The present invention is a method for the color correction of digital images that have been compressed. In a preferred embodiment, aspects of the color correction are carried out on the compressed image data to improve computational efficiency. One of a number of alternative methods is employed to accomplish the color correction on lossy or losslessly compressed images. The color transformation process accomplishes color correction on compressed image data in conjunction with compression or decompression operations. A second, simplified phase of the color correction may be applied subsequently to the decompressed image data in certain embodiments. Accordingly, the technique has application to any number of color imaging systems, including digital printers and copiers where there is a necessity to color correct compressed digital images