Colour management - profiles and printing

mcgoo2007

Hi,

I'm in the processes of setting up a laptop for printing photos from Photoshop CS2. I've loaded the correct printer profile and have collaborated my monitor using Spyder2 (which has created a new default ICC profile for me)

When I open a file I get an "Embedded Profile Mismatch" message. The 3 choices I have are:

1. Use embedded profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
2. Covert documents colors to the working space (My Spyder2 profile I think?)
3. Discard the embedded profile (don’t color manage)

Which should I go for? Option 2 to view the image as it should appear on my monitor?

Also, when I go to print the photograph, I have the option to:

(a) Let Photoshop determine the colors and select the reverent ICC Printer Profile (and disable the printer colour management box)

or

(b) Let Printer determine the colors (and activate the printer colour management box)

Any info would be great.

Zillah

Convert the image to the working profile. The embedded profile was the one used when the image was created/edited.

The second bit I'm not sure about.

elven

I've just been reading up on the whole printing profiles malarkey in the Martin Evening book and from that it seems you should choose (a) Let Photoshop determine the colors and select the reverent ICC Printer Profile (and disable the printer colour management box).

But I still haven't got the damn thing figured out.

Valentia

The working profile referred to in 2 is not the monitor profile. It is the profile selected in the Colour Preferences of PS which you can change. This is usually sRGB or Adobe RGB. Adobe RGB retains more detail and is best used for printing. sRGB is needed if you are going to post on the web. Adobe RGB profiled pics look strange on the web. You need not worry about the colour space that the Spyder created EXCEPT in your monitor properties. Right click a blank part of your desktop screen and select Properties. Go to Settings/Advanced. Make sure that in Colour Management that the Spyder profile is selected. You need not ever worry about this again and DON'T use it for opening photos in PS. PS will automatically use the Spyder profile so that regardless of what profile is embedded in your photo it will be properly displayed on your calibrated monitor. That's all the the Spyder does.

After that make sure that colour management in PS is turned on and that the paper profile that you are using is selected for printing ONLY.

As elven said it is really important that in your printer prefs colour management is turned OFF ("no colour adjustment" on my Epson driver), otherwise you will be double proofing and the colours of the print will be crap. It doesn't really matter if your photo is sRGB, Adobe RGB so long as you have the rest set up as I have said.

That's my understanding of it anyway and it works for me. Have a look at QImage for printing though. It beats the socks off everything else and at a very reasonable price.

Valentia

Here are examples of my printing set-up. Dont worry about the profile saying "ProPhoto RGB" That could be whatever profile you are using.

elven

Why thank you kind sir, that was particularly handy. It's becoming slightly less muddy now!

Valentia

Oops! Just noticed that I had Enhanced matte set in PS and Premiun semi glossy in the printer driver. They should both be the same obviously but I wasn't doing an actual print, just grabbed the screens with too much haste.