Editing CIELAB color space (section)

==Advantages==
Unlike the [[RGB color model|RGB]] and [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] color models, CIELAB is designed to approximate human vision. The ''L*''  component closely matches human perception of lightness, though it does not take the [[Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect]] into account. CIELAB is less uniform in the color axes, but is useful for predicting small differences in color.

The CIELAB coordinate space represents the entire [[gamut]] of human photopic (daylight) vision and far exceeds the gamut for sRGB or CMYK. In an integer implementation such as TIFF, ICC or Photoshop, the large coordinate space results in substantial data inefficiency due to unused code values. Only about 35% of the available coordinate code values are inside the CIELAB gamut with an integer format.<ref>{{Cite web|title=LAB Integer Gamut —Bruce Lindbloom|url=http://brucelindbloom.com/index.html?LabGamutDisplayHelp.html#IntegerLab|access-date=2020-12-12|website=brucelindbloom.com}}</ref>

Using CIELAB in an 8-bit per channel integer format typically results in significant quantization errors. Even 16-bit per channel can result in clipping, as the full gamut extends past the bounding coordinate space. Ideally, CIELAB should be used with floating-point data to minimize obvious quantization errors.

CIE standards and documents are copyrighted by the CIE and must be purchased; however, the formulas for CIELAB are available on the CIE website.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=CIELAB Formula|url= https://cie.co.at/eilvterm/17-23-076|access-date=2024-05-10|website=CIE Terms List}}</ref>