GAMUTS IN COLOR REPRODUCTION

The concept of the gamut of a colour reproduction system is explained, starting from the spectrophotometric description of colorants used. The extension is made from spectrophotometry to CIE 1931 XYZ colorimetry, a system still in use for the description of colour gamuts. Advantages of the CIE 1976 u',v' uniform chromaticity chart are discussed and related to CIE 1976 L*u+v* and L*a*b* uniform colour spaces. The use of Status A trilinear density plots is described and examined in terms of visual uniformity related to the Munsell system. The three-dimensional representation of a colour gamut in CIE 1976 L*a*b* colour space is related to colour sensitometric results which explain and allow interpretation of the colorimetry. Applications of the systems reviewed are made to real surface colours and a variety of reflection and transmission photographic systems under different conditions of use, as well as to images formed by visual display units and broadcast television.