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J
juliust9149185
Inspiring
February 17, 2019
Answered

Color Settings: What effect do the "Gray Options" in "Working Spaces" have on a print?

  • February 17, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 1927 views

I just got a new computer and new NEC P243W monitor, and I’m trying to use NEC’s SpectraView II Calibration Device. I’ve been talking to NEC because I cannot get my monitor calibrated to match my prints. My “Evaluation Prints” are too dark. I know that I have to drop the cd/m2 to adjust the monitor to make it darker, but didn’t resolve the problem.

This is when I noticed the Gray Option was set to “Gray Gamma 1.8.”  Before I make any other adjustments, I’d like to understand the “Gray Options.” I’ve Googled this, but cannot find an answer in regards to Photoshop.

My question: What effect do the "Gray Options" in "Working Spaces" have on a print?

I know that most professional printing companies provide the information on how to set up the Color Settings in Photoshop to get the best results using their lab.

NEC is telling me that I have to edit in sRGB which I know is incorrect. I’ve been editing in Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB, and then converting to sRGB for print for about 8 years without a problem.

NEC is also telling me that my problem is in my workflow (Color Settings) which again raises the question already stated.

Thank you,

Julius

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer juliust9149185

Mr. Fosse,

I finally gave up on the NEC monitor, and sent it back to B&H for a full refund! I don't know what actually caused the problem, but I think you will find this interesting.

I purchased an Eizo CS2420 monitor with their calibration device and software. Everything is looking pretty good, but I might have to slightly tweak the calibration.

When I uninstalled the NEC software another program became disabled (CyberPower Battery Backup). I deleted everything related to NEC and CyberPower. I installed the Eizo softwear, then calibrated at 90 cd/m2 and as I said, I am really close to being able to print again. I did a local test print, and I will be sending it to my chosen printing company to view their results.

The problem must have been somehow related to NEC's software and/or its interaction between programs. A one in a million thing I would say.

I thank you for your time as in the process I added to my knowledge of the calibration process.

Thanks again,

Julius Titak

2 replies

J
juliust9149185AuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
March 17, 2019

Mr. Fosse,

I finally gave up on the NEC monitor, and sent it back to B&H for a full refund! I don't know what actually caused the problem, but I think you will find this interesting.

I purchased an Eizo CS2420 monitor with their calibration device and software. Everything is looking pretty good, but I might have to slightly tweak the calibration.

When I uninstalled the NEC software another program became disabled (CyberPower Battery Backup). I deleted everything related to NEC and CyberPower. I installed the Eizo softwear, then calibrated at 90 cd/m2 and as I said, I am really close to being able to print again. I did a local test print, and I will be sending it to my chosen printing company to view their results.

The problem must have been somehow related to NEC's software and/or its interaction between programs. A one in a million thing I would say.

I thank you for your time as in the process I added to my knowledge of the calibration process.

Thanks again,

Julius Titak

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 17, 2019

First of all, Photoshop's Color Settings have no relevance whatsoever to calibration software, Spectraview or otherwise. Those are two very different things.

PS color settings are about document profiles and policies for handling them. Spectraview is making a monitor profile. Those two profiles serve different purposes. They are completely divorced and should not be mixed together.

If your prints are too dark (when viewed in proper light), your monitor is too bright. It's as simple as that. Set your monitor white point to visually match paper white. Set monitor black point to visually match max ink for that paper. What values you actually arrive at depends on your whole working environment. Nevermind the numbers. Just get that visual match, and let the numbers fall wherever they want.

With white and black points fixed, the rest will fall into place. What you see is what you get.

---

To answer the question, your working gray applies to grayscale files, not RGB files. An RGB document doesn't have a gray profile. However - there are circumstances in Photoshop where the working gray comes into play. Any black-and-white component of an image is treated according to your working gray, such as a single channel view, a mask or an alpha channel. Every time something displays as grayscale on screen, it is treated as having your working gray assigned. The working gray is also applied in any color picker or Info panel readouts.

Generally, in terms of color management, grayscale profiles behave just like RGB or CMYK profiles. The color management procedures are identical. They just have one, three or four channels respectively, but that has no significance here.

But all this is really irrelevant in your situation. I'm just answering your direct question.

J
juliust9149185Author
Inspiring
February 17, 2019

Mr. Fosse,

Thank you for responding!

After reading your reply, what does Dot Grain 20% in Gray mean, and Dot Grain 20% in Spot mean in regards to Working Spaces? I'm just trying to better understand all of this.

By the way, I did read another post by you regarding Contrast Ratio (Black Level). That was interesting!

I don't know how familiar you are with NEC's SpectraView ii which is made by X-Rite, but let me give you a bit more information.

Once I get my Color Settings set to Nation's Photo Lab I will be reediting and sending new pictures out for Evaluation.

NEC says to set the Target Calibration at these numbers: D65, Gamma 2.2, 120 cd/m2, Native Color Gamut, and leave the Contrast Ratio alone.

The Black Level options are: Default, and 50:1 through 500:1 with increments of 50.

I'm going to talk with Nations Photo Lab tomorrow before I do anything.

Would you please comment on what I've presented here!

Thank you,

Julius

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 17, 2019

Actually the physical sensor is a rebranded x-rite i1 Display 3, but the software is made by NEC, and it communicates directly with the onboard graphics processor in the monitor, in high bit depth. Yes, I've used it with an NEC PA that I once had. I've since moved to Eizo which works the same way.

One of the advantages of these high-end calibrators is that you can work directly with, and fine-tune, the monitor's white point and black point. With other calibrators adjustments are done indirectly, in the video card, at 8 bit depth. This places a lot of restrictions on what you can do before you get banding and artifacts.

NEC says to set the Target Calibration at these numbers: D65, Gamma 2.2, 120 cd/m2, Native Color Gamut, and leave the Contrast Ratio alone.

The Black Level options are: Default, and 50:1 through 500:1 with increments of 50.

Yes, this is the familiar recommendation for "average" conditions. The problem is that none of us really have average conditions, so it's just a starting point. Your perception is altered by the ambient light and print viewing light, even the application interface. The only thing you can trust here is your eyes, so that's what you go by. You want to "see" paper white on screen. If it looks right, it is right.

My own current white point is 6300K and 105 cd/m² here at home (usually dim conditions), while at work I have 6400K and 120. I have other targets for special paper stock.

The black point is a special and often overlooked consideration. LCD monitors out of the box have a black level that you can never match in print. A good inkjet print on high-grade glossy paper has a contrast range of maximum 300:1. If your monitor displays 1500:1, you're in for a massive disappointment. It will just look muddy and dull. Much better to get that on screen so that you can compensate.

Leave gamma and native gamut as they are. Gamma (tone response curve) is remapped from document to monitor anyway, and is invisible to the user. The net visual result is always gamma 1.0. The gamma setting only matters when there is no color management. Same for gamut. Don't try to "match" anything by using the sRGB (or Adobe RGB) presets, that just needlessly limits the unit's capabilities.

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The dot gain settings in PS color settings apply to offset print with halftone screens. Dot gain refers to ink spreading in the paper, thus making the image appear darker. Still, these are generic settings - no offset process corresponds exactly to these dot gain curves. Dot gain is built into all standard CMYK profiles, so it's much more effective to use that. But that's a bit outside the scope of this post.

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