Editing in printer space (special situation)
Noshir Patel
Advanced color management question follows...
Here's my situation. I have an image with very saturated reds and
oranges. My intended output is a lightjet print.
Using the latest profiles from West Coast Imaging, I convert from my
working space to the lightjet's output space. All of a sudden the
bright areas become somewhat dull and lose their percieved contrast
with the darker areas. I am guessing that the lightjet's gamut is
limited in the brighter reds and oranges. Anyway, all of this is
bad...
So here's my solution... What I want is for people to tell me if they
think it's valid or not....
Instead of converting to the output profile, I simply apply the output
profile. Now no gamut clipping has occurred, but my image looks wrong
(as it should since all the colors are being reinterpreted). In
particular, I have lost apparent saturation and maybe some contrast
and brightness. I now edit the image in my output space until I like
it again. Yes, it is different from the original, but the lack of
gamut clipping has produced what I consider a more pleasing result
than the original conversion attempt. I realize that editing in
output space makes achieving "proper" color balance problematic (for
instance, grays don't have equal R, G, and B values), but for my
image, an abstract high color saturation image (from Antelope Canyon),
this doesn't seem to be a problem.
Any flaws in my logic? Anybody else do this? Alternative methods to
solve the same problem? Note that I haven't actually made any prints
of this image yet...
Thanks in advance...
Nosh
Exovox
If it works fine, then do it. But, from what I've read the recommended
method is to keep it in the original color space and use Proof Setup to
display the converted version to the screen without actually converting
it. Best of both worlds-you keep the balanced RGB *and* see what your
edits will do on the Lightjet while you're editing. I read about it
here-
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/10150.html
In article <3cd9cb67....@news.mindspring.com>, Noshir Patel
Mike Russell
news:3cd9cb67....@news.mindspring.com...
So the poppies are good this year?
Yes, there are flaws, or more precisely what most people would call flaws.
The output profile of your printer normally has two intended uses.
1) Use your printer profile for soft proofing - simulating the appearance of
your image as it will appear on the final printout. There are others in
this group with experience in this who may chime in.
2) Use it for printing. To accomplish this, either configure your system to
use ICM management and assign the profile to your printer, or specify that
the system is to apply no color management, and tell Photoshop to print to
that profile. Do not do both as you will double correct and may get
inaccurate colors.
In both the above cases, stick with one of the conventional working spaces -
Adobe RGB for Windows, and Apple RGB or Colormatch for Macintosh.
I would finish, though, by saying if you are winding up with a printed image
that you like, then it doesn't matter what procedure you used.
I believe that your own experience, particularly in esthetic matters, is 100
times more important than what others may say or not say. For example, Mark
Morgan has been known to put his prints in water to create a particular
terra cotta color more accurately. So go for it, but do be aware that what
works for one image may not work for another. What works for a shot of
orange poppies may fail to please for a portrait or night shot.
--
http://www.zocalo.net/~mgr
http://geigy.2y.net