Color conversion method for multi-primary display for spectral color reproduction

In the conventional color reproduction based on the colorimetric match for a standard observer, color mismatch can be perceived if the color matching functions of the observer deviate from those of the standard observer; this phenomenon is known as observer metamerism. Recently, multi-primary display, using more than three-primary colors, has attracted attention as a color reproduction media because of its expanded gamut and its possibility to reduce the color mismatch caused by observer metamerism. In this paper, a new color conversion method for multi-primary display that reduces the observer metamerism is proposed. The proposed method gives the multi-dimensional control value of a display device to minimize the spectral approximation error under the constraints of tristimulus match. Reproduced spectrum by a seven-primary display is simulated and evaluated by the color matching functions of Stiles’s 20 observers. The results confirmed that the proposed method reduces the color reproduction error caused by observer variability compared to the other seven-primary reproduction and conventional three-primary reproduction. The preliminary visual evaluation results with a seven-primary display using light-emitting diodes are also introduced. © 2004 SPIE and IS&T. [DOI: 10.1117/1.1785800]