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Pepe Gazzo
Known Participant
January 6, 2023
Answered

Color Management and Color Proof Issue

  • January 6, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 3017 views

I'm really, REALLY, confused. 

Photoshop shows an image with WAY less vivid colors than the exported file. 

When I actiave Color Proof - Monitor RGB the problem is fixed. 

I read it has something to do with my .ICM file in Color Management. 

I changed to AdobeSRGB1988 (because my monitor IS SUPPOSED to be wide gamut) and the issue persists. 

 

My monitor is an Acer VG280K. 

https://www.acer.com/us-en/monitors/gaming/nitro-vg0/pdp/UM.PV0AA.001

https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model/d4d71d6a 

What am I doing wrong?

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer D Fosse

This all seems to be working correctly to me.

 

This is what you get when you buy a wide gamut monitor. You must have full color management at all times. You cannot use applications without full color management support.

 

The oversaturated version is wrong. Whenever you see that, you know that color management isn't working - either because the application doesn't do it, or because you have failed to embed the document color profile correctly, or because the monitor profile is defective (but it seems to be fine here).

3 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
January 6, 2023

This all seems to be working correctly to me.

 

This is what you get when you buy a wide gamut monitor. You must have full color management at all times. You cannot use applications without full color management support.

 

The oversaturated version is wrong. Whenever you see that, you know that color management isn't working - either because the application doesn't do it, or because you have failed to embed the document color profile correctly, or because the monitor profile is defective (but it seems to be fine here).

    P
    Pepe GazzoAuthor
    Known Participant
    January 6, 2023

    @D Fosse @TheDigitalDog First of all, thank you so very much! Second... News! And more questions!

    First, my display is not Wide Gamut. Its inly 100% sRGB. Bummer. 

    Second, I compared my PCnext to an Asus Vivobook Pantone Certified laptop and both look almost the same. (What a relieve!)  I still have one question though If I may. 

    The software that comes with my SpyderXPro creates an Color Profile and puts it as default on windows. Everything ok with that. BUT it also kind of calibrates windows all the time, even on the desktop, etc. I can switch this calibration on and off in the System Tray. Thing is, when I open Photoshop and it reads the default color profile in the color management I can still turn this overall calibration on and off on the tray. This makes the image I see in Photoshop change. Doesn't this meen I am "double calibrating"? 

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 6, 2023

    Calibration and monitor profile are two different things, serving two different purposes. Don't confuse them!

     

    The monitor profile is a standard icc profile, like any other icc profile. It describes the monitor in its calibrated state. The profile is written after the calibration is finished.

     

    An icc profile is a map of a color space. Like any other map, it needs to describe the landscape correctly. The monitor profile needs to describe the monitor in its actual and current state. If that changes, if the monitor's behavior changes in any way, the profile is invalidated and you need to make a new one.

     

    The monitor profile is set up at system level. Photoshop gets it from the operating system at startup, and uses it in a standard profile conversion from the document profile into the monitor profile. This conversion is performed continuously, on the fly, as you work. The numbers are constantly recalculated and sent to screen. This way the file is correctly represented on screen.

     

    Applications that don't support color management don't do this. They just send the original document RGB numbers straight to screen without any correction.

     

    For convenience, the calibration tables are often stored inside the monitor profile. That makes sense, because the two depend on each other. If one changes, the other needs to change too. In more advanced high-end displays (Eizo, NEC), the calibration isn't done in the video card, but directly in the monitor's own internal processor, and kept there, and so there's no need to keep the calibration stored in the profile.

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    January 6, 2023

    Open this color reference image in Photoshop; how does it look compared to the other apps (and then try the soft proof):

    http://www.digitaldog.net/files/Gamut_Test_File_Flat.tif

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/8opl2w0iugy1rzg/Gamut_Test_File_Flat.tif?dl=0

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
    P
    Pepe GazzoAuthor
    Known Participant
    January 6, 2023

    Thank you for keeping up with me. 😞

    I opened the file. This time its like the other way around, lol. in Photoshop it looks great, and in the other aplicacion it looks a little "meh". Photo Viewer replicates it just like Photoshop. I'll do the Gamut Test Next. 

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    January 6, 2023

    Again, PS is correct and color managed.

    The other app(s) not.

    There is nothing wrong with Photoshop.

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
      TheDigitalDog
      TheDigitalDog
      Inspiring
      January 6, 2023

      That isn't a fix. All it does is show the image without proper color management. 

      The other way you are viewing the image outside Photoshop isn't color managed so now it matches so you have two wrong previews. Photoshop is correct; it is color managed. 

      See: http://digitaldog.net/files/SoftProofingInPhotoshopCC.mp4

      Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
      P
      Pepe GazzoAuthor
      Known Participant
      January 6, 2023

      Thanks @TheDigitalDog 
      But I still think the difference is WAY to exagerated for it being normal. 

      I just aclibrated my monitor with SypderXPro Hardware and Software, the problem persists: The Photoshop file looks way to different than the export. I've looked at the exported file in different Apps. Including social media. 
      I'm attaching snapshots of both with the Calibrated profile and the Color Proof. 
      Also, a Render SaveForWeb. How do you see it in your PC? 😞

      Thanks again! 😞




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