Light Illusion
Light Illusion is a UK-based software company that develops ColourSpace, a colour calibration and management platform used by film, post-production, broadcast, home cinema, medical imaging, and Pro AV workflows, with native integrations to major grading tools and reference displays.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBuntingford, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Light Illusion does
Light Illusion Ltd. is a UK-based, privately held software company headquartered in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, operating with 1-10 employees. The company develops and sells ColourSpace, a colour calibration and colour management platform used to characterise displays, generate profiling LUTs, and manage colour across film, post-production, broadcast, home cinema, medical imaging, and professional AV workflows.
The product is built on a proprietary mathematical colour engine and supports advanced profiling, 3D LUT generation, and, since a June 2026 release, large-LUT operations in a 64-bit build. ColourSpace integrates natively with major grading and finishing tools (DaVinci Resolve, Mistika, ARRI software) and is certified or supported across reference monitors from Canon, Flanders Scientific, EIZO, Dolby, ASUS, SmallHD, NEC, BenQ, TCL, Konvision, and Postium. A DICOM-capable variant addresses medical-imaging calibration, broadening use beyond traditional media workflows.
Light Illusion monetises through perpetual software licences, short-term 5-day rentals priced in the low hundreds of pounds, and yearly maintenance, with the SpaceMatch and SpaceMan product lines representing additional perpetual offerings. Customers include major studios (Warner Bros, Disney, Netflix, Technicolor, Deluxe, ILM, Digital Domain, MPC, Animal Logic, Goldcrest), broadcasters (BBC, Sky), Pro AV/tech firms (Apple, Google, Amazon, Sony, Valve, NFL), medical-imaging and testing organisations (Munich Surgical Imaging, Eurofins, Bureau Veritas), and a long tail of post houses and integrators.
Light Illusion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Light Illusion
- Legal name
- Light Illusion Ltd.
- Website
- https://lightillusion.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Light Illusion is a UK-based software company that develops ColourSpace, a colour calibration and management platform used by film, post-production, broadcast, home cinema, medical imaging, and Pro AV workflows, with native integrations to major grading tools and reference displays.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Light Illusion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Display Calibration Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Color Grading & Finishing (DI, HDR, Deliverables) (MPADAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Professional & Creative Monitors (Color-Accurate/Reference) (HDACADAB)
Keywords
Where Light Illusion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Buntingford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Light Illusion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licenses (Perpetual): One-time purchase of ColourSpace software licenses at various professional and home cinema tiers, including XPT, PRO, CAL, LTE for professional use and HTP, HTL for home cinema/Pro AV use. Licenses are single PC use only.
- Short-Term Rental: 5-day rental licenses for evaluation or direct use, with rental cost deductible from full license purchase within 10 days. Professional rentals range from £95-£245, Home Cinema/Pro AV from £65-£130.
- SpaceMatch & SpaceMan Software: Additional software tools sold as perpetual licenses: SpaceMatch DCM at £115 and SpaceMan ICC at £135, for VCGT management and ICC profile generation.
- Yearly Maintenance: Yearly maintenance fee for software updates and support access (ColourSpace CMS mentions free updates and yearly maintenance fee).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace XPT - Professional Tier (Highest) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace PRO - Professional Workhorse |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace CAL - Professional Calibrator |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace LTE - Professional Entry |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace HTP - Home Cinema/Pro AV Workhorse |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ColourSpace HTL - Home Cinema/Pro AV Entry |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | SpaceMatch DCM |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | SpaceMan ICC |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Light Illusion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Light Illusion develops and sells ColourSpace, a professional display calibration and colour management software platform offering 3D LUT calibration, volumetric profiling, display verification, LUT manipulation, camera LUT generation, ARRI Look conversion, and DICOM medical calibration. The software is delivered through tiered perpetual licenses for professional (Film, Post-Production, Broadcast, Medical) and home cinema/Pro AV markets, supplemented by standalone SpaceMatch DCM and SpaceMan ICC utility tools.
Product overview
Light Illusion provides ColourSpace, a professional display calibration and colour management software platform with tiered license levels. The core ColourSpace CMS platform offers both professional versions (XPT, PRO, CAL, LTE) for film, post-production, broadcast, and medical markets, and consumer versions (HTP, HTL) for home cinema and Pro AV markets. All versions support 3D LUT calibration, display profiling, and verification. A free ZRO base version and DPS enhanced version with volumetric 3D graphs are also available. Supporting products include SpaceMatch DCM for graphics card VCGT management and SpaceMan ICC for converting 3D LUTs to ICC profiles. ColourSpace Rental provides short-term 5-day licenses for evaluation or temporary use.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ColourSpace: Professional Display Calibration & 3D LUT Software - the flagship calibration product serving Film, Post-Production, Broadcast, Home Cinema, Medical, and Pro AV markets
- SpaceMatch
- SpaceMan
Products and services
- ColourSpace CMS Professional display calibration and 3D LUT software platform providing display profiling, calibration LUT generation, verification, and LUT manipulation for film, post-production, broadcast, home cinema, medical, and Pro AV professionals. Includes ASC, ACES, and ARRI workflow support and integrates with a broad range of supported probes, hardware TPGs, LUT boxes, and integrated displays.
- SpaceMatch DCM VCGT (Video Card Gamma Table) management software that enables colour management of PC-connected displays using graphics card 1D LUTs, avoiding the ICC profile issues commonly encountered in film and TV workflows.
- SpaceMan ICC ICC colour profile management system that converts 3D LUTs into ICC v4 profiles for use in ICC-compliant software such as Photoshop and After Effects, supporting look management and display calibration workflows.
- ColourSpace Rental Short-term 5-day rental license option for any ColourSpace version (XPT, PRO, CAL, LTE, HTP, HTL), available for evaluation or direct temporary use, with the rental cost deductible from a subsequent full license purchase within 10 days.
Quantifiable outcome
- Light Illusion calibration tools are in use at more post production facilities, studios and broadcasters than any other calibration system
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Light Illusion
Customer profileNamed customers26 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Light Illusion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration36 records
Feature8 records
Light Illusion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- CanoncoreDisplay manufacturer partnership enabling ColourSpace closed-loop calibration integration with Canon displays for accurate colour matching.
- Flanders Scientific (FSI)coreDisplay manufacturer partnership with Flanders Scientific for ColourSpace integrated display calibration and colour management.
- EIZOcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with EIZO for ColourSpace integrated medical and professional displays with 3D LUT capability.
- DolbycoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with Dolby for ColourSpace integrated calibration capabilities.
- ASUScoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with ASUS for ColourSpace integrated display calibration.
- SmallHDcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with SmallHD for ColourSpace integrated on-camera monitors.
- NECcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with NEC for ColourSpace integrated professional displays with 3D LUT capability.
- BenQcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with BenQ for ColourSpace integrated display calibration.
- TCLcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with TCL for ColourSpace integrated display calibration.
- KonvisioncoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with Konvision for ColourSpace integrated display calibration.
- PostiumcoreDisplay manufacturer partnership with Postium for ColourSpace integrated display calibration.
- Resolve (DaVinci Resolve)coreIntegration partnership with DaVinci Resolve for patch generation and calibration workflows using ColourSpace DIP (Display Independent Profiling) mode.
- MistikacoreIntegration partnership with Mistika grading systems for ColourSpace calibration and LUT management capabilities.
- ARRIcoreARRI Look capability within ColourSpace enables conversion of ARRI Look files into LUTs and vice versa, supporting ARRI ALEXA camera workflows.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Light Illusion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Datacolor: Datacolor provides color measurement instruments and software (Spyder series) for display and print calibration. Adjacent competitor in monitor calibration, more consumer-focused than Light Illusion but overlapping use case.
- Flanders Scientific: Flanders Scientific (FSI) builds professional reference monitors for post-production and broadcast with built-in 3D LUTs and integrated ColourSpace calibration. Partner/ecosystem company with overlapping customer base.
- EIZO: EIZO manufactures color-critical medical and professional monitors and is a core OEM partner integrating ColourSpace. As a hardware vendor with its own calibration software (ColorNavigator), it is an adjacent ecosystem player that could in theory compete.
- Dolby: Dolby is a ColourSpace OEM partner for professional reference monitors and develops the Dolby Vision HDR ecosystem. A technology and ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor, but with overlapping color-management scope.
- Calibrite (X-Rite): Calibrite, the consumer spin-off of X-Rite, sells colorimeters and ships X-Rite i1Profiler / Calibrite Profiler for monitor and projector calibration. A probe and calibration-software partner/competitor in Light Illusion's ecosystem.
Emerging players
- DisplayCAL: DisplayCAL is a leading open-source display calibration and profiling application built on ArgyllCMS. Targets enthusiast and prosumer monitor calibration with ICC workflow — overlapping segment of Light Illusion's home cinema / Pro AV user base.
Direct peers
- Portrait Displays (Calman): Portrait Displays owns Calman, the most prominent commercial display calibration software suite for calibrators, studios, and home cinema users. It is the closest direct competitor to ColourSpace across film/broadcast and home cinema workflows.
- basICColor: basICColor is a German color management software vendor whose tools (e.g., basICColor display, input, output) are used by professional photographers, prepress, and imaging specialists. Overlaps with Light Illusion on ICC profile generation and display calibration.
- SpectraCal: SpectraCal produced CalMAN display calibration software before being acquired by Portrait Displays. It competed head-to-head with Light Illusion in post-production calibration; now part of the same parent.
- ChromaPure: ChromaPure is a commercial display calibration software product targeted at professional calibrators and home cinema enthusiasts. Competes directly with ColourSpace HTP/HTL tiers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Light Illusion social profiles
Digital presenceLight Illusion compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Light Illusion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Light Illusion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Light Illusion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Light Illusion M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Light Illusion
What does Light Illusion do?
Light Illusion develops and sells ColourSpace, a professional display calibration and colour management software platform offering 3D LUT calibration, volumetric profiling, display verification, LUT manipulation, camera LUT generation, ARRI Look conversion, and DICOM medical calibration. The software is delivered through tiered perpetual licenses for professional (Film, Post-Production, Broadcast, Medical) and home cinema/Pro AV markets, supplemented by standalone SpaceMatch DCM and SpaceMan ICC utility tools.
Is Light Illusion a public or private company?
Light Illusion is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Light Illusion founded?
Light Illusion was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Light Illusion based?
Light Illusion is headquartered in Buntingford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Light Illusion make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses (Perpetual) is the primary driver. The others are short-Term Rental, spaceMatch & SpaceMan Software and yearly Maintenance.
Who are Light Illusion's main competitors?
Others on record are Datacolor, Flanders Scientific, EIZO, Dolby and Calibrite (X-Rite). DisplayCAL is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Portrait Displays (Calman), basICColor, SpectraCal and ChromaPure.
Does Light Illusion have an API?
No public API is recorded for Light Illusion.
What industry is Light Illusion in?
Light Illusion's product category is Display Calibration Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAGAB, Color Grading & Finishing (DI, HDR, Deliverables), with a secondary code of HDACADAB, Professional & Creative Monitors (Color-Accurate/Reference). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 3861.