vitpunkt

Vitpunkt is the term used in Swedish to refer to the white point in color science and color management. The white point is the reference color against which all other colors are measured and rendered. It defines what is perceived as white in a given color space or under a given lighting condition, and it influences the appearance of the entire color palette.

In practical terms, a white point is specified by a chromaticity coordinate pair on the CIE 1931 diagram and by an illuminant. The most common standard illuminants are D65 and D50. D65 represents average daylight and is defined with approximate chromaticity coordinates x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290; it is widely used by digital workflows and displays, as well as by sRGB and many working spaces. D50, with x ≈ 0.3457 and y ≈ 0.3585, is historically common in printing and some ICC color-management workflows, particularly for prepress and proofing.

The white point is central to calibration, color rendering, and color space definitions. Devices such as cameras, monitors, printers, and color profiles are calibrated to a chosen white point, and color conversions between spaces require chromatic adaptation to maintain consistent appearance. White balance in photography is a practical example of adjusting for the scene’s white point so that neutral whites render correctly under varying lighting.

In Swedish usage, vitpunkt thus denotes the standard or target white used in digital imaging, printing, and color management to achieve predictable and reproducible colors across devices and media.