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marcbjango
Known Participant
July 27, 2012
Open for Voting

P: Save For Web, Convert to sRGB should be off by default for PNGs and GIFs

  • July 27, 2012
  • 68 답변들
  • 9806 조회

Photoshop's Save for Web ability contains a setting called Convert to sRGB. If on, it destructively changes the resulting file's colour values from the document's profile to sRGB. I believe this is the wrong thing to do in almost every conceivable scenario. The default behaviour is for Convert to sRGB to be enabled. I think this is a huge mistake.

Let's take a look at some common scenarios.

You're building a website using GIFs:
GIFs can't contain ICC profiles. This means if you're using GIFs, they can't benefit from any colour management at all. Converting to sRGB when saving for web will destructively change their appearance with no benefit. If you've used a specific colour, like #FF0010 in your GIF, it will likely be changed to not match the same colour used in HTML, CSS or other code.

You're building a website using PNGs:
PNGs can contain ICC profiles, but PNGs saved using Save For Web can not. This means if you're using PNGs and Save For Web, they can't benefit from any colour management at all. Converting to sRGB when saving for web will destructively change their appearance with no benefit. If you've used a specific colour, like #FF0010 in your PNG, it will likely be changed to not match the same colour used in HTML, CSS or other code.

You're using a PNG or JPEG image with a colour profile on the web, and it's being shown in a colour managed browser:
In this situation, you wouldn't want Convert to sRGB turned on, you'd want to store the document's ICC profile within the image and let the browser do a realtime correction, based on the viewer's computer and settings.

You're building an iOS app:
iOS uses PNG files almost exclusively for app design. I believe iOS ignores ICC profiles stored in PNGs (this is smart for many reasons, including performance). The best way to ensure colours look good on the device is previewing your UI on the device itself. There is some variation between iOS devices, but Convert to sRGB does not improve consistency. Converting to sRGB when saving iOS assets will destructively change their appearance with no benefit.

You're building an Android app:
Android uses PNG files almost exclusively for app design. I believe Android ignores ICC profiles stored in PNGs (this is smart for many reasons, including performance). The best way to ensure colours look good on the device is previewing your UI on the device itself. There is wild variation between Android devices, but Convert to sRGB does not improve consistency. Converting to sRGB when saving iOS assets will destructively change their appearance with no benefit.




I can not think of any scenario where Convert to sRGB makes sense. If, in the highly unlikely event you do need to convert a document to sRGB, it can be done using Edit → Convert to Profile.

Why was Convert to sRGB added in the first place?




Further reading.
Colour management and UI design — My article. Explains the situation with more depth.
A search for "save for web color shift" returns over 8 million results. This is a real and significant issue for many people. An issue that can be fixed by changing a single default setting.
Save For Web, Simply — Note that the settings recommended match what I'm suggesting.




This is a big deal.
This has been demonstrably incorrect for a very long time. I don't know any web or app designer worth their salt who keeps Convert to RGB on. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that if it was permanently turned on, I wouldn't be using Photoshop for any screen design work.

By changing the default behaviour, I think Adobe could remove a lot of frustration for Photoshop and Illustrator users.

68 답변

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 7, 2012
»Adobe should be out there pushing it and explaining it to customers,«
Have you bothered reading what the documentation offers on Color Management?
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/creatives...
Inspiring
August 7, 2012
I'm not trying to call you out on this. There seems a lot of hyperbole here and I'm genuinely interested in learning about this, understanding it, and applying it correctly in my work. Surely, if there is a correct way to use Photoshop for web colours, Adobe should be out there pushing it and explaining it to customers, rather than aggressively defending the decision at Get Satisfaction. Yes?
Inspiring
August 7, 2012
Could you please direct me to any?
Inspiring
August 7, 2012
We've tried a variety of methods, but many web developers have trouble understanding the concepts and give up.
Inspiring
August 7, 2012
What method is Adobe using to get the correct message out there, as you seem to be stating that many alleged authorities are "wrong on all of that". Is there supporting documentation, blog articles, tutorials that Adobe endorses, so to give their customers some clear, concise information on this topic?
Inspiring
August 6, 2012
Convert to sRGB has nothing to do with color profiles. And converting to sRGB is how you get images to what most people will see on multiple screens and browsers. Turning off all color management policies guarantees that you'll get bad results because you won't know that you have multiple colorspaces in use.

Using Monitor RGB is just hiding your head in the sand and pretending that everyone has the same monitor as you. If you work in Monitor RGB, there is no need to turn on proofing of Monitor RGB.

Legacy Macintosh is NOT what current Macintosh users will see - they see sRGB.

So "Justin" was wrong on all of that.
c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 6, 2012
What does this person mean with »displaying properly«?
Edit: »This person« referring to the aforementioned Justin, not Jay.
Inspiring
August 6, 2012
I have a Lynda account.

Justin states: "I want to make sure that convert to sGSB is unchecked. By doing this, I'm insuring that the graphics that i export out of Photoshop will NOT have a color profile assigned to them, and thus they have the best chance of displaying properly across multiple screens and browsers". (emphasis his)

He also recommends Monitor RGB for Color Settings Working Space and Off for all Color Management Policies.

And to set Proof Setup to Monitor RGB and to use Legacy Macintosh and Internet Standard RGB (sRGB) to periodically see what things will look like on a Mac or PC.
marcbjango
marcbjango작성자
Known Participant
August 3, 2012
If you are working on an sRGB display, you may not see the changes being applied by various browsers.


I'm using "LED Cinema Display", the default profile for my OS X and display combination (it's different to sRGB). I use this because it matches what other Mac users are likely to see on the web as closely as possible. (Same deal for my MacBook Air... I'm using the default Apple supplied profile.)

I still don't see how destructively converting to sRGB, then *not* tagging the image is helpful as the default behaviour. If you really, really want to convert to sRGB, then an ICC profile should be added to the file. I don't think Photoshop can save PNGs with ICC profiles, even though the spec allows it?

Justin Seeley recommends disabling Convert to sRGB:
http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-tutori...
(Apparently in part 2. I don't have a Lynda account to view it.)

I'm sure you have better stats, but of the people polled by me via Twitter, they prefer to disable Convert to sRGB. http://strawpoll.me/983/r
Inspiring
July 30, 2012
If you are working on an sRGB display, you may not see the changes being applied by various browsers.

But my displays are mostly AdobeRGB - so I see more significant differences.
New displays coming in the near future will make the difference even worse (larger gamuts, not necessarily RGB primaries, etc.), and require color management at all times to work well.

Safari, Firefox, Chrome.



Safari, Firefox, Chrome.