A color gamut refers to the entire range of colors that a specific device can produce, record, or display. Think of all the colors the human eye can see as a massive map; a color gamut is a fenced-in section of that map representing the exact limits of a device’s color capabilities. Understanding the Basics
The Fence Metaphor: If the visible world of color is a playground, a gamut is the specific boundaries a screen or printer cannot cross.
Out of Gamut: When an image contains colors that a screen or printer physically cannot reproduce, those specific colors are considered “out of gamut” and are substituted with the closest possible match.
Three-Dimensional Nature: Gamuts are actually 3D shapes because they map out hue, saturation, and brightness. However, industries typically plot them on a 2D flat triangle via the CIE 1931 Chromaticity Diagram for simplicity. Common Color Gamut Standards
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