To prepare for printing, it is necessary to accurately match the output colors of the digital data with those of the original artwork. This is an extremely difficult task because the lighting conditions are different during the shooting and the color matching evaluation process. Furthermore, due to the fragile nature of the cultural assets because of their age, the amount of time spent on color matching must be kept to a minimum to avoid placing additional burden on the originals.
To solve this problem, Canon uses only the photo data to compute the parameters required for color conversion, by comparing the photo data shot with a flash against the image data captured under the existing lighting conditions. This color conversion process has resulted in the establishment of a technique in which highly accurate color matching is possible without the use of measuring equipment. By dramatically reducing the amount of time required for color matching, the burden placed on the cultural assets is kept to a minimum.