The effect of image size on the color appearance of image reproductions

Archiving images of cultural heritage based on spectral imaging techniques is an active research area in imaging science. Original and reproduced art are usually viewed under quite different viewing conditions. One of the interesting differences in viewing condition is size difference. This leads to different surrounds and adaptation states. In order to investigate the effect of size in color perception of rendered images, a visual experiment was conducted using a colorimetrically characterized digital projector and LCD display. An image was rendered and projected on the screen. The same image was processed using various algorithms followed by rendering for the LCD display. These LCD rendered images, by definition, were considerably smaller than the projected image. Using a paired-comparison method, the effect of image size was investigated using a colorimetric image of Georges Seurat's, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - 1884". The Image rendered for LCD display with a linear increase in lightness resulted in a closer match to the image projected on screen than the original colorimetric rendered image and was perceived as a more accurate reproduction than the majority of algorithms tested.