Color profiles

[DRGSin]

Quite a while back, E recommended I use Costco to process my photos. I performed a little test between them and another printer-whom I thought would be superior and sure enough, E was right. So Ive been using them ever since and getting some great results. Recently I purchased a high end LCD (NEC 2490) for the specific purpose of using it for photography. Ive color calibrated it and my Lacie CRT and other than the lcd being slightly brighter, the colors seem to match each other well. CRT is @max brightness and lcd is @ min brightness by the way. The calibrating software(ione) installs the profiles for each screen into the control settings of my computer. Anyways, to make a long story even longer, up until I calibrated everything, I used the auto correct feature that Costco provides. On the whole I think it did really well, but I like my colors a bit punchier, so I downloaded the color profiles that Costco uses for their type of machine and the types of finishes-glossy and lustre, or matte as Ive known it. My question, finally, is: where do these new profiles go and how/when do I use them? Do I convert to this profile when I open up the pic in PSNX? If I understand this correctly, Id be replacing the calibrated profiles for the costco profiles, no? If thats the case why would I even calibrate my monitors? Or...do my calibrated profiles allow me to view the costco profiles as theyre meant to be seen? Im using sRGB from in camera thru NX thru PS thru Costco-since Costco doesnt print in aRGB.

Thanks!

[Erik]

Each method for reproduing colors does it in a different way, right?

(All of The following may not apply to Raw capture)

From the beginning . . .
Every imaging device has a signature look we call a profile. When you capture an image and write a jpeg, your camera has it's profile. That is to say that it re-produces the colors it captured in it's own way. Miuch like a Fujifilm vs. Kodak film comparison, Nikon and Canon each have their looks to them. Some of you (not me) could probably guess the brand of the camera just by looking at the image.

To make things more complicated, some cameras have more than one "box of crayons" or gamut with which to interpret the sensor data when creating the file. Regardless of which gamut you use, someone looking to work as smartly as possible will consider where the the file goes next.

You may have noticed that ACR, and LR have camera calibration control panels. This is how photographers and studios dealing with multiple cameras and camera systems can get similar color reproduction when importing the catalogs.

The colorimeter you used to calibrate the monitor sent standard RGB recipes (standard colors) to the monitor. The optical colorimeter looked at your monitor during this process and decided in a precise manner how "off" your monitor was when displaying these colors. The software then creates a conversion index profile for that monitor. This way RGB recipe 46, 185, 108 looks like THAT COLOR when displayed on your screen. Without calibration 46, 185, 108 could look like 46, 185, 164 - which is blue shifted, but only subtly so. If your monitor is more blue shifted, or cooler than than your commercial clients monitor, then this could easily be a reason they are getting on your back because their products are the wrong color in your proofs. It could be why Bridezilla is calling you because her $10,000 Ivory dress looks Virgin White in her proof set. (true stories - I calibrated their monitors for them and voila!)

Okay, now you have a profile that looks at your specific monitors to ensure that the colors optically look the way they are supposed to. Next you get to have all of the fun with your software and make things look fine and dandy!

Folks with multiple monitors my want to use a system that is specifically designed to ensure that both monitors make the colors look the same across both of them.

The next problem you face is when you consider that the printer you use will also use its own unique recipe to reproduce the colors. We can only hope that they profile their machines to ensure that 46, 185, 108 looks correct on their paper when the images are printed.

Here's the kicker: Our monitors produce A LOT more colors, particularly more saturated colors that most printers can!

Have a look at this:
Below you see two 3-D Gamut maps centered on each other on a 3-axis space based on Lab color (as opposed to RGB) . The vertical axis represents Luminosity (white to black). Another axis represents the "a" axis which is the range of colors between green and red. Finally the 'b" axis which is the range between yellow and blue. See this HP ColorSpan page for a cool graphic and simple explaination.

I rotated the graph to show top and sides . . .


In the above screen captures I am comparing my calibrated monitors profile with the smaller one that Costco can reproduce. The gray represents my (pretty good) monitors capabilities. Notice the Costco gamut resides almost entirely inside of the monitors gamut-space.

By the way, the best machine at White House Custom Color, one of America's most advertised "high end" service bureaus (I love to use these guys) has a gamut only a wee-bit broader in the reds than Costco. I have a macro image of a rose that is out of Gamut for most labs that I'd like to use to print the image. Oh well, I'll enjoy it on the screen!

If it just occurred to you that your images color range may not be getting printed, then you are catching on!

What do you do??

Read on . . .

[Erik]

The art and science to all of this happens when you "soft proof" in Photoshop, Nikon NX, Lightroom or any other app that can do it.

Soft Proofing allows you to use the labs profile to simulate on your monitor how it will look on their paper before it is printed-out of their (properly calibrated, maintained and operated) machine.

You see, Costco and other decent labs use services like Dry Creek Photo regularly. They send them a print of an industry standard image every so often. DCP will then opticaly examine the print and generate a profile for that machine. Now we know in a labratory setting what 46, 185, 108 looks like when printed by that machine. We also know what corrections that machine needs to make in order for 46, 185, 108 to look like it is supposed to.

**More importantly, we also know IF 46, 185, 108 can be printed at all!

If it can't, and you have a lot of this shade of green in your image you are going to notice a big difference when you get the image back from this lab.

Okay, now we know what can happen, how do we deal with it? By Soft Proofing, you can simulate how the image will look when printed by the machine you intend to use. You can now safely color correct, set your black and white points, and establish the tonal range WITHIN THE GAMUT OF THE PRINTER. Before, you were doing it in the gamut of your monitor!

What happens to the colors that the printer can't reproduce?

Good question! . . . read on . . .

[Erik]

Now we get into the tricky part of color management. If you have an image that looks great and colorful on your screen you should have a look at how it'll look when you print it . . . using a printer profile give you the ability to get a very good idea of what the image is going to look like when it's printed.

All of our cameras WILL capture more than your screen can reproduce. The screen WILL reporduce more colors than what virtually all of the printers (that we can afford to use!) can produce.

When you soft proof, you'll see where the colors drop off and what'll happen to your contrast etc.

I wrote about this in great detail a while back.

Please read:
On Color Management and Workflow

Microsoft Color Control Applet (Windows) Great for installing and managing profiles.

[DRGSin]

E, youve done it again..Shouldve named this thread, "Color...for dummies" because I actually understood it. Well done.

[Erik]

Thank you, my friend. There's more I wanted to share about this. I wrote up another full panel than accidentally closed the window of my browser! Then it was just late. All I could muster was my last post up there. Sorry it was so abrupt. I'll get back to this thread soon and tell you about colormetric conversions . . .

[williamkazak]

Thank you Erik.

[DRGSin]

I have 2 monitors... a Lacie CRT thats been ole faithful and a new NEC LCD thats killing me! The colors on my Lacie are always oversaturated and too contrasty whereas everything looks good on the NEC. The prints come out like the Lacie, so I use it to adjust my photos. Ive calibrated the NEC with the EYE1 but for some reason the software doesnt recognize the Lacie-unsupported. Anyway,Ive been using the Lacie for proofing the photos but tonight I was goofing around with both monitors and by the time I realized what I was doing, I had adjusted the Lacie to match the NEC!!!!! Could you guys take a look at this photo and tell me what you see?
On my monitors it looks like it needs more sat more contrast and kind of neutral???