sRGB. Adobe RGB. ICC Profiles. Color Space.
Prints whose color has little to do with the color on your computer monitor!
These color management issues have always been the most intimidating area of digital photography for me. And wouldn’t you know that readers have requested tutorials on this stuff! So I’ve done some research. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve definitely learned a lot. And now it’s your turn! 
First, the technical color management background
Recreating a specific color requires a different formula depending on where that color is being reproduced (a camera sensor vs. a monitor vs. glossy paper vs. luster paper etc.). The International Color Consortium created ICC profiles to allow various input and output devices to map their color definitions to a common language. That way, the desired color can be reproduced no matter which device is reproducing it.
An ICC profile defines how a particular device reproduces color – this color reproduction is also known as color space. ICC profiles can be created for three types of devices:
- Input device (camera or scanner)
- Display device (monitor)
- Output device (printer)
My Color Management Process
Start with your camera to manage the colors correctly. Most dSLRs today allow you to embed or assign color spaces to your images. The choices on my camera are sRGB and Adobe RGB. My camera is set to sRGB, and I use sRBG consistently throughout this process.
Next step, color correct the monitor. Calibrating my monitor is a huge help in getting prints to be consitent with the monitor display. I have a Huey Calibrator something like this:
Unfortunately, my Huey was $100 when I bought it and it’s about $60 on Amazon right now. Oh well. . . . For my purposes, it works just as well as the more expensive calibrators.
I calibrate my monitor about once a week and can always see a visible change in the appearance of colors on my display.
For step 3, configure your photo processing software to use your color space of choice. From Photoshop Elements’ Edit menu, select Color Space. For a long time, I had PSE set to Always Optimize for Printing. But the colors on my print were always significantly darker than on screen. My prints come out much better now with everything set to sRGB. (For you Lightroom and big Photoshop users, the steps are very similar.)
Do you ever get that message when opening a file in PSE about the embedded color space not being the same as your working color space? That means that this particular image came from a device whose color space is not the same as the default you have established for PSE. Go ahead and change the embedded profile for best results.
Step 4 – Manage color from PSE to the printer. Photoshop Elements (and LR and the big Photoshop for that matter) will try to manage the flow of color from the screen to the printer for you. But I have had much better luck putting my printer in control of that process. (I use an Epson R1800.)
To let your printer manage the color space, after you’ve opened Elements’ print window, select More Options. Then choose Color Management and in the Color Handling field select Printer Manages Colors. If your setup works better with letting PSE manage the colors (and it just might!), make that selection and choose the appropriate ICC profile from the Printer Profile field.
To get these paper-specific ICC profiles, go to the paper’s website. You will most likely find various ICC sets for different types of printers and paper types. For instance, Red River Paper has specific ICC profiles for many printer/paper combos. After downloading the ICC profile to my computer, I save it on my desktop. Installing the profile is as easy as right clicking on this file and selecting “Install Profile.”
When printing, choose the paper type (glossy, matte, etc.) that is as close as possible to the paper you are printing on. Based on the instructions that came with my printer, I select ICM for Color Management and check the Off button for No Color Adjustment.
Ok, so that is a rundown of the process that works for me. There are as many different possible setups as there are hardware/software/workflow combinations.
If you’re not getting great prints using the “Let Printer Manage Colors” option, try letting PSE manage colors. Make sure you have those ICC profiles if that’s the case.
And look up these sources if you want more info, or are having trouble sleeping:
So, I’m curious. Do you print mostly on your own printer, or do you use a service outside your home? Vote in the poll on the right to share!
Have a good week, everyone!
Loading ...
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This is sooo technical but very necessary! In my opinion a good photograph really isn’t appreciated until it’s printed so the mesh of monitor/printer is very important. That’s a good suggestion to try printing the same pic using different settings to see which is best. I was AMAZED at the difference in color when I changed my elements settings! I printed this whole post and will do some more of the experimenting following your guides.
wayoutnumbered´s last blog ..Faking It!
Thanks so much for clarifying all that! It helps a lot! I get most of my photos printed through a store; is there a good way to find out what color profile they use?
Schrockinator, you could try asking at the store or looking at their website. If they can’t help, that might be a good indication that you should try a different store. I actually here from professional photographers that Wal-Mart has great results. I’ve never tested it myself, however.
Thanks for the post!!! I use Costco to develop my prints, and while they have custom color profiles, they say that you can’t use them in Elements. Is that true? Also, I order my digital scrapbooks through Shutterfly, and have noticed some discrepancies there. I will take your tips and tricks and see if that helps!
Hi Tanya! If Costco provides ICC profiles, I don’t know why you couldn’t use them in PSE. Unless (see the Color Management image above), they want you to let the Printer Manage Colors? If you can’t use profiles in PSE, do they give you specific settings to use?
Thanks, for all of this information. Can’t wait to dive in!
The destination of your photo makes a difference in what profile should be used as well. Photos that are viewed on the web or in an e-mail are much brighter and nicer in sRGB. For printing, however, the larger colour space of adobeRGB or prophotoRGB produces much more accurate colour rendition.