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Participating Frequently
October 31, 2007
Question

Photoshop CS3 color management "Save for Web" problem

  • October 31, 2007
  • 680 replies
  • 62092 views
This problem is getting the best of me.......

After spending 3 full days researching this problem, I am no closer to finding an answer than when I started. I still cannot produce a usable image through the "Save for Web" feature of Photoshop CS3. I have read web page after web page of "Tips, Tricks and Recommendations" from dozens of experts, some from this forum, and still I have no solution... I am exhausted and frustrated to say the least. Here's the simple facts that I know at this point.

I have a web design project that was started in PS CS1. All artwork was created in photoshop and exported to JPG format by using "Save for Web". Every image displays correctly in these browsers (Safari, Camino, FireFox and even Internet Explorer on a PC).

I have recently upgraded to PS CS3 and now cannot get any newly JPG'd image to display correctly. My original settings in CS1 were of no concern to me at the time, because it always just worked, and so I do not know what they were. I have opened a few of my previous images in CS3 and found that sRGB-2.1 displays them more or less accurately. I am using sRGB 2.1 working space. Upon openning these previous image files, I get the "Missing Profile" message and of course I select "Leave as is. Do Not color manage". CS3 assumes sRGB-2.1 working space, opens the file, and all is well.

The problem is when I go to "Save for Web", the saturation goes up, and the colors change. The opposite of what most people are reporting. Here's another important point... new artwork created in CS3 does exactly the same thing, so it's not because of the older CS1 files.

I have tried every combination of "uncompensated color", "Convert to sRGB", "ICC Profile", etc. while saving. I have Converted to sRGB before saving, and my monitor is calibrated correctly.
I have tried setting the "Save for Web" page on 2-up and the "original" on the left is already color shifted before I even hit the "Save" button. Of course, the "Optimized" image on the right looks perfect because I am cheating by selecting the "Use Document Color Profile" item. Why do they even have this feature if doesn't work, or misleads you?

Does anyone have any ideas what could be happening here? Why is this all so screwed up?
CS1 worked fine out of the box.

Final note: I do have an image file I could send along that demonstrates how it is possible to display an image exactly the same in all 4 of the browsers I mentioned with no color differences. It is untagged RGB and somehow it just works.

I am very frustrated with all of this and any suggestions will be appreciated

Thanks,
Pete
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    680 replies

    Participating Frequently
    January 9, 2008
    Just trying to keep things accurate.
    So many apparently authoritative posts, so much crap.
    Participating Frequently
    January 9, 2008
    I just wet my pants
    Inspiring
    January 9, 2008
    Thank God you cleared that up. I haven't slept in three weeks.
    Participating Frequently
    January 9, 2008
    Ramon states:
    b <<Off topic:
    b Lundberg02,

    b que sera sera

    b 'Just a bit of trivia for you:
    b Utter nonsense, despite the luminaries who have sung that bit of Spanglish. >>

    According to Wikipedia:
    Authentic renderings of the phrase "whatever will be, will be" in romance languages include:
    French: "Ce qui sera, sera"
    Italian: "Quello che sarà, sarà"
    Portuguese: "O que será, será"
    Spanish: "Lo que será, será"
    Participating Frequently
    December 18, 2007
    Let it go Ramon - the whole world is F up. There is no point in trying to teach.
    Ramón G Castañeda
    Inspiring
    December 17, 2007
    Participant
    December 17, 2007
    I had the same problem with changing RGB readings, and solved it by DESELECTING "Convert to sRGB" located in the flyout drop down menu (which is located next to the preset drop down menu). This doesn't agree with anything I read, but it works. RGB colors don't change.
    Inspiring
    December 12, 2007
    I suspected as much, Ramon.

    Tim: viewed in Safari 3.0.4, on a 17" LCD which displays photographs in rich color.
    Your photographs just don't leap off the screen.
    Ramón G Castañeda
    Inspiring
    December 12, 2007
    Off topic:

    Lundberg02,
    >que sera sera

    Just a bit of trivia for you:

    Utter nonsense, despite the luminaries who have sung that bit of Spanglish.
    December 11, 2007
    Lundberg02,

    The first one's a little lighter? It's the ugliest of the bunch. What kind of display do you have?

    The bottom one is what I saw through the lens and I was really pushing the saturation levels on that one to the point I wasn't sure if I'ld overdone it. Are you saying all of them are dull looking?