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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology pp 1–9Cite as

CIELAB for Color Image Encoding (CIELAB, 8-Bit; Domain and Range, Uses)

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Synonyms

CIE L*a*b*, CIELab, ICC L*a*b*, ICCLAB, ITULAB, Lab

Definition

Using the L*, a*, and b* coordinates of the CIELAB uniform color space as the three component values of a 24-bit digital image.

CIELAB

Overview

CIE 1976 (L*, a*, b*) color space (or CIELAB) is widely used for image encoding and processing applications as diverse as color management, gamut mapping, color interchange, and color quality evaluation. What makes CIELAB attractive for these applications is its being an approximately uniform color space. A perceptually uniform scale generally enables the most efficient use of bits and the least visible artifacts when images are digitized for viewing by human observers.

CIELAB Color Space

In CIELAB color space a color stimulus is expressed in terms of L*, a*, and b* rectangular coordinates. The entry on CIELAB gives the formulas for calculating L*, a*, b* values from the X, Y, Z tristimulus values of the color stimulus and the X n , Y n , Z n tristimulus values of the...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Archives of the UAE, PO Box 5884, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Robert R. Buckley

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA

    Robert R. Buckley & Edward J. Giorgianni

Authors
  1. Robert R. Buckley
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  2. Edward J. Giorgianni
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert R. Buckley .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Design University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Ronnier Luo

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Buckley, R.R., Giorgianni, E.J. (2015). CIELAB for Color Image Encoding (CIELAB, 8-Bit; Domain and Range, Uses). In: Luo, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_14-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_14-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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