In his keynote address to the Eighth Color Imaging Conference, Dr. Robert Hunt investigated the limitations of current display technology with an emphasis on how well it can be expected to represent product color on the World Wide Web. His conclusion was that for purchases where color
was important, “the best safeguard is to ask for a swatch before placing an order.” While his analysis was compelling, we considered the topic a suitable launching point for discussion of a potential use for emerging reproduction technologies. Designed to maintain spectral integrity,
some of these new approaches are now worthy of public demonstration. For discussion, a scenario is described where image files contain spectral data and are available for download from on-line vending sites. On a user's computer the downloaded files may be spectrally color managed so
that when printed on a local multi-ink printer, the result would be a
Mitchell R. Rosen, Lawrence A. Taplin, Francisco H. Imai, Roy S. Berns, Noboru Ohta, "Answering Hunt's Web Shopping Challenge: Spectral Color Management for a Virtual Swatch" in Proc. IS&T 9th Color and Imaging Conf., 2001, pp 267 - 273, https://doi.org/10.2352/CIC.2001.9.1.art00049