil Okamoto), and is made available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, as detailed in the Licence.txt file.

The icc library in icc/ and the CGATS library in cgats/ are available according to the licence granted in the icc/Licence.txt
and cgats/Licence.txt file (a "BSD" like, free use licence).

The TIFF library included in this distribution for convenience, has its own copyright and licence detailed in tiff/COPYRIGHT (a "BSD" like license).

The UNIX USB library libusb included in this distribution for convenience, is copyright Johannes Erdfelt, Thomas Sailer and Brad Hards, and is licenced under the GNU LGPL. See libusb/COPYRIGHT for details.

The Win32 USB library libusb-win32 , is copyright Stephan Meyer, Johannes Erdfelt and Thomas Sailer, and is licencsed under the GNU LGPL and GPL. See libusbw/COPYING*.txt for details.

Most of the source code, and provided executable files are copyrighted works licensed here under the GNU licence, and therefore can't be copied or sold without providing the source code. Nothing other than your agreement and compliance with the GNU Licence, grants you permission to use, modify or distribute Argyll source code, executables or its derivative works. You could be sued for copyright infringement if you distribute Argyll without a valid licence. The GNU licence prohibits combining these utilities into any sort of package (i.e. by providing other programs or scripts that make use of, depend on, or work with the Argyll code), unless the other elements of the package are also licensed under the GPL. It is permissible to provide Argyll utilities with other non GPL components, if such a packaging is mere aggregation. For all the gory details, please read the accompanying licence.

Note that unlike many commercial ICC profiling tools, the profiles created using Argyll, are not subject to any claims or restrictions of Argyll's author, but are assumed to be the copyright property of the person who gathers the characterization data, and causes the profiles to be created.

Please direct any queries or problems regarding operation of color instruments in combination with Argyll, to the Author(s) of Argyll, and not to any other party.

Overview

Overview of the software and its aims and functionality.

Limitations

Limitations of the current functionality.

Organization

How directories are organized, what they contain.

Compiling

How to build the software from the source.

Installing

Notes on installing the software on various platforms.

Source

Any detailed documentation on how the software works, or what algorithms it is based on. (Very incomplete at the moment.)

Main Utilities

These are all command line ("DOS" shell) utilities, and each tool require appropriate options to be set, followed by filename arguments. Sometimes the filenames will have to include the usual extensions, sometimes they are implicit. To get a brief listing of the possible arguments and usage of any of the utilities, run it with just an "-?" argument, i.e. targen -? (or some other unrecognized flag, if the "?" character is treated specially in your shell, i.e. try "--").

In order to make use of the tools, it is necessary to keep track of where various files are, and what they are called. There are many possible ways of doing this. One way is to put each source profile and all its associated files (test charts, spectrometer values etc.) in one set of directories for each source profile type. Similarly the device profiles could be stored in a hierarchy of directories ordered by device type, media, resolution, device mode etc.

Typical usage scenarios and examples

A guided tour of the major utilities, applied to typical CMS jobs, such as calibrating displays, creating device profiles, linking them, and converting color spaces of raster files.

Main Utilities by category:

Calibrating devices

dispcal Adjust and calibrate a display, producing a .cal file.

Creating test targets for profiling

targen        Generate a profiling test target values .ti1 file.
filmtarg      Create film recorder TIFF files from Argyll .ti1 file.
printtarg     Create a PS or EPS file to containing test patch values, ready for printing.

Obtaining test results for profiling

printread     Read a printer test chart using an instrument to create a .ti3 data file.
dispread      Test and read colorimetric values from a display
filmread      Read film colorimetric values using a SpectroScanT (Deprecated ?)
scanin        Convert a TIFF image of a test chart into .ti3 device values.
fakeread      Fake the reading of a device using an ICC or MPP profile.
cb2cgats      Convert Colorblind format CMY/RGB test chart into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
kodak2cgats   Convert Kodak Colorflow format CMYK test chart into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
logo2cgats    Convert Gretag/Logo or X-Rite ColorPort format RGB or CMYK test chart results into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
fakeCMY       Create a fake Argyll .ti3 CMY data file from a CMYK profile, as a basis of creating a CMY to CMYK separation

Creating Device Profiles

profile       Create an ICC profile from the .ti3 test data.
mpprof        Create a Model Printer Profile (MPP) from the .ti3 test data.
sepgen        IN DEVELOPMENT Create a CMY[K] to device colorant separation.
revfix        Regenerate a device profiles B2A table data by inverting the A2B table.

Linking Profiles

icclink Link two device ICC profiles to create a device link profile.

Converting colors

cctiff        Color convert a TIFF file using a sequence of ICC device, device link and abstract profiles
icclu         Lookup individual color values through any ICC profile table.
xicclu        Lookup individual color values forward or inverted though an ICC profile table.
mpplu         Lookup individual color values though an MPP profile. Also create MPP gamut files/views.
greytiff      Convert a TIFF file to monochrome using an ICC device profile

Color Tweaking tools

refine Creates an abstract profile from two chart readings, useful for refining proofing profiles.

Creating gamut views

iccgamut      Create a gamut file or VRML file of the color gamut of an ICC profile.
tiffgamut     Create a gamut file or VRML file of the color gamut of a TIFF image.
viewgam       Convert one or more gamuts into a VRML 3D visualization file.

Diagnostic and test utilities

iccdump       Dump the contents of an ICC profile as text.
profcheck     Check an ICC profile against .ti3 test chart data.
invprofcheck Check ICC forward against inverse lookup.
splitscgats Split a CGATS file (ie. a .ti3) into two parts randomly to verify profiling.
timage        Create TIFF test images.
mppcheck      Check an MPP profile against .ti3 test chart data.
spotread      Use an instrument to read a single spot color value.
verify        Verify matching of CIE in two .ti3 files.
displin       Create linear display calibration (.cal)file.

Other Utilities

dispwin Load Video LUT from profile or .cal file, or test dispcal and dispwin access to a display.
spec2cie Convert spectral .ti3 readings into CIE XYZ or L*a*b* readings.

Main Utilities Alphabetic Listing:

cb2cgats      Convert Colorblind format CMY/RGB test chart into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
cctiff        Color convert a TIFF file using a sequence of ICC device, device link and abstract profiles
dispcal       Adjust and calibrate a display, producing a .cal file.
displin       Create linear display calibration (.cal)file.
dispread      Test and read colorimetric values from a display
dispwin   Load Video LUT from profile or .cal file, or test dispcal and dispwin access to display.
fakeCMY       Create a fake Argyll .ti3 CMY data file from a CMYK profile, as a basis of creating a CMY to CMYK separation
fakeread      Fake the reading of a device using an ICC or MPP profile.
filmread      Read film colorimetric values using a SpectroScanT (Deprecated ?)
filmtarg      Create film recorder TIFF files from Argyll .ti1 file.
greytiff      Convert a TIFF file to monochrome using an ICC device profile
iccdump       Dump the contents of an ICC profile as text.
iccgamut      Create a gamut file or VRML file of the color gamut of an ICC profile.
icclink       Link two device ICC profiles to create a device link profile.
icclu         Lookup individual color values through any ICC profile table.
invprofcheck Check ICC forward against inverse lookup.
kodak2cgats   Convert Kodak Colorflow format CMYK test chart into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
logo2cgats    Convert Gretag/Logo or X-Rite ColorPort format RGB or CMYK test chart results into Argyll .ti3 CGATS format.
mppcheck      Check an MPP profile against .ti3 test chart data.
mpplu         Lookup individual color values though an MPP profile. Also create MPP gamut files/views.
mpprof        Create a Model Printer Profile (MPP) from the .ti3 test data.
printread     Read a printer test chart using an instrument to create a .ti3 data file.
printtarg     Create a PS or EPS file to containing test patch values, ready for printing.
profcheck     Check an ICC profile against .ti3 test chart data.
profile       Create an ICC profile from the .ti3 test data.
refine        Creates an abstract profile from two chart readings, useful for refining proofing profiles.
revfix        Regenerate a device profiles B2A table data by inverting the A2B table.
scanin        Convert a TIFF image of a test chart into .ti3 device values.
sepgen        IN DEVELOPMENT Create a CMY[K] to device colorant separation.
spec2cie      Convert spectral .ti3 readings into CIE XYZ or L*a*b* readings.
splitscgats Split a CGATS file (ie. a .ti3) into two parts randomly to verify profiling.
spotread      Use an instrument to read a single spot color value.
targen        Generate a profiling test target values .ti1 file.
tiffgamut     Create a gamut file or VRML file of the color gamut of a TIFF image.
timage        Create TIFF test images.
verify        Verify matching of CIE in two .ti3 files.
viewgam       Convert one or more gamuts into a VRML 3D visualization file.
xicclu        Lookup individual color values forward or inverted though an ICC profile table.

Minor Utilities

A very brief description of minor utilities and test harnesses.

Performance Tuning

Performance hints.

File formats that Argyll uses

Argyll uses a number of file formats for its operation, some that are external standards, and some that are unique to Argyll.

.ti1            Device test values
.ti2            Device test values & chart layout
.ti3            Device test values & CIE tristimulus/spectral results Format details.
.cal            Device calibration information. Format details.
.cht           Test chart recognition template. Format details.
.gam         3D gamut surface description
.sp            Illuminant spectral description
CGATS      Standard text based data exchange format
ICC           International Color Consortium profile format
MPP          Model device profile format
TIFF         Tag Image File Format raster files.
VRML       Virtual Reality Modelling Language 3D file format.

Errors, Corrections and Omissions:

If you notice any errors, corrections needed or omissions in the current documentatio,
please contact the author.