pontiac1940
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Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Oct 28, 2018 22:17:56 GMT
Mods: please move if posted in the wrong place. Hi all, My local lab almost always produces prints that match what my addled brain sees on my 24-inch "calibrated" monitor—results are satisfactory. (I actually don't print a lot.) However, I was not 100% happy with the recent northern lights prints—they are okay. I discussed the recent results with the lab manager and he suggested that I download the lab's printer *.icc profile. I did that, but had no idea how to make this work and when I was in the lab today, one of the techs said that such profiles don't work with PSE, only with full PS. Any help with this? Is it a "no go?" Be gentle—remember, although I've been using a computer at home and work since 1984, I am not computer tech savvy. I can push buttons, but don't do code etc.   Much appreciated. Thanks, Clive
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 28, 2018 22:52:40 GMT
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Oct 28, 2018 23:04:24 GMT
Thanks Sepiana...will play tonight. I knew that you would know.  Thanks Clive |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 28, 2018 23:31:37 GMT
Hi Clive,
I do a lot of printing and your experience with your lab prints is exactly the reason why I decided to create my own custom printer profiles and so take full control of the printing process.
I'm not sure why the techy said the printer profile only works with full PS and not PSE. Maybe it's because of the way it was created, but I'm only guessing. But in any case, unless you are using exactly the same printer model, ink and paper that your lab uses then their printer profile will most probably not produce the results you are after.
Printer profiles are created for specific printer, ink, paper combinations. If you change one of those 3 parameters then you will need a new printer profile for the new combination.
Since you don't do a lot of printing then my suggestion would be to use your printer manufacturer's paper and inks. If you have a mainstream printer like Epson or Canon, they provide free downloads of printer profiles for their printer/ink/paper combinations. Some printer installers install the profiles during installation so you might already have some.
Also, for prints printed using appropriate printer profiles to match your screen display you must also have a properly calibrated monitor. If the monitor is not properly calibrated you are unlikely to get a close match between screen display and printer output.
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 28, 2018 23:34:58 GMT
Thanks Sepiana...will play tonight. I knew that you would know. Thanks Clive Clive, you are most welcome! Glad to help. Keep us posted! |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 28, 2018 23:57:16 GMT
... My local lab almost always produces prints that match what my addled brain sees on my 24-inch "calibrated" monitor—results are satisfactory. (I actually don't print a lot.) ... Hi again Clive, I forgot to ask in my previous post. How have you calibrated your monitor? I hope it's not what many people use - the calibration tool that comes in Windows OS which relies on the user's eye-sight. |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 29, 2018 3:16:30 GMT
...
I discussed the recent results with the lab manager and he suggested that I download the lab's printer *.icc profile. I did that, but had no idea how to make this work and when I was in the lab today, one of the techs said that such profiles don't work with PSE, only with full PS.
...
In addition to previous posts, discussing print issues with lab managers has never got me anywhere because, especially if it's a large sized print, they will be reluctant to reprint it if the only issue is slight variations in colours to what you saw on your screen and not discolourations due to low ink or ink running out during printing etc. They will mostly query whether your screen is calibrated and if so, how accurately.
The fact that the manager suggested you download the lab's printer profile (assuming they want you to use it on your own printer) tells me either he/she has no idea how printer profiles are specific to printer/ink/paper combinations and/or they are simply trying to get rid of you.
If possible can you post a link to their printer profile?
According to their reasoning and suggestion, it should work on any printer/ink/paper combination and so it would be interesting to see what it is and does on my printer.
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Oct 29, 2018 4:14:09 GMT
Sepiana Thanks again. Think I got it using the Red River YouTube. Okay, so I went through the " print >> color management" process as instructed in the vid and found the icc profile I recently downloaded for my lab's printer, so selected it. Then I closed PSE 2018 and reopened it and reopened that specific image, went thru the printing sequence (including "more options") and the lab printer profile was still displayed so it seems embedded in PSE 2018. I opened another image and again the lab's printer profile is displayed in the printing background. So far so good. But naturally, my question is: will this info be carried along with a file uploaded to the lab? Or does that embedded info only reside in my PSE?
Thanks Sepiana. You are an Elements wizard. Bailey, I do not print at home as I don't make many prints and usually more than happy with the lab results when I do print. I don't have interest or time for printing...mainly little interest. Oh yes, my lab uses a printer that cost many tens of thousands. Probably better the anything from Best Buy. Family affairs have slowed my picture taking down for the past few weeks, but I'd rather spend my "spare" time taking photos, processing and writing than making my own prints. I just had this one particular instance when the results were a titch off. "I hope it's not what many people use - the calibration tool that comes in Windows OS which relies on the user's eye-sight." I used to use Huey Pro calibration, but indeed use the Windows calibration on my monitor attached to my laptop [which I am sure is not ideal]. Since 99% of the prints from the lab are good to my eye and suitably match my monitor, then I am not too concerned ... if the prints are good then I am happy. I'll upload another northern lights photo for printing and see if there is a diff now. Thanks to all. Clive |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 29, 2018 4:33:55 GMT
ok no problem Clive . Now that I am setup properly for printing at home, I find it much quicker and, more importantly, much more convenient than what it was when I was either sending or physically taking images to a lab for printing. Although printing at home is a little more expensive the only slightly extra cost is heavily outweighed by the advantages. Sepiana knows much more than I do regarding how printing works, profiling and colour management so hopefully sepiana will pop in shortly to answer your query:
But naturally, my question is: will this info be carried along with a file uploaded to the lab? Or does that embedded info only reside in my PSE? |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 29, 2018 9:42:04 GMT
Why are you trying to embed a printer profile into an image file? That is not how printer profiles are meant to be used at all.
If anything, you really need to embed the color profile of your screen so that the lab's printer can correctly convert your image's colour data to the same colour or nearest colour if the image's colour is outside of the printer's colour space (gamut). Your lab already has the printer profile because you downloaded it from them, so there should be no need to send it to them again.
In any case, the video sepiana posted and you said you followed does not show how to embed icc profiles into a file. The video simply shows how to print an image using a selected printer profile via the PSE print dialog box. The printer profile during printing is not embedded into anything. It is just used to convert the colour data of the image to be printed to data the printer can use to determine how much of each ink colour it needs to correctly print the required colour.
The easiest way I know to embed an icc colour profile into a file is to select File->Save As in PSE and ensure the "Color:" checkbox in the Save Options section is checked. This will embed the icc profile currently assigned to the image.
If you embed an incorrect icc profile or not embed one at all, then the colour data conversion during printing will be incorrect and you will see a mismatch between what you see on the screen and the printer output.
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Oct 29, 2018 13:44:32 GMT
The easiest way I know to embed an icc colour profile into a file is to select File->Save As in PSE and ensure the "Color:" checkbox in the Save Options section is checked. This will embed the icc profile currently assigned to the image. I'll look into this tonight. Thanks. Clive |
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 29, 2018 15:42:16 GMT
Sepiana Thanks again. Think I got it using the Red River YouTube. Okay, so I went through the " print >> color management" process as instructed in the vid and found the icc profile I recently downloaded for my lab's printer, so selected it. Then I closed PSE 2018 and reopened it and reopened that specific image, went thru the printing sequence (including "more options") and the lab printer profile was still displayed so it seems embedded in PSE 2018. I opened another image and again the lab's printer profile is displayed in the printing background. So far so good. But naturally, my question is: will this info be carried along with a file uploaded to the lab? Or does that embedded info only reside in my PSE?
Thanks Sepiana. You are an Elements wizard.
Clive, you are most welcome! Glad to hear that video helped you.
Now to your question, . . .
It is my understanding that this is not necessary because 1) we are talking about a printer profile and 2) this profile came from the lab itself. According to the Adobe Help file, what really matters is to have the color profile embedded in your image.
Source: Set up color management |
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Post by Bailey on Oct 29, 2018 22:02:36 GMT
The easiest way I know to embed an icc colour profile into a file is to select File->Save As in PSE and ensure the "Color:" checkbox in the Save Options section is checked. This will embed the icc profile currently assigned to the image. I'll look into this tonight. Thanks. Clive
No problem Clive
And thank you sepiana for confirming what I posted earlier.
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Post by Bailey on Oct 30, 2018 21:55:16 GMT
... I discussed the recent results with the lab manager and he suggested that I download the lab's printer *.icc profile. I did that, but had no idea how to make this work and when I was in the lab today, one of the techs said that such profiles don't work with PSE, only with full PS. ... Hi Clive, The only way I can think of that this makes sense is if they wanted you to use their printer profile to soft-proof your image before sending it to them. You can't soft-proof images in PSE but you can using Elements+ and of course in the full PS.
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Oct 31, 2018 3:29:45 GMT
Thanks Bailey. I will revisit this in a few days. Trying to take advantage of decent weather now that I have more time to myself now. Clive
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