I’m using Photoshop CS/Mac G4/Epson 2200 in an RGB photographic workflow. I apply an Adobe RGB profile to my image files and have good profiles for my printer/ink/paper combinations. My question is this: should I be using View->Proof Colors while editing my images? Manual and help files are not much help.
Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!
My question is this: should I be using View->Proof Colors while editing my images?
It depends – if you assign Adobe RGB, and are applying a conversion to the file into Epson 2200 color space, than you really don’t need to use the proof set-up because the conversion is preserving the color appearance. If you are doing edits to a file that wasn’t going to be converted, than the proof set-up would more likely come into play.
Would it be true, then, to say that Proof Setup is for simulating on screen what an image will look like when printed on a specific output device — for instance for seeing how it will look if printed on an offset press — and that the whole idea of working in the Adobe RGB space and printing to the 2200 with the correct output profile for the 2200/Ultrachrome ink/whatever paper is to see on screen what the output will look like WITHOUT using Proof Setup?
Im not sure I understand what you are trying to say.
Proof Setup has no effect on the printed image. What it does, when you apply it to view the image is to let you know what your image will look like when you print it on whatever printer/paper/ink combination you select in Proof Setup View, whether the Epson 2200 or any other printer.
It only changes the way you view the image on screen, no changes are applied to the image itself.
So, if you see your image become darker and duller in Proof Setup View, that is precisely what it will look like when you print it, and if you dont like the way its going to look on paper, then you need to apply corrections so that it will print like you intend it to print.
From Ramon: Partial answer to a question I just submitted: "So, if you see your image become darker and duller in Proof Setup View, that is precisely what it will look like when you print it, and if you dont like the way its going to look on paper, then you need to apply corrections so that it will print like you intend it to print."
FinallY! Got an answer to a question I’ve posed to many, many people! Thanks…so now…
My terrible problem (terrible because I’m going nuts) is just that: I "soft Proof" my stuff, and now it’s all darker and duller, both in the Print Preview and Printed output.
So, Now I have an exisite photo image on-screen, how can I "get it" to print oot that way. It’s vivid, colorful, wonderful. What Corrections would I use WITHOUT changing the screen intent??? (Mac, PS10, Epson 5200)
Proof Setup View, that is precisely what it will look like when you
print it
ONLY IF: 1) Your monitor profile is accurate, 2) Your soft-proofed profile is accurate, 3) Your print utility setting, your color management system, does only one direct Conversion: SourceSpace to PrintSpace.
After you get PS7 PS8 PSCS Color Management, and Epson workflow nailed down, this link is likely your best free resource to read up on SoftProof and workflow:
G Ballard has provided you with a wealth of links.
Just remember that paper, no matter on what printer, cannot reproduce as vibrant and vivid color as your screen.
The trick is to find a paper that will give you the look you want, then use the specific profile for that specific paper, and add an adjustment layer that will allow you to compensate for whats going to happen on the paper.
In other words, once you have the image looking the way you want it, if it dies on you when you apply Soft Preview, then add the adjustment(s) necessary to make it perk up again. Usually a tiny correction in brightness and an even tinier correction in contrast is what I need. Occasionally, a small saturation adjustment may be needed.
I’ve read that sentence of yours many times without being able to make heads or tails out of it. Sorry.
Simple test: Prepare an image the way you want to print it on an Epson 2200. Print it once without using View > Proof Setup, no correction. Print it again applying View > Proof setup > Custom > ICC profile for the specific printer and paper, no correction.
I get two identical prints. Both are consistent with what Proof Setup view shows me.
Well I’ve been using Proof Setup to edit my Kodak HiDef400 negs scanned and printed from a Fuji Frontier 370 at my local minilab with more predictable results than if I let the operator color correct.
I used several profiles from DryCreek Photo of machines in my area. The one I’m using doesn’t use their service, so I assign several different ones that look closest to my minlab print. I got better results than if I assigned sRGB or AdobeRGB.
I tested how predictable a conversion of the scanned minilab tagged jpegs into AdobeRGB would print off the 370 by using Proof Setup with Preserve Color Numbers turned on.
Since I would not be converting the file to the minilab’s space profile, I knew that the nonCM 370 would only use the data, so PCN had to be on. The preview showed the dulling yellowish effect converting to wider AdobeRGB space gave to the image. That’s exactly what I later got from the 370 prints.
My question is that these images are from a point and shoot camera requiring editing. With converting to AdobeRGB, editing and converting back to the 370, the histogram shows a mighty beaten down image. What is the advantage of editing in a wider space? Can’t I just edit in the minilab’s space which is in between sRGB and AdobeRGB?
I’m doing this to see what can be done with regular film negatives. I like the convenience of popping in the film, shooting and handing the roll to the lab and picking them up in an hour.
Now that I can work digitally, I don’t have to settle for what they give me. It’s a hobby anyway and others that haven’t gone digital might like to know you can still use film conveniently this way.
At this point Im still shooting film as well as digitally. I scan my negatives myself and always in Adobe RGB. No conversion necessary at any point. Cant the lab scan in Adobe RGB for you?
No, the scanner automaticly scans to the printer/Fuji Crystal Archive paper space which is wider than sRGB.
I started editing just now setting PS to the printer space and I get the same histogram either way.
The thing about the prints is that any RGB gray level below level 25 goes to black and above 245 goes to white. The prints are a bit saturated and assigning AdobeRGB makes them even more saturated.
Another route that made a world of difference in the look was to assign one of my scanner photo paper profiles that came with my Arcus II scanner and convert to ProPhotoRGB. That knocked the saturation down to reality land and improved shadow and hilite detail considerably. I just needed to put some saturation back in.
There’s still the issue of editing what the scanner instilled and what my exposure captured on the neg. I took the negs to another nondigital lab and asked them not to correct for anything. It’s amazing what one operator sees from another in what to correct for.
Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.
Related Discussion Topics
Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections
