Prints with Adobe RGB colorspace without PS CS?

[Lenny_D]

Hi all,

Recently I became aware of the Canon ICC profile guide (see sticky thread) which shows an example of a picture taken, processed and printed using ICC profiles and Adobe RGB and one printed using sRGB without ICC profiles. The colors in the Adobe RGB/ICC case are much nicer!
So far I always processed my pictures (stored in JPG) in Paint Shop Pro and printed with my Canon i950 using the driver provided by Canon. I calibrated my monitor with the tools provided by JASC.
I also learned that PSP does not support Adobe RGB...or ICC profiles. So how to proceed now?

I have the following questions:
1. Why are Adobe RGB colorspace and ICC profiles always go together? Is it possible to use Adobe RGB without ICC profiles or to use sRGB with ICC profiles?
2. Is it possible to use Adobe RGB and/or ICC profiles with another program (which can be afforded by an amateur) than Photoshop CS? PSP doesn't seem to support this.

I recently bought a 20D and would like to use the full potential of the camera i.e. taking RAW and in Adobe RGB colorspace. I did get PS Elements 2.0 for free with the camera but also this program doesn't seem to support Adobe RGB and ICC profiles??
Am I right with this? Is the GIMP supporting this?
Or am I convicted to PS CS??
Any advice or explanation is most welcome!

Lenny

[Hellashot]

I have Photoshop Elements 3 and if you are doing photo printing you also need to mind the "print space" not just the "color space". Older programs, including PSE 2 I believe, dont have options for print spaces. I found by using sRGH or Adobe RGB print spaces my prints were coming out flat and washed out. When I selected a print space for my printer model and installed driver my prints came out best.

PSE 3 was worth the $80 for me for that feature alone.

[PacAce]

I have Photoshop Elements 3 and if you are doing photo printing you also need to mind the "print space" not just the "color space". Older programs, including PSE 2 I believe, dont have options for print spaces. I found by using sRGH or Adobe RGB print spaces my prints were coming out flat and washed out. When I selected a print space for my printer model and installed driver my prints came out best.

PSE 3 was worth the $80 for me for that feature alone.

PSE 2 does give you the option of choosing your color management although it's not as refined as PS. The options you have are "No color management", "Limited color management - optimized for Web graphis" and "Full color management - optimized for Print". Did you select "Full color management" before you tried your print?

[scottbergerphoto]

PSE2 allows for Full Color Management! When you are done editing your picture and you are ready to Print:
1. Print Preview
2. Check More Options
3. Select your Document Space: Adobe RGB
4. Select your Output: Printer ICC Profile for the paper and ink you are using.
5. In the Printer Driver: No Color Management

OR

4. Select Printer Color Management as your Output space
5. Select your printer ICC profile in the Printer Driver or ICM

Don't try to select an ICC Profile in both the Printer Driver and PSE2.
Regards,
Scott

[maderito]

Hi all,
I have the following questions:
1. Why are Adobe RGB colorspace and ICC profiles always go together? Is it possible to use Adobe RGB without ICC profiles or to use sRGB with ICC profiles? An ICC profiles specifies how to interpret colors numbers by relating them to a standard color space (e.g. LAB). Two profiles can talk to each other through the common language of the standard color space. Thus the color 10,10,10 might be represented as 12,10,8 in another color space but both might be 8,8,8 in the reference space.

In typical photography workflows, if a file does not have an ICC profile, the color space of the image file is assumed to be sRGB. Inket printers are usually setup to understand this color space, even it is not specified by an ICC profile. CRT monitors typically have a color space very similar to sRGB (by design).

But ... if your image is in Adobe color space, you have to let the printer (or monitor, or whatever) know by attaching the ICC profile. Some color managed applications (e.g. Photoshop) can then take advantage of this info. So can some printers - but not most.


2. Is it possible to use Adobe RGB and/or ICC profiles with another program (which can be afforded by an amateur) than Photoshop CS? PSP doesn't seem to support this. Dedicated printing programs like Qimage (http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/) support color managed printing workflows. That is, you can start with an Adobe RGB image and print it correctly on your printer.

Good luck. :)

[Lenny_D]

Thanks a lot!
Let me summarize, if I'm wrong please correct me:
- PSE 2 will understand the Adobe RGB file coming from my camera automatically and will use the Adobe RGB color profile to interpret the data. All changes during editing will be interpreted with use of the Adobe RGB color profile in the file.
(The monitor calibration is independent of this)
- by selecting the "more options" in the print preview dialog and selecting an ICC profile as it is described by Scott I will have Adobe RGB correctly transferred to the printer and enjoy full color management.
I will try it! Great!

Lenny

[scottbergerphoto]

When you go to Print Preview, PSE2 should identify the Source Space as Adobe RGB (if you shot the image in Adobe RGB)under More Options. Your output should be the ICC Profile for the ink/paper/printer you are using. If you don't have an icc profile, select Printer Color Management as your output and select the correct setting in your printer driver based on what your printer manual tells you.
Regards,
Scott