Adobe Photoshop CS6 Color Settings Window · Adobe Photoshop CS6 Color Settings Window RGB Working Spaces CMYK Working Spaces RGB Color Mgmt. Policies CMYK Color Mgmt. Policies Gray

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CREATIVE SUITE® 6 ICC COLOR SETTINGS

BASIC ICC PROFILE SETTINGS IN ADOBE® CS6Adobe® Creative Suite® 6 utilizes ICC ColorManagement profiles to ensure your colormanagement settings match between documentsandAdobeapplications.Thisdocumentexplainsthepurpose of each of the basic settings in the “ColorSettings” window, how to choose the best settingsfor your particular color managed workflow, and

howtosynchronizeyoursettingstomatchbetweenapplicationsintheAdobeBridge®.

Although this document uses screen images from Photoshop® CS6, all of the Adobe application dialogs in CS2 and higher are similar.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Color Settings Window

RGB Working Spaces

CMYK Working Spaces

RGB Color Mgmt. Policies

CMYK Color Mgmt. Policies

Gray Working Spaces

Spot Working Spaces

Gray Color Mgmt. Policies

Profi le Mismatch

Missing Profi le

Field Description

Synchronization Status

Photoshop’s“ColorSettings”dialogboxletsyouspecifyworkingspaceprofilesforRGB,CMYK,grayscale,andspotcolors.Youcanalsospecifycolormanagementpoliciesforhowtohandlefilesandwhattodoifaprofileismissingormismatched.

Preset Settings

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SETTINGS DROP-DOWNUnderthe“Settings”drop-downyouwillfindpresetsthat Adobe Creative Suite offers to fit the mostcommon workflows. Simply select a preset settingand the fields belowwill automatically fill toworkbestinthegivenscenario.

• Custom: Allows you to customize your ownsettings and save them for futureuse.As you

can see in this screen image drop-down, wehave customized and saved “CS6 WorkflowSettings”and“MyShopColour.”

If you start with a Settings preset, such as North America General Purpose 2” and make a change to fi t your workfl ow, the edited settings will be titled “Custom”. See the “Saving Custom Settings” section for more information.

• Monitor Color: Preparation of content forvideo and on-screen presentation. Emulatescolorbehaviorofmostvideoapplications.Thissetting is not recommended for documentswithCMYKdata.

• North America General Purpose 2: These arethe default settings. General-purpose colorsettingsforscreenandprintinNorthAmerica.Notethatprofilewarningsaredisabled.

Working Spaces

Wide Gamut RGB

Adobe RGB

sRGB

Wide Gamut RGB

Adobe RGB

Wide Gamut RGB

Adobe RGB

This Chromaticity Diagram represents the gamutof human vision. The labeled areas show the colorstheseworkingspaces(U.S.WebCoatedSWOP,WideGamut RGB, Adobe RGB and sRGB) are able toreproduce.

ICC Profile Terms

ICC—The International Color Consortium (www.color.org),standardsbodygoverningprofiles.

Profi le—AMac-andPC-compatiblefiledescribingthecolorcharacteristicsofadevice in termsofCIELAB,amathematicalmodelofhumanvision.

Source Profi le—A profile describing the imagingdevice(scanner,digitalcamera)thatwasusedtoscanorcapturetheimage,orthestandardworkingspaceprofile to which it was converted after scanning orcapture.

Standard Working Space—Acolor space used tostoredatauntilfinaloutput.Selectastandardprofileasaworkingspace,neveryourmonitorprofile.

Destination Profi le—An ICC profile for anoutput device or process, such as a digital printer,conventionalprintingpressorprintstandard.

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• North America Newspaper: Preparation ofcontentforcommonnewspaperpressconditionsinNorthAmerica.CMYKvaluesarepreservedandprofilewarningsareenabled.

• North America Prepress 2: Preparation ofcontent for common printing conditions inNorthAmerica.Profilewarningsareenabled.

• North America Web/Internet: Preparation ofcontent for non-print usage like the web inNorth America. RGB content is converted tosRGB.

WORKING SPACE OPTIONSTheworkingspacespecifiestheworkingcolorprofilefor each color model. Using the drop-downs, youcanselectaspecificworkingspaceforRGB,CMYK,GrayscaleandSpotColors.

RGB

RGBworkingspaceoptionsinclude:

• Monitor RGB:Sets theRGBworking space toyourcurrentmonitorspace.ThissettingcausesPhotoshop to behave as if color managementsettingsareturnedoff.Usethissettingifotherapplications in yourworkflowdonot supportcolormanagement.

• ColorSync RGB: Matches the RGB spacespecifiedintheAppleColorSynccontrolpanel.

• Adobe RGB (1998):ProvidesafairlylargegamutofRGBcolorsandiswell-suitedfordocumentsthatwillbeconvertedtoCMYK.Usethisspace

ifyouneedtodoprintproductionworkwithabroadrangeofcolors.

• Apple RGB:ReflectsthecharacteristicsofolderAppleCRTdisplaysusingGamma1.8.UsethisspaceforfilesthatyouplantodisplayonolderMacOS systems, or for working with legacy(older)desktoppublishingfiles.

• ColorMatch RGB: Matches the native colorspaceofRadiusPressviewmonitors.Thisspaceprovidesa smallergamutalternative toAdobeRGB(1998)forprintproductionwork.

• ProPhoto RGB:Providesaverylargegamutthatencompasses the entire range of photographicmaterials. ProPhoto is only used for editingor archiving your images. You should alwaysconvert to a smaller working space beforesendingtoprint.

• sRGB IEC61966-1.2:ReflectsthecharacteristicsoftheaverageCRTdisplay.Thisstandardspaceis endorsed by many hardware and softwaremanufacturers, and is becoming the defaultcolorspaceformanyscanners,low-endprinters,andsoftwareapplications. Ideal space forwebwork,butnotrecommendedforprepress.

CMYKOf the CMYK working spaces, some are specificto your location, such a Europe or Japan, and thestandardstowhichyouprint.ThefollowingarethemostcommonintheUS:

• Coated GRACoL 2006 (ISO 12647-2:2004): Uses theGRACoL2006specification.ItisdesignedtoproducequalityseparationsforstandardISOprintingusing:340%totalinkcoverage,CTPplatesandcoated,grade1paper.

• U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2:Usesspecificationsdesigned to produce quality separationsusing U.S. inks under the following printingconditions: 300% total area of ink coverage,negativeplate,coatedpublication-gradestock.

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Creative Suite® 6 iCC Color SettingS

• US Newsprint (SNAP 2007):Usesspecificationsdesignedtoproducequality separationsunderthe followingprintingconditions:220%totalareaofinkcoverage,CTPplates,andnewsprintstock.

• Web Coated SWOP 2006 Grade 3 Paper: Uses theSWOP2006specificationforgrade3paper.It is designed to produce quality separationsusing ISO-defined inks under the followingprinting conditions: 310% total ink coverage,CTPplatesandcoated,grade3paper.

• Web Coated SWOP 2006 Grade 5 Paper: Uses theSWOP2006specificationforgrade5paper.It is designed to produce quality separationsusing ISO-defined inks under the followingprintingconditions:300%total inkcoverage,CTPplates,groundwoodcoated,grade5paper.

GraySelect Gray if you are working with images thatwill be sent to aprinter, and youneed to adjust toaspecificdotgaindefinedbytheprinter.Ifyouareworkingonamonitorordesigningfortheweb,youmaywanttousethegammasettingsinstead.Ifyouare not sending to print, or you are not sure, leaveGrayatthedefault.

TheGrayworkingspaceoptionsinclude:

• ColorSync Gray-Generic Gray Profile:MatchesthegrayspacespecifiedintheAppleColorSynccontrolpanel.

• Dot Gain 10% (also 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%): Uses a space that reflects adotgainof the selectedpercentage.

• Gray Gamma 1.8 or 2.2: Uses the grayscaleequivalentofamonitorgammaof1.8(or2.2),the default for legacy Macintosh computers.Thegammasettingofyourmonitordefinesthebrightnessofthemidtones.

SpotSelectSpotifyouareworkingwithspotcolorsthatwill be sent to aprinter, and youneed to adjust toaspecificdotgaindefinedbytheprinter.Ifyouareworkingonamonitorordesigningfortheweb,youmaywanttousethegammasettingsinstead.Ifyouare not sending to print, or you are not sure, leaveSpotatthedefault.

TheSpotworkingspaceoptionsinclude:

• Dot Gain 10% (also 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%): Uses a space that reflects adotgainof the selectedpercentage.

Coated vs. UncoatedWhenselectingyourWorkingSpaceoptions,youwillsee coated and uncoated. The one you choose willdependuponyourapplicationandprintingmedia.

Coated Paperiscoveredwithanagentthatprovidesa smooth surface to improvebrightness andopacityand ensureuniformprinting. Coatedpaper canbeshiny(glossy)orflat(matte).Italsocomesinvariousgrades, based on the application. Coated paper isoftenusedformagazines,books,andphotos.

Uncoated Paper is not as smooth as coated, andbecause it ismoreporous, it generally absorbsmoreink.Uncoatedpaperisclassifiedasoffset,cardstock,newsprint,etc.

Paper is classified by grade, based on brightness.Grade1 ishighestquality,Grade3 ismid-line,andgrade5isthelowest.YouwillseethesechoicesintheCMYKWorkingSpaceoptions.

About Paper

Grade

Whenselectingorcreatingcolorsettingsforaprintjob,itisimportanttodefinethecorrectpapertype.Hereare

somebasicguidelinestogetyoustarted.

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COLOR MANAGEMENT POLICIESColor Management Policies specify how you wantcolorsinaparticularcolormodelmanaged.Policieshandlethereadingandembeddingofcolorprofiles,mismatchesbetweenembeddedcolorprofilesandtheworking space, and themoving of colors from onedocumenttoanother.

RGB, CMYK and Gray• Off:Wedonotrecommendthissetting.“Off”

turnsoff colormanagement fornewlycreateddocuments and for newly opened documentsthathaveembeddedcolorprofilesdifferentfromthe currentworking space. If a newly openeddocument’sembeddedcolorprofilematchesthecurrentworkingspace,thatprofileispreserved.When importing colors into a document, thenumeric values of the colors take precedenceoverthecolorappearance.

• Preserve Embedded Profi les: Preserves theembedded color profile in a newly openeddocument even if the color profile does notmatch the current working space. Whenimporting colors into an RGB or grayscaledocument, color appearance takes precedenceover the numeric values of the colors.Whenimporting colors into a CMYK document,numeric values take precedence over theappearance.

• Convert to Working RGB (or CMYK, or Gray): Converts a newly opened document to thecurrent working space if that document’sembedded color profile does not match theworking space.When importing colors into adocument, color appearance takes precedenceoverthenumericvaluesofthecolors.

Assign vs. Convert

Notsurewhethertoassignorconvert?

Edit > Assign Profi le refers to the source profile,meaning the device from which the image came(scanner, camera, or standard colorworking space).Use this commandtoapply scannerorcamera ICCprofilestoscannedorcapturedimagesifthecaptureutilitydoesn’talreadyassignaprofile.Thiswillgivethecorrectappearance.

Edit > Convert Profi le refers to destinationprofile,thedevicetowhichfilesaregoingtobeoutput, such as printers or proofers. These arerepresentedbydestinationprofiles.Use“ConverttoProfile”toconvertanimagetoaprofile.Thiswillchangethecolornumbersbutmaintaintheappearance.

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Missing Profile/Profile MismatchWhenopeninganimagewithoutanembeddedprofileor with a profile that’s different from the currentworkingspace,Photoshopcanwarnthatthereisnoprofileoraprofilemismatch.Thisisrecommended.

If the profile is missing, check with the creator ifpossible tofindoutwhichworking spacewasused,andassignthatprofile.Ifthereisaprofilemismatch,preservingtheembeddedprofileorconvertingtothecurrentworkingspacewillkeepthecolorlookingthesame.

When savingafile,Photoshopcanembed the ICCprofile. The advantage is that when transferred toanotheruser,thatuserwillseeitjustasyoudo.

Profile Mismatch - Ask When Pasting

Whenenabled, youwill benotifiedwhenever colorprofile mismatches occur as colors are importedinto a document (via pasting, drag-and-drop, etc.)andgiventheoptiontooverridethepolicy’sdefaultmismatchbehavior.

Profile Mismatch - Ask When Opening

When enabled, you will be notified whenever theworking color profile in a newly opened documentdoesnotmatchthecurrentworkingspace,andgiventheoptiontooverridethepolicy’sdefaultmismatchbehavior.

Missing Profile - Ask When Opening

Toensureallimageshaveaprofile,ifyourdocumentismissingaprofile,apop-upwindowwillaskwhatyouwouldliketodo.Ifyoudonotknowthecorrectprofile,askthecreator.

SAVING CUSTOM COLOR SETTINGSWith Adobe Color Settings, you can start with apreset that closely resembles your workflow, thenmake small changes to create a customsetting.Forinstance, you can start with the North AmericaPrepress2,whichusesCMYKofU.S.WebCoatedSWOP v2; then change the CMYK to U.S. WebUncoatedtoaccommodateyourstock.

1. From your CS application, select Edit - Color Settings.

2. From the “Settings” drop-down, choose thepresetthatmostcloselyresemblesyourworkflow.

3. Makeanynecessarychangestofityourcustomworkflow. This will now change the preset to“Custom.” From the window click the Savebutton to send to others or apply in yourapplications.

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ClassroomTraining

eLearningTraining

On-SiteTraining

Forinformationonavarietyclassroom,customon-site,and

highlyinteractiveon-linetrainingoptions,seeX-Rite’sColor

Serviceswebsiteathttp://www.xrite.com/top_services.aspx

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CS6ColorSettings-01OCT13

4. Give the setting a name that describes it andthatyouwill remember.Leave it in thedefaultlocationandclickSave.

5. If you want to add comments, you can givespecific instructions to the personwhowill beusingthecustomsettings.ClickOK.

USING THE BRIDGE TO SYNC BETWEEN APPSOnce you choose the Creative Suite settings thatworkbest foryourworkflow,whether itbeapresetor custom,youcan synchronize the settingswithinall of your CS applications to ensure your color isconsistent.

1. LaunchAdobeBridge.

2. SelectEdit - Creative Suite Color Settings.

3. Choose the settings youwish to sync betweenyourCreativeSuiteapplications.

4. ClickApply.

5. Now when you launch any of the Adobe CSapplications,itwillaccessanduseyourcustomcolorsettings.

Color Settings Window

The“ColorSettings”windowlooksslightlydifferentbetween InDesign and Illustrator.Here you see thesettingsaresynchronizedto“MyShopColour.”

InDesign

Illustrator

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Creative Suite® 6 iCC Color SettingS

Documents

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Color Settings Window · Adobe Photoshop CS6 Color Settings Window RGB Working Spaces CMYK Working Spaces RGB Color Mgmt. Policies CMYK Color Mgmt. Policies Gray