How to Use Digital Color Meter on a Mac

The great thing about the Macintosh is that it comes with so many applications I am still discovering new ones. The digital color meter has been part of the OS for years, yet I only discovered it recently. It is a cool little device that lets you read the makeup of a color image, quickly utilizing a variety of color models. This can be very useful for designers who need to know the color composition of an object to determine borders and text colors. It is not difficult to use, but does require that you have an understanding of color theory and design. The advantage is that it is independent of image editing and page makeup software. That is also the disadvantage, since the results are not automatically integrated into your other applications. It does, however, let you copy the color selected as image or text and then pass that color into another application. Here is how to use the digital color meter.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Apple Macintosh OS-9 or later
• Digital Images

1. 
    
   Adjust Preferences

   The applet is located in the utilities folder under Applications. Click on the digital color meter application to open it. Next select preferences from the drop-down menu under the applications menu. The application defaults to an 8X magnification factor, which I find a little confusing. I start with a 2X magnification and increase it if I need to look at a smaller area. Notice you can also select the aperture colors if you have trouble seeing the aperture as you move the mouse over the image.

2. 
    
   Adjusted Magnification

   Adjust the magnification under the preferences menu to create the level of detail you want to see. You can view the pixel level or larger than the pixel level to pinpoint the exact color you want to read.

3. 
    
   Adjust Aperture

   Open an image in preview or any other image program. Move your mouse over the image and you will see the values change as you select certain colors. This program will allow you to identify the color composition of any image and use those values to choose borders and fonts to accompany your image. Change the size of the aperture to read a smaller or larger area. Use the slider to select the exact color you are trying to read.

4. 
    
   Select Mode

   Change the MODE to the system of measurement. You can choose from CIE L*a*b, 1931 and 1976 standard observers and a variety of RGB measurements to find the color model that will work best with your design system. The meter is useful for anyone who is trying to do some level of color matching between an image program and a page makeup program. It is a stand-alone small applet that can be used independently of imaged-editing and page makeup programs.

Tips & Warnings

• After selecting the color, copy as text or image and paste into the color palette of your design application.

Resources

• Apple Computers