Do you need colour management? If you deal with the assessment or editing of images on-screen, you certainly do.
Ideally, set up right, colour management should be an invisible helper. Like the computerised engine system of a modern car, if you’re aware it’s there and that it’s important enough to keep well maintained, that’s enough. Some basic understanding of colour management, as it applies to daily work, can be very valuable; but you don’t need to swallow the entire pill, it’s too big to swallow whole anyway.
In digital imaging, the preservation of original colour, tone and detail right through to the end result is a vital requirement. As imaging evolves and printing improves, the quality of archives will inevitably be increasingly important. That’s our business, quality. Unfortunately, working hard to earn a living and, at the same time, using internet forums and websites in an attempt to come to terms with the concepts of colour management and the way it protects image quality is a bewildering experience for many users.