PS color profile

I have my monitor calibrated and I have a question about my CS4 settings - do I need to change anything in my Color Settings? Currently my workspace RGB is sRGB IEC61966-2.1, CMYK is US Web Coated (SWOP) v2, Gray is Gray Gamma 2.2, and Spot is Dot Gain 10%. My Color Mgt Policies are all set to Preserve Embedded Profiles.

How do those look, do I need to make adjustments to utilize my calibrated profile? Thanks for any tips you can provide.

c-pac wrote in post #8038467
I have my monitor calibrated and I have a question about my CS4 settings - do I need to change anything in my Color Settings? Currently my workspace RGB is sRGB IEC61966-2.1, CMYK is US Web Coated (SWOP) v2, Gray is Gray Gamma 2.2, and Spot is Dot Gain 10%. My Color Mgt Policies are all set to Preserve Embedded Profiles.

How do those look, do I need to make adjustments to utilize my calibrated profile? Thanks for any tips you can provide.

Since you're preserving profiles, you should tick all these boxes. If you open an image that has aRGB embedded, you want to know that you're working with a file that isn't in your default working space.

Other than that, am I doing everything else correctly? If so, wow! Btw, I did have those checked, just didn't mention it in my previous post.

In your color management policies, as Peano said, get a warning of a non-matching profile, although since you are using sRGB as your color space I believe it would be spaces like Adobe RGB and ProPhotoRGB that would trigger the warning.

Since you say that you are preserving imbedded color spaces, be aware that you will need to convert files to sRGB before saving them for most uses (Web, email, CD for clients especially). If you change that option to Convert to Working Profile, as you see in Peano's example, you can ensure that all your files will be in one working space. You'll still get the warning.

Peano wrote in post #8038535
Since you're preserving profiles, you should tick all these boxes. If you open an image that has aRGB embedded, you want to know that you're working with a file that isn't in your default working space.

I always question the logic of this... For example, I only shoot in Raw and only convert to Adobe RGB Tifs or PSDs. I know what color space my image files are in so why do I need some annoying dialog box popping up?

Example 2: At my office, the marketing department of a real estate company, any digital photos that come into our system, no matter the color profile, wind up as sRGB JPGs. So why do I need a warning? It just wastes my time.

For my workflow, I leave all 3 boxes unchecked.

ChasP505 wrote in post #8039225
I always question the logic of this... For example, I only shoot in Raw and only convert to Adobe RGB Tifs or PSDs. I know what color space my image files are in so why do I need some annoying dialog box popping up?

Example 2: At my office, the marketing department of a real estate company, any digital photos that come into our system, no matter the color profile, wind up as sRGB JPGs. So why do I need a warning? It just wastes my time.

For my workflow, I leave all 3 boxes unchecked.

To each his own I suppose, but I have to agree with Tony and Peano. If all your files are the same as your workspace, then you'll never see that "annoying dialog box", but wouldn't you want to know should somebody screw up and let one through with another profile?

You're doing it right. The color profile's loaded by the OS when windows boots. You don't need to do anything else.

ChasP505 wrote in post #8039225
I always question the logic of this... For example, I only shoot in Raw and only convert to Adobe RGB Tifs or PSDs. I know what color space my image files are in so why do I need some annoying dialog box popping up?

Doesn't sound like you need the dialog box. For me, though, it isn't annoying. I do commercial retouching. Clients send me images with different color profiles embedded. When I open their images, I like to know right away if they've embedded a color profile and, if so, which one.

Bodog wrote in post #8039476
If all your files are the same as your workspace, then you'll never see that "annoying dialog box", but wouldn't you want to know should somebody screw up and let one through with another profile?

If I'm working only with my personal files at home, a closed environment, the question doesn't apply.

If I'm working at the office, on photos contributed by dozens of different sources, they all get converted to our standard working space: sRGB.

So I'm scratching my head and trying to think of how somebody could "screw up and let one through".

ChasP505 wrote in post #8041649
So I'm scratching my head and trying to think of how somebody could "screw up and let one through".

If you didn't tick the boxes, and open an AdobeRGB image *without embedded profile*, it'll get your working space *assigned* > Color Management just left the building

René Damkot wrote in post #8043171
If you didn't tick the boxes, and open an AdobeRGB image *without embedded profile*, it'll get your working space *assigned* > Color Management just left the building

It's not a problem as everything gets routinely saved as sRGB. So the advice to check all those little check boxes seems like dogma, which must not be questioned. Very good and cautious initial advice for someone new to PS color management, but I choose to live dangerously!

René Damkot wrote in post #8043171
If you didn't tick the boxes, and open an AdobeRGB image *without embedded profile*, it'll get your working space *assigned* > Color Management just left the building

That makes about as much sense as a bag of ladders!

What I think Rene is trying to say is you need the checkboxes enabled to guard against unexpected events. If everything's working as you expect you'll never see a dialog - they only pop up when profiles don't match. You REALLY want to know when that happens.

tim wrote in post #8039743
You're doing it right. The color profile's loaded by the OS when windows boots. You don't need to do anything else.

thank you tim, and everyone else...glad to know i'm on the right track...

When I boot the Moncao Loader does start and do something, i'm not sure if windows can do it by itself. I have no idea about other brands.

tim wrote in post #8044519
That makes about as much sense as a bag of ladders!

Thanks Tim... I've never heard that expression!

tim wrote in post #8044662
When I boot the Moncao Loader does start and do something, i'm not sure if windows can do it by itself. I have no idea about other brands.

Spyder3 works the same way. Older software (Spyder2) used to pop up a garish splash screen to tell you it was loading the profile, but too many curmudgeons like me complained and now the software loads the profile silently at OS bootup.