X-Rite Launches Free ColorTRUE App – Colour Calibrate your Mobile Device
Thank you to Kevin Carter for bringing this to my attention. Kevin previously reviewed the DataColor app that’s very similar to this for The British Journal of Photography (BJP).
ColorTRUE creates a custom display profile for iOS and Android mobile devices using a supported X-Rite measurement device. The user simply places the connected device on the tablet or phone when prompted and the measurement process begins automatically. The profile is applied to all images displayed through the ColorTRUE Image Gallery, providing the user with the most accurate color match to a desktop reference monitor, or other color managed monitors.
Steve Rankin, Product Manager, at X-Rite, commented: “While iOS and Android devices deliver pleasing color right out of the box, ColorTRUE is the first app that will provide photographers, designers, and prepress professionals with a true color match from desktop to mobile. Tablets have become increasingly important in imaging workflows and getting accurate color on the mobile device is now as critical as it is on the desktop. Whether showing your portfolio to a perspective client or soft-proofing an image before final run, ColorTRUE delivers color accuracy at the level X-Rite customers expect, while maintaining the speed and simplicity of use necessary in the mobile environment.”
ColourTRUE is free to download but you will need a ColorMunki Smile supported device for the calibration process. Click here to download the app.
ColorTRUE Image Gallery
ColorTRUE is the only mobile color management app that delivers an Image Gallery viewer with a unique set of tools that enables the highest level of color accurate viewing:
• Ambient Light Compensation – ColorTRUE will adjust to any ambient viewing condition ensuring that images are displayed correctly regardless of the lighting condition and display brightness setting
• Print Simulation – Preview or soft-proof images using different printer profiles and rendering intents
• White Point – Match your tablet to your desktop – to ensure you are assessing the same image on tablet and desktop, ColorTRUE lets you choose between D65, D50 and Native white point
• ICC Profile – Embedded image profiles are used or you can manually select correct working color spaces for your images (sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB)
• Before and After – Toggle the calibration on and off to see the color accuracy improvements on your images
Coloratti George Jardine states, “It only makes sense that X-Rite would be first to the party with a super-easy mobile calibration solution that really works! ColorTRUE gives me the confidence that what I’m seeing on my iPad will match the corrections that I’ve made on my professional i1Display-calibrated and profiled desktop displays. And the best part is…ColorTRUE uses my existing hardware.”
ColorTRUE Aware Partner Program
With the launch of ColorTRUE, X-Rite also announces its ColorTRUE Aware partner program. Unlike laptop or desktop operating systems, iOS and Android operating systems do not have system wide color management capabilities. This means each app must apply color profiles independently. X-Rite will soon release a Software Developers Kit (SDK) that will allow 3rd party app developers access to the ColorTRUE profile, enabling them to seamlessly deliver color management within their own app(s). ColorTRUE users can be confident any third party app such as image editing or viewing, inline production approval, or even creative sketching for proof of concept is color managed whenever they see the ColorTRUE Aware logo.
Steve Rankin, Product Manager, at X-Rite, continued, “As tablets and mobile devices increasingly permeate color and image based workflows, it has never been more important that these devices become truly color accurate. With ColorTRUE and the ColorTRUE Aware partner program, X-Rite now offers the missing color management components on iOS and Android platforms. Our goal is to enable app developers and help create an eco-system of color managed apps. We encourage all app developers where color is important to their users to contact us and learn more about our ColorTRUE Aware partner program.”
Supported X-Rite Devices
An X-Rite measurement device (sold separately) is required for the ColorTRUE® calibration process. iOS phones and tablets support ColorMunki Smile, ColorMunki Display, i1Display Pro, and i1Pro 2, while Android phones and tablets support ColorMunki Display and i1Display Pro. Visit xritephoto.com/colortrue for complete specifications list.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
