Main Index
Lobsang Studio
mya Colour
– Inside mya
– the Human Equation
– Colour Conversion
– Human Perception
– Our Eyes and Mind
– Retina Resolution
Pantone Interactive
ColorPhazer Tool
PixelPhazer Tool
Natures Collection
Hubble Imagery
Abstract Art
mya is equivalent to having a high-end colour specialist individually process each pixel of your image based on the needs and ranges of that image. It does not fix bad images, nor perform tonal corrections to improperly balanced images, but rather very accurately separates your high quality images so that they maintain every subtle detail and nuance of colour that you originally intended. mya is built upon the knowledge of top quality colour-separators and uses that knowledge in several subprograms that work together harmoniously....
ShadowTracker
As colours get closer to black, RGB values hold less and less hue diversity, where CMYK values can hold much more diversity due to the black channel. So mya will track your RGB values as hues travel into the shadow regions ( entire ¾ tone range ), and compensate with a broader range of CMYK values. This creates very realistic and accurate colour in the darker areas of your image.
SuperShadows
Since there’s no hue in pure black ( RGB = 0,0,0 ) and a very minimal number of hues at near black values ( say RGB = 0,1,3 ) mya will cross-fade your hues into a perfect rich black just as colour can no longer be maintained. This results in any given colour flowing smoothly into a beautiful deep black (a.k.a. rich black, packed black, built black). This fade occurs at the last moment so that dark coloured image areas maintain their rich deep colours that often get lost in the separation process.
HueTracker
mya carefully tracks patches of very similar colour and reproduces them with amazing accuracy. This is particularly noticeable with computer generated artwork when an object is made of many shades of the same hue. This is recognized by mya and it will maintain the proper CMYK relationship following through every shade of your original image; it only changes this relationship when your image changes this relationship.
PureGray
On the flip side of the HueTracker, PureGray handles the non-hue scenarios. The parts of your image that have perfect RGB grays are recognized and maintained as perfectly balanced CMYK grays through the entire density range ( white to black ). Subtle hints of colour in your grays, no problem; they are also recognized and handled with the proper subtle shades of CMYK.
HistogramArt
Many colour separation applications create a somewhat raked histogram due to a more direct conversion of each RGB colour into CMYK rather than thinking about the in-between values. Images separated with mya have beautiful smooth waves of histogram data that are almost a work of art by themselves. Plus an outstanding black channel that blends perfectly and smoothly into the CMY colours.
Smooth Colour Blends
mya will maintain the smoothest of colour transitions weather computer generated or photographic. No artificial banding, no extra noise, no bogus hue shifts or subtle ghost colours, just great colour blends. Bright to dark, hue to hue, it just doesn’t matter; mya makes the blend look as you originally intended. If you have a banded halo special effect, then mya will reproduce the subtle bands accurately; if you have a perfectly smooth vignette, mya will keep it smooth and even. All calculations are performed with 30 digit ( 240 bit ) accuracy and are truncated only at the last moment using an intelligent rounding to keep track of when each colour jumps up/down to the next value. This keeps the ink relationship proportioned to your original image data.
Perfect Detail Reproduction
Many times, in order to reproduce a good level of detail, colours must be shifted into slightly less accurate colours to gain more working room within the more limited CMYK colour range. A skilled colour separator knows how to shift patches of colours around to maximize the needed detail in any given area. mya analyzes the detail for every portion of your image and determines if it is real image details or unwanted artifacts like film grain or CCD noise. It will not remove these artifacts, but instead minimize them by not trying to enhance their detail and only work on details that are real and wanted.
Can mya do UCR / GCR / UCA ?
The way mya understands colour and ink limits, none of these methods are needed. These functions were engineered to fix problems with other more basic methods of colour separation; mya doesn’t use any of those methods and therefore doesn’t require the fixes.
myaSpeed
Processing speed is a remarkable 2.0MB/sec on a simple 2Ghz system with 512MB ram. System requirements are very minimal; any Pentium level computer with a small compliment of available RAM ( fast CPU is highly desired; more ram is not necessary ). A 100MB image loaded, separated, and saved within 50 seconds, which is identical to the time it took PhotoShop™, on the same machine, to perform the same steps (using a macro to eliminate user time to navigate menus). Micrografx™ (known for it’s imaging speed), performed the same steps in 20 seconds but, like PhotoShop™, the separated colour was less than desirable. Kolorist™ (known for it’s colour versatility) procesed the file in 30 seconds but requies a few minutes for a knowledgable user to take image readings and adjust many controls.
myaIntelligence
Knowing how to separate a good teal, a bold red, or a deep blue, and then knowing the range of leniency that it can span before becoming humanly noticeable, is only part of mya’s understanding of human perception. mya has an extraordinary knowledge base on how humans perceive colour and relies on it to make advanced colour decisions instead of utilizing more standard mathematical equations that are based on how computers ‘see’ colour. By splitting RGB images into layers of luminosity, darkness, detail, ink density, saturation, and hue, mya then has the necessary information to create ideal colour separations. It’s like having each pixel in your image custom separated and balanced by a colour expert. Never turning your blue pool into purple, or your yellow fruit in to a rotten green, mya understands human perception and how to please our senses.
N E X T : the Human Equation