problem with whcc and vibrant colors

[suyenfung]

hello. i am having a problem being able to print the colors i am able to capture. vibrant colors are dulled.

i shoot raw, convert from lightroom to whcc specified jpeg. i am working with a calibrated monitor and proofing with whcc's profile in photoshop (it would be nice if i could proof in lightroom).

here is an example. i added a touch of contrast (+33) and saturation (+6) in lightroom, but the untouched file proofs exactly the same.

from lightroom:
http://www.jarredwagner.com/photos/cdpf/bella_og.jpg

soft-proofed with whcc's lustre profile:
http://www.jarredwagner.com/photos/cdpf/bella_proofed.jpg

the prints match the soft proofing exactly.

i have had this problem before, and was told the colors were out of the printer's gamut. i am able with selective hue and saturation get a decent result but it's a total PITA and it never looks as good as the original.

so i suppose my question is, who can print these colors?

thanks for your time!

[amonline]

I would suggest getting it the way you want it in LR, then taking it to PS through the "edit in PS" option. (not in JPG from LR) If you take it across in RGB for the final editing and export to JPG, you can turn on the gamut warning and your WHCC softproofing to control what the final colors will result. While they are out of gamut, you can choose what they are at least.

As for who can print those colors... the flo-yellow and flo-pink/magenta colors probably are not going to make it to print anywhere.

[suyenfung]

are you telling me these are impossible colors to print? all the girls want to wear bright pink! what can i do?

[amonline]

By taking it into PS under the "edit" option (and in RGB), you will be able to control the color more. Remember, you will not always be able to reproduce rare colors that are derived from pigments that are not used in typical photography chemicals and processing. For instance, I reproduce fine art professionally and one of the hardest things to deal with is some of the pigments in watercolor bases. What I am describing to you is exactly how I go about getting the closest reproduction possible. It's all about adjusting with the colors that the printers CAN reproduce. ;)

The dyes used in that balloon and pink bow are going to be nearly impossible to print without "spot color", which is used in commercial "offset" printing - not typical photo printing which is base CMYK without the ability of adding custom spot colors.

[amonline]

Here's an example of the gamut warning (black) telling me what won't print in CMYK... look familiar? ;)

[suyenfung]

haha jeez, thats all i need, more crap to do!

alright, i understand what you're suggesting, that's what i've been doing, but i am not happy about it! i have better things to do than make a bunch of adjustment layers and masks!

i need to raise my prices!

[amonline]

LOL... how do you think I feel everytime I shoot a painting? :lol:

And yes, CHARGE what your time is worth... I do. :D

Once you get a workflow in place though, it's usually a piece of cake... I have my processing for fine art down to a production time of 15 minutes, shoot to print - but it took time getting it there.