Send to adobe express from photoshop web changes image quality

Profile conversion alone may not fully explain the observed differences. The files showing the largest visual changes also exhibit file-size changes that are larger than would be expected from ICC metadata alone. This suggests image re-encoding, compression, or pixel-level rendering differences may be contributing factors in addition to the confirmed P3→sRGB conversion.

Profile inspection no longer indicates a color-profile issue. The exported files share the same ICC profile, but file-size and visual differences remain. For now I am assuming pixel-level differences exist somewhere in the export pipeline. The exact cause (gamut mapping, image rendering, or JPEG compression) remains undetermined and would require pixel-level comparison to confirm.

Lightroom Web exports Display P3 JPEGs. Adobe Express exports JPEGs as sRGB regardless of the source profile. However, for the images tested, the visual impact of the conversion appears minimal and I can no longer reliably attribute earlier perceived saturation differences solely to the profile conversion.

Direct testing confirms that Adobe Express JPEG export produces sRGB-tagged output. However, the originally observed color shift appears most strongly when using the Photoshop Web → Adobe Express handoff workflow. Additional testing suggests the visible difference may originate during application handoff rather than solely during JPEG export. Further investigation of profile handling in the Send to Adobe Express workflow may be warranted.

Root cause identified: Adobe Express JPEG export converts embedded Display P3 images to sRGB and removes the original profile, resulting in expected gamut compression and reduced saturation. PDF export appears to preserve embedded ICC profiles correctly. This suggests JPEG export is optimized for sRGB compatibility, while PDF export retains color-managed source profiles. Therefore this is likely a product design choice rather than a profile-handling bug.

Hi ​@Bewitched_Unicorn0487,

Thanks for reaching out! A couple of things would be useful to clarify:

1. Does this happen with every image, or only with images that have a specific colour profile, such as Adobe RGB?

2. If you download the image from Photoshop Web and then upload the same file manually to Adobe Express, do the colours remain consistent?

3. Have you noticed whether the change affects brightness, contrast, saturation, or the overall colour temperature?

Best,

Tarun