Photoshop Color Settings - Part 01 

Thank you!

You're very welcome!

Thank you, coming soon!

Thanks! Take a look at using ICC Profiles for the printer/paper you have selected. Make sure you take away color control from the printer and use the built-in color management in your OS...

Glad it was helpful! Thank you!

You're most welcome, enjoy!

Coming soon!

Awesome, thank you!

You're certainly welcome! You may or may not be aware, but the color value you noted in your message (#11FF88) is two things... 1) It's a "web safe" color, meaning that it is expected that any monitor displaying your creation as web content will display that color as you are seeing it on your screen (that's assuming correct calibration). 2) It's a value based on Red, Green, Blue saturations in an additive color mode. CMYK is based of course on Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks, in a subtractive color mode, thus there are not direct translations for every color, and there in lies the challenge that many face when trying to work between the two systems interchangeably, there's not always an interchange. Your safest best for picking a color that looks aesthetically pleasing to you on the screen and will print "true" in the CMYK printing process, is to use the "color libraries" option and pick a color from a library you see there. Ideally you would talk to your printer and ask what color library/libraries they support and then your match would be as ideal as possible. Good luck!

First problem of photos editing

Thank you!

You are certainly welcome! Thank you!

Hello Spain! I believe that you would...

Thank you!

I would first ask, why did you convert to CMYK...was there some sort of offset press requirement present? This is not the typical conversion direction of a photographic print...

Thank you! I appreciate that!

One would expect a color shift when saving to sRGB, as the output device has a limited gamut to display colors in. The purpose in down "sizing" color space is to make sure that your image looks as "correct" as possible on the targeted output space (in this case, we tend to think of sRGB being for the web and still being used to accommodate much older displays that are only capable of limited gamut anyways). For print output, for example, I would never downsize to sRGB, instead, I would use, as you mention AdobeRGB 1998 for any printed output, but I also know it is never safe to save web content in that colorspace. Gamut checks can always be run, against ICC profiles, in both Lightroom and Photoshop, so the risk of over-saturation is eliminated from the editing process...this gives you the maximum possible gamut in your colors, without risk of non-printable, non-displayable colors. One last thing to note, colorspace IS NEVER saved with a RAW file. RAW files are simply luminosity levels recorded at each pixel location. The use of the Bayer Array and subsequent demosaicing are responsible for the generation of color...the sensor itself has no concept of color at any pixel location. Attributes such as colorspace, picture style, white balance, etc. are simply noted as camera settings for that image and potentially (most likely) respected by downstream viewing/editing software. They have no impact on the RAW file and can be changed at will. Thanks for watching!

If you’re soft-proofing, that should avoid any surprises in color expectations at export time for your various mediums . At least that’s how it is for me…. It’s only if I were to skip that process that I get unanticipated surprises . I definitely understand the strategy here because if your file originates from a more limited color space and then you make a conversion for a different medium , you are already at a disadvantage because your available set of colors has already been restricted before you’ve even converted . You can quickly ruin the colors in your file to the point of no return

You should think of Colorspaces as where you edit and profiles as where you are outputting to. Edit in ProPhoto RGB and then use the profile that matches the output device and medium you intend to go to. I would say edit in ProPhoto RGB and then output to an Epson Printer on Exhibition Fiber paper using Epson's profile for such.

Thank you! I am not sure what you are referring to? Can you please describe the workflow that is leading you to this situation? Thank you!

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin Ok. I created a custom ICC profile for my monitor with an Xrite hardware color-profiler. Then in PS, Edit>Color Settings: Working spaces I selected the created ICC profile as my RGB working profile. After you do that PS will force you to set "Off" as RGB Color Management Policy. The other two options are greyed-out.

Okay, when you create a custom profile (ICC Profile) you should apply that to your monitor, as you are telling the monitor how to display colors as the profiling tool saw them. You DO NOT apply that profile in PS, you should only use provided profiles (sRGB, Adobe RGB 1998 and ProPhoto RGB), as those profiles are defining the working gamut based on those profiles. The monitor profile (that you created with the X-Rite tool) is taking care of interpreting the resulting colors in the PS file into a set of colors that the monitor is capable of displaying. Correspondingly, when you decided to print, you would apply a paper/printer profile (e.g. Epson Stylus 4900 Exhibition Fiber) to have the printing engine interpreting the colors for that printer/paper combination. I think what's important to remember here is, the profile is only responsible for interpreting the colors within the file at output time, for the device that is actively being output to.

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Righ now I'm saving my Photoshop or Illustrator working files to my custom ICC. Then when I export I can convert to sRGB or Adobe or proprietary printer profiles or whatever. But I think that's not that important since whoever is going to recieve my file, he can convert my bitmap to their working profiles (if they know what they're doing, that is). I will only convert to sRGB when exporting files destined to generica public or a website. Are you saying I should always export on generic color profiles?

It's important to remember that the ICC profile that's applied only works for that specific output device and that it's a "display time" interpretation of the colors in the file. The colors themselves aren't changed within the file, so when a new profile is applied, that "display time" interpretation is changed to map to the new profile. Outputting as sRGB makes the file safe for older devices, with lesser color capabilities, but a savvy user can change the color space and/or profile when they receive the file. sRGB is an ideal default color space for web content, but definitely lacking for output intended for printing.

Many potential causes for such an issue... Start by reviewing your camera settings, in particular colorspace and "picture style" (can be referred to by a number of names, by other manufacturers). Even though these settings don't directly effect the raw file, different viewers and/or applications can elect to apply or ignore these attributes (Photoshop/Lightroom for example will apply them to your images). You can easily override these settings, but it is good to know how each of the applications you use will behave. If you are using Photoshop, you should also ensure that you know what Working Color Settings you have chosen, as those can potentially be applied when opening an image. Hope that helps!

Thank you!

You're welcome! Thank you!

Cellular phones in general have very poor color management mechanisms. True colorspace compliance is very rare.

ComputerFiguur Thank you!

You don't need a profile for the printer, you need a profile for the specific paper that you plan on using in the printer, with that printers ink set. If one is not available from the paper manufacturer, for that printer, you can create your own. You need to use a profile device that supports scanning paper samples with ink targets printed on them. Here is an example of one such product: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1649347-REG/calibrite_ccstudio_colorchecker_studio.html It is also possible that a RIP solution will have support for that printer/paper/ink combination. You would have to check the specifics of the RIP solution you are considering.

There are two parts to that answer... First, the monitor itself is calibrated with an X-Rite color checker, so it has a custom color profile associated with it. From there the colorspace used can be (as it would be with yours as well) sRGB, AdobeRGB, or ProPhoto RGB...with color mappings made from that colorspace to the profile assigned to the monitor. Second, the computer in this video is being captured on a Blackmagic Design HyperDeck. As such the video is being converted from an HDMI signal, to 3G SDI, to a fiber optic signal, back to 3G SDI at a video switching console. Hard to say exactly how profiling is handled by this devices, but they seem to stay very true to the original colors.

No you do not. Most monitors come from the factory with specifications indicating the percentage of color compliance to a specific color space. Below is the specifications for a Dell U3419W monitor: "LED edgelight system, BFR/PVC-free, Mercury free, 99.9% sRGB color gamut, arsenic-free glass, Dell Easy Arrange, 90% (CIE 1976) color gamut, 75% (CIE 1931) color gamut" As you can see, the monitor displays 99.9% of the sRGB color space, and 90% of the CIE 1976 color space ( which covers a significant portion of the AdobeRGB color space). In plain English, this monitor displays more than enough colors to adequately display documents in either color space (and a fair amount of ProPhotoRGB), so you could assign any of those color spaces to a document and they would display on this monitor just fine. What you should do, however, if you wish to be sure your colors are accurate, is getting a color profiler, such as a Color Munki, from X-Rite (about $120.00 U.S.) and profile your monitor. This will build a profile specifically for your monitor, so your sure that colors displayed are accurate. As you know, on most monitors, you can adjust Brightness, Contrast, Color Temperature, etc., but there is no guarantee that your eyes see the same everyone else's do, especially the same way as say a printer does. The profiler is guaranteed to have the monitor adjusted correctly, giving you accurate colors at output time.

First of all, thank you! Okay onto your color issues on your phone...it sounds like you are doing everything the way you should be and phones (very dependent upon brand and model) are notorious for poor color management. A lot of phones don't subscribe to the standard color models. More often than not the best results are sRGB, 8 bit color depth only, and don't work well with anything other than JPGs. Make sure your laptop monitor has been color profiled with somethinng like a Spyder Color Munki, etc. for best results. Good luck!

@@timneumann9142 thank you so much for this response mate! I think the 8bit part explains it all as I was working in 16bit. So this makes a lot of sense.

Review you Color Settings and check to see what colorspace settings are being automatically applied to (what I assume is...) an RGB document when it is opened.

Mobile devices are always interesting in that people rarely know what colorspace some of these devices are using. See if you can figure that out and then you came work from there. Always make sure of what profile you are using within you editor, and that that profile gets included in the exported .jpg file.

No, and it's unlikely that your monitor will support that profile anyways. A profile on a file, dictates the colorspace available to THAT file. Devices along the way (monitors, printers, papers, etc.) will each have their own profile that specifies the colors that device is capable of outputting. This allows the colors from the file's colorspace to be mapped, at output time, to the colors that that device can create. Colors that are within the ability of that profile are mostly left alone (except those that are changed by rendering intent) colors that are outside of that device's capability are replaced with colors that the device can create (this is where the rendering intent changes potentially come in...if you shift an out of range color, then you should shift the ones next to that color in a relative way...a little advanced, but makes sense when you think it through...). Paper profiles, for printing, take this process even further, and manage the mapping of colors, for that specific paper, in a specific printer brand and model, using a specific ink set, and in some cases even consider the light source the final print will be displayed in (Image Print by ColorByte Software). Bottom line, monitors, printers, inks, and papers all handle a colorspace differently from one another, but the mapping process allows the transition from device to device to be as seamless as possible and get the closest match that each device can generate.

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin thank for the answer. what profil image is the best for mac ?

@@louispasdeprenom9950 You will get the best results using a profile created by a profiling tool, such as a Color Munki, etc.

I think I am going to respond in reverse...There are no systems (currently or in the foreseeable future) that are capable of displaying or outputting all the colors in the ProPhoto RGB colorspace. Display systems (high end monitors) are capable of obtaining 100% compliance with the Adobe RGB colorspace, printers get in the ballpark, but there is still a ways to go there and there is no practical 100% solution in sight. sRGB is easiest to manage in output systems, but then it is a remarkably small overall colorspace compared to the others...and realistically it shouldn't be used other than for output of JPGs for web consumption. Yes I know they are printable...but taking the easiest way out does not equate to fine art output. All of these colorspaces are reliant on the monitor being adjusted properly for the viewer's eye, the viewer's viewing environment, and the ambient color both at the time of creation and at the time of output. Output calibration should really be thought of as a mechanism for making sure the mathematics of the output, matches the perceived vision of the intended output. In lay terms, when I am VIEWING the color green, is the mathematical value being stored for that color REALLY green. The result of the calibration process is a profile for the device that was just profiled. That profile manages the realtime conversion of the mathematics of color within the file that's being view and the output capability of the profiled device. Subtle shifts in ambient light, display/output brightness, etc., can completely alter that results of the profile being applied. Last but not least think of ICC Profiles as the translators between the colorspace you are working in and the capabilities of the output device/medium you are going to. An ICC Profile for paper output, is not just for that specific brand of paper, it is for that paper, in a specific brand of printer, using a specific set of ink. This formula is often made much simpler by using a brand of paper, that matches a like brand of printer, using that print makers inks. Case in point Epson Exhibition Fiber, in a Epson 5000 printer, with Epson's ink for that printer. The profile available will be a perfect match. How using any brand of paper, in any brand of printer, with any brand of ink is possible if you have the capability to custom profile that specific combination. I often create custom profiles for papers that I like that don't come supplied with an appropriate ICC Profile for my intended output device/ink. If a lot of adjustments are needed post editing, iteratively, when printing...I suspect ICC Profiles are incorrectly selected/applied (lastly NEVER let your printer color color, that's the profiles job).

I am actually considering a series on Compositing In Photoshop, one of the sections in that series would focus on Perspective Issues and Management.

Sounds like a challenging problem, glad you got is solved!

I am not sure I understand your question... Can you provide more information?

Can you clarify a bit more? What file type are you exporting and are you taking back to Lightroom or external?

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin Hi. I was trying to export a tif file from photoshop - into a jpg with the adobe colour space, onto an external ssd. The intention is to print. I noticed that in the file/export preferences, and file/export as, in the dialog box there is no adobe option to tick, only srgb. My guess is that it isnt possible to do that and it needs to be imported into lightroom first, but i'm just looking for clarification. There isn't anything online that mentions this, all that can be found is this; Which color space is the best to export my Photoshop document? sRGB is recommended when you prepare images for the web, because it defines the color space of the standard monitor used to view images on the web. sRGB is also a good choice when you work with images from consumer-level digital cameras, because most of these cameras use sRGB as their default color space.

The Export As...functionality in Photoshop is a bit targeted in nature (and IMO could use a little bit more polish...). The development team clearly felt as if most people would want to embed sRGB as the color space of choice for .JPG files...which is based on the assumption that the files will all be consumed on the web, not totally unreasonable thinking, but not a complete solution. The rub comes in when you wish to use a .JPG file for printing, then you most likely do not want sRGB, or in your case the Prophoto RGB color space either. What you really want is to be able to embed the Adobe RGB color space so that your printer can give you the largest set of colors it is capable of producing. The answer to what you want to do lies in the step BEFORE the Export As... command, Convert To Profile. If I assume that your Working Color Space, in Photoshop, is Prophoto RGB, then a Convert To Profile command, with a selection of Adobe RGB will change the Working Profile to your desired choice. Then when next using the Export As... command, simply turn off the Convert to sRGB option and leave on the Embed Profile option and you will then get a .JPG file with the Adobe RGB color space specified. Note: If you do a File Save, immediately BEFORE these two commands mentioned above, but don't save after your Export As... operation, then you negate the Working Space Profile Conversion change, but get the file format you want with the color space you desire, especially helpful if long term you wish to keep your .PSD file in the Prophoto RGB color space.

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin Thanks for your time appreciate it. I've been down some ridiculous rabbit holes regarding exporting in Photoshop, cannot understand why it's so complex to do a straightforward export compared to Lightroom I noticed the exports keep coming out at 72 DPI, so I went trawling through mountains of nonsense online without any conclusions, just people saying DPI is irrelevant even though its for printing. Other things too but since then I've looked up videos specifically about Photoshop and I'm on the right track now.

@Formless 45 You're certainly welcome. You are quite correct, exporting in Photoshop really is more difficult than it should be, and with Adobe just recently dropping a number of Save As... options, it just got even weirder! To many, me included, it seems as though their progress has gone backwards as of late! I find the whole 72dpi issue very strange. First of all dpi TOTALLY MATTERS, not just in printing but in display scenarios as well. On top of that 72dpi is a bit antiquated as a resolution (comes from the original VGA display specs...), though I agree it's a bit of a floating target, I export any web content at 132dpi (Retina display resolution) so I am sure it will look good on the vast majority of browsing devices. For sure Lightroom has far better export features, and if you are doing any quantity based exports (say grabbing an entire shoot and exporting it for a client, etc.) it's the only way to go!

I am sorry I don't understand what you are asking?

Coming soon!

From which software are you trying to print?

And photoshop

In Photoshop you will be using the File/Print.. command to print, within the Photoshop Print Settings dialog box, you will see an option under "Color Management" for switching between Printer Manages Colors and Photoshop Manages Colors... Once you select that, you will be able to select the appropriate ICC Profile for the printer and paper combination you are using...

@@SoftLiteStudiosDublin cool thanks

You are most welcome! Enjoy!!!!!

Please describe your export settings and what make and model of phone you are exporting to.

Also when I'm exporting any normal photo from my laptop lenovo legion y520 to any smartphone they are over saturated

So there is typically no one single answer to this question...here are the things to consider: 1. Have you profiled your computer? Meaning have you used a profiling to device to ensure that your computer's monitor, brightness, contrast, etc., have been correctly set. 2. Are you editing to the histogram on your computer, in your editing software. You can not trust your eyes to determine correct exposure, clipping, and saturation in your edits. 3. Does your smart phone's display support a color space / profile. Many aren't profiled and aren't assigned a color space. The less expensive the phone, the less likely the display is controlled in this way. 4. If your smart phone has a color space specified, do you know what it is and are you exporting your image to that specification? Mismatches between exports (exporting as a AdobeRGB color space file, yet displaying it on a sRGB device for example) are one of the leading issues... 5. If you know your devices color space, are you looking at gamut warnings for your document while viewed against that target color space? Both Lightroom and Photoshop support doing this, few use it... Good Luck!!!!!

I have been thinking about doing exactly that!