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sRGB or Adobe?
- Thread starter RHVC59
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Which industry? Certainly not the print industry. I work for a big screenprinter/large format digital printer company. Our RGB files tend to come in as AdobeRGB, I don't see many sRGB files at all. However they come in, the files all get converted to CMYK for printing anyway.
If you intend to get your files printed somewhere I don't think I'd use ProPhoto. I would ask the printer which profile they suggest to send your files in.
This is sound advise. We have exhibit announcements, usually standard or or deluxe postcards. printed by a service. They have templates in a specific color space, CMYK, and ask that you use a specific printer profile ie. MP_Color_CMYK_March08.icm. The also ask that we set our files to a rich black by specifing that the black be set to:
C = 90%
M = 80%
Y = 80%
K = 100%
Some good info on this subject can be found here.
http://www.modernpostcard.com/preparing_materials/color/additional_color/#profiles
anyway
I an currently trying out working with ProPhoto color space in CS3 for a while...
Discovered that the hard way. I now make certain I'm sending them all in as Adobe RGB. Though the reason I put ProPhoto RGB into my workflow was because anything short of it was inconsistent in rendering colors between different software, which was beginning to drive me insane. I'm noticing I can't post ProPhotoRGB to the web either, but it sure is helpful in making sure Lightroom, Photoshop, and Photomatix Pro all show the same thing while I'm working at the computer.
I played with Prophoto RGB, now i just use Adobe 1998, I use that when posting too, everything from ACR > CS3 > Photomatix is now as of yesterday Adobe 1998, best safe bet i think
I played with Prophoto RGB, now i just use Adobe 1998, I use that when posting too, everything from ACR > CS3 > Photomatix is now as of yesterday Adobe 1998, best safe bet i think
No noticeable difference between the three software apps? I could swear I saw things that would thwart all my plans with Adobe RGB.
I'd finish up the edit in Photoshop, and then import that final copy back into Lightroom - and it would have a higher saturation and contrast than did the Photoshop final edit. And then I noticed the problem went away when I made all the profiles the same, from Photomatix to Lightroom to Photoshop. I'll have to ruminate some more I suppose.
Lightroom's default color space is ProPhoto (documented here). Aperture uses something called 'wide gamut', which is supposed to have a gamut larger than ProPhoto. Photoshop lets you work in whatever color space you specify, with aRGB as the default space. ACR uses aRGB as the default, but you can override that. PSE defaults to sRGB, but supports aRGB if the user specifies it.
If the incoming image is already associated with a color space that the program supports, then that becomes the working color space. Raw files don't have color spaces until they are demosaiced by the raw converter. But TIFF and JPEG and other file types do have a color space association.
It doesn't really matter much which color space you work in, so long as you are mindful of the color space requirement for the target for your file. You need to convert that file to a color space appropriate for that target, and soft proof the result prior to sending it off. That target is usually some specific combination of a printer and paper, or a screen, or maybe something else.
Also, it is pointless to worry much about color management if you don't use a hardware device to color calibrate your monitor. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' also applies to measuring color - your eyeball isn't all that accurate.
If the incoming image is already associated with a color space that the program supports, then that becomes the working color space. Raw files don't have color spaces until they are demosaiced by the raw converter. But TIFF and JPEG and other file types do have a color space association.
It doesn't really matter much which color space you work in, so long as you are mindful of the color space requirement for the target for your file. You need to convert that file to a color space appropriate for that target, and soft proof the result prior to sending it off. That target is usually some specific combination of a printer and paper, or a screen, or maybe something else.
Also, it is pointless to worry much about color management if you don't use a hardware device to color calibrate your monitor. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' also applies to measuring color - your eyeball isn't all that accurate.