Macintosh)No, ColorSynergy is a legacy product.
No. However, ColorSynergy 4.5, the last version released, will run in Classic Mode under Mac OS X.
Yes, you may order an upgrade and USB dongle. Click here (640K, PDF) for an order form.
inCamera Professional (also a legacy product) is a subset of ColorSynergy. It may be used to create and edit monitor and digital camera profiles. ColorSynergy has additional capabilities, such as the ability to create and edit scanner profiles and printer profiles. ColorSynergy also has many extra features, such as 3D gamut viewing, color palette management and the ability to create custom Photoshop working space profiles. inCamera Professional was available on both Macintosh and Windows platforms, while ColorSynergy was available only for Macintosh.
We have found that the ADB dongle does not work reliably on a USB Macintosh with an ADB-to-USB converter, such as the iMate. Instead, we recommend that you upgrade your dongle to the USB version by contacting us, and we will provide you with the necessary details. Note that the USB dongle will only work with ColorSynergy version 4.1 and later, so if you have an old version, you must also upgrade your software.
ColorSynergy dongles may be identified by an identifying label, which may read either "Pictographics" or "Candela." If you cannot locate your dongle, contact us with an explanation of the situation (it had better be compelling) and we will try to work something out with you.
We have found that the Keyspan serial-to-USB converter works well. It is strongly recommended that you use ColorSynergy 4.5, since only that version supports Apple's CommToolbox interface.
This is a bug. It occurs when ColorSynergy analyzes the scan of the IT8. If this analysis process takes too long (such as might happen if the image is very high resolution), then the Progress display is shown, which will cause ColorSynergy to hang. The work-around is to resize your IT8 scan file to something smaller. This will speed up the analysis phase enough that the Progress display will not be shown, thereby avoiding the conditions that cause ColorSynergy to hang.
Not necessarily. Experience has shown that many users get better results with the older ColorChecker chart. There are known problems with using the DC chart with polarizing filters. Some people dislike the glossy patches on the DC chart, claiming that they pick up unwanted reflections that skew their color values. If you use a DC chart, you may disable the glossy patches when the profile is made, to see if that improves your quality.
We have found that exact reproduction of the ColorChecker patch colors produces a flat image. You may easily remedy this by intentionally distorting the patch colors for the sake of making an image look more pleasing to the eye. This may be done in Photoshop by loading a curve such as this one in the Image/Adjust/Curves dialog. Note however, that this curve must be applied to an image after converting to an RGB working space, and it should not be done to a raw camera image having an assigned camera profile.
IT8 Data Reference Files for Kodak Q60 scanner targets may be found on Kodak's FTP site. If you use your web browser to get them, everything will be ok. If instead, you use Fetch, you must transfer the files in binary mode, not text mode. If you transfer them in text mode, they will not work with ColorSynergy.
You might find these charts available in your local area from suppliers to professional photographers or graphic arts professionals. They are also available from various sources online, such as ColorMall.com.