Atlas Clarus Trace Live

🔎 One pixel. One documented color identity.

A digital image may contain hundreds of thousands — or millions — of pixels. In a conventional workflow, a pixel is usually treated as nothing more than an RGB value that will eventually be transformed for output.

ATLAS Clarus takes a different approach.

Each source pixel is deterministically linked to a documented Atlas reference and receives its own persistent source_atlas_row_id.

This creates a traceable connection between the original image data, the Atlas reference, subsequent analysis and, where required, the production output.

Original pixel → source_atlas_row_id → Atlas reference → analysis → optional ICC production output → measured QC

🖱️ What happens when you click on a pixel?

ATLAS Clarus Trace Live allows a selected image pixel to be examined individually.

Depending on the available trace data, the view can show its original RGB value, Atlas identity, HLC reference, Atlas RGB and HEX values, Lab coordinates, λ* descriptors, Δλ values and post-hoc CIEDE2000 comparisons.

If a production transformation has been performed, the corresponding ICC profile, rendering parameters and device values can also be documented separately.

The important point is not simply that these numbers can be displayed.

The important point is that the result can be traced back to a documented reference identity.

🧬 Identity first. Production transformation second.

ATLAS Clarus deliberately separates the identity of a source color from the device values required to reproduce that color under a specific production condition.

An ICC profile may generate different CMYK values for different substrates, printing conditions or output processes.

Those production values may change.

The documented source identity remains part of the trace.

This separation creates a clearer basis for comparing profiles, materials and production conditions without losing the documented origin of the color decision.

📊 Analysis does not rewrite the source identity.

In the current ATLAS Clarus POSTHOC workflow, analytical values such as ΔE00 and Δλ are evaluated after the source reference has been established.

They provide additional evidence and comparison data. They do not retroactively redefine the original source_atlas_row_id.

This makes it possible to distinguish clearly between:

• the original pixel,
• its Atlas-bound source identity,
• post-hoc analytical evidence,
• production transformation,
• and physical quality control.

🧪 Calculated is not the same as measured.

ATLAS Clarus also makes an important distinction between calculated values and physically measured production results.

If no physical measurement of the produced sample has been performed, the trace states:

MEASURED QC: NOT_MEASURED

A calculated ΔE00 value is not automatically a production approval. An ICC preview is not a measurement of a printed sheet.

Keeping those stages separate supports a more transparent and auditable production workflow.

🔐 Traceability includes the reference basis.

A trace is only useful if the reference behind it can also be identified.

ATLAS Clarus therefore documents the Atlas Master used for the run, including its version and cryptographic hash where available.

This means that the selected pixel does not end with a value shown on screen.

Its Atlas reference can be followed further into the underlying Master PKL and its documented reference data.

🎯 Why does this matter?

Color production often involves many transformations: RGB, Lab, ICC profiles, CMYK values, substrates and different printing conditions.

ATLAS Clarus is designed to keep the reference identity visible throughout that process.

This can support:

• more traceable color decisions,
• clearer comparison of production conditions,
• less manual interpretation,
• better documented approvals,
• and a more standardized basis for color communication.

🔬 Look closer.

Sometimes the most interesting part of an image is not the whole image.

It is one tiny pixel — and the question of exactly where its color came from.

Pixel by pixel.
Reference by reference.
Measurement by measurement.
Decision by decision.

Explore ATLAS Clarus Trace Live and discover how a single pixel becomes a documented color reference.

For deeper inspection of the underlying Atlas reference and Master PKL, visit: arbe-lambda-star.com