Ghostscript has a long history in the open source community and was developed at the same time that page description languages were evolving to the complex specification of PDF today. Color is a key component in this specification and its description and proper implementation is as
complex as any other part of the specification. In this document, the color processing and management that takes place in Ghostscript is reviewed with a focus on how its design achieves computational efficiency while providing flexibility for the developer and user.