Technique particularly suited for use in a print preview function for

Abstract

A technique, applicable for use in implementing a print preview function in a color electronic imaging system, that, under a variety of different ambient lighting conditions, will yield a highly acceptable color match between a color image appearing on a CRT monitor and that which will be produced by the system as a printed version of the same image. Specifically, a computer system (120) is employed to scan an image and, through an ambient illumination sensor (27), senses the spectral content of the ambient illumination. The computer displays the scanned image along with various non-image information which can be used to adjust the color of the image. The computer transforms the color of the scanned image and the non-image information such that a resultant display of the image and the non-image information on a color monitor (24) will show the appearance of a print when the print is viewed under the ambient illumination. The transformation of the non-image information includes transforming non-image monitor control signals into a first set of tristimulus values which are, in turn, transformed into printer control signals for an imaginary printer. These printer control signals are then transformed into tristimulus values using the sensed spectral content of the illuminant. This latter set of values are used to produce monitor control signals that are applied to the monitor.