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USING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8
Understanding color
Last updated 7/26/2011
Using image modes and color tables
About image modes
An image mode determines the number of colors that can be displayed in an image and can also affect the file size of
the image. Photoshop
Elements provides four image modes: RGB, bitmap, grayscale, and indexed color.
Image modes
A. Bitmap mode B. Grayscale mode C. Indexed-color mode D. RGB mode
Bitmap mode Uses one of two color values (black or white) to represent the pixels in an image. Images in bitmap mode
are called 1-bit images because they have a bit depth of 1.
Grayscale mode Uses up to 256 shades of gray. Grayscale images are 8-bit images. Every pixel in a grayscale image has
a brightness value ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Grayscale values can also be measured as percentages of black
ink coverage (0% is equal to white, 100% to black).
Indexed Color mode Uses up to 256 colors. Indexed-color images are 8-bit images. When converting into indexed
color, Photoshop
Elements builds a color lookup table (CLUT), which stores and indexes the colors in the image. If a
color in the original image does not appear in the table, the program chooses the closest one or simulates the color
using available colors. By limiting the panel of colors, indexed color can reduce file size while maintaining visual
quality—for example, for a web page. Limited editing is available in this mode. For extensive editing, you should
convert temporarily into RGB mode.
When you choose a different color mode for an image (Image > Mode > [image mode]), you permanently change the
color values in the image. You might want to convert into a different mode for several reasons. For example, you may
have an old scanned photo in grayscale mode in which you want to add color, so you would need to convert it into
RGB mode. Before converting images, it’s best to do the following:
• Edit as much as possible in RGB mode.
• Save a backup copy before converting. Be sure to save a copy of your image that includes all layers in order to edit
the original version of the image after the conversion.
• Flatten the file before converting it. The interaction of colors between layer blending modes will change when the
mode changes.
A B
CD
