Spectral Color Processing Using an Interim Connection Space

The use of an Interim Connection Space (ICS) is proposed as a means for extending the concept of device independent color management to support spectral imaging. Color management, in its standard practice, relates color rendering capability of devices through a Profile Connection Space (PCS). The International Color Consortium (ICC) defines a set of encodings for PCS derivable from CIEXYZ. Multichannel imaging systems where the goal is the reproduction of image spectra cannot use a colorimetrically-based PCS. The obvious solution is to use a new PCS based on spectral reflectance, transmittance or radiance. In the presence of a spectral PCS, though, a straightforward analog to the typical ICC color processing approach breaks down due to the likely high dimensionality of a the new PCS. To alleviate such problems the ICS is introduced as a standard dimensionally reduced image processing stage. Eigenvectors were rejected as candidate bases for ICS. Pseudoprimaries were introduced as potential ICS bases.