Gamut

The term gamut or colour gamut is used to describe:

  • The range of colours that a specific device or system can display or reproduce.
  • The range of colours that the human eye can see in specific conditions.
  • A range of colours that is smaller than all the colours that the human eye can see.
  • All the colours in an image. Digitizing a photo, changing an image’s colour space, or printing an image onto paper might change its gamut.
  • The range of perceived colours (visible to a human observer) is always greater than the range that can be reproduced by any digital device such as a screen, monitor or projector.
  • Digital cameras, scanners, monitors, and printers all have limits to the range of colours they can capture, save, and reproduce.
  • The main use of digital colour spaces and colour profiles is to set the gamut of colours that can be used to accurately reproduce or optimise the appearance of an image.
  • It is currently impossible to make a digital device that can reproduce the same range of colours that the human eye can see.
Related diagrams

Each diagram below can be viewed on its own page with a full explanation.

References
  • The term gamut or colour gamut is used to describe:
    • The range of colours that a specific device or system can display or reproduce.
    • The range of colours that the human eye can see in specific conditions.
    • A range of colours that is smaller than all the colours that the human eye can see.
    • All the colours in an image. Digitizing a photo, changing an image’s colour space, or printing an image onto paper might change its gamut.
  • The range of perceived colours (visible to a human observer) is always greater than the range that can be reproduced by any digital device such as a screen, monitor or projector.