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Participating Frequently
October 31, 2007
Question

Photoshop CS3 color management "Save for Web" problem

  • October 31, 2007
  • 680 replies
  • 62091 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

    Inspiring
    November 29, 2007
    Good point, Ramon.
    If Dell has managed to get that close to Adobe RGB without using LEDs I'd like to know how they did it. Fluorescent backlight has a very weird red component( as do CRTs) that everyone has learned to live with up til now. LED backlight has much better color spectra. I suppose it's possible that Dell has modified the fluorescent somehow, but I still doubt it. Maybe they have improved their RGB filters in some way. I personally have liked the Dells ever since they started branding somebody's panels as their own.
    Ramón G Castañeda
    Inspiring
    November 29, 2007
    Peter Figen and Dirk: <br /> <br /> Don't lose sight of the fact that what appears labeled as "Dell gamut" on the graph posted at Pixentral is only the profile created by Peter Mars for his Dell Monitor with the Huey, and is not to be taken as the gamut of the Dell monitor per se. <br /> <br />c <a href="http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TuavVHZtb0coWT6ALWkb7zKE2CNBM0" /></a> <img alt="Picture hosted by Pixentral" src="http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1TuavVHZtb0coWT6ALWkb7zKE2CNBM0_thumb.jpg" border="0" /> <br />c Click on thumbnail to see full image again <br /> <br /> I suppose I could create a spurious profile that far exceeded ProPhoto RGB and pass it off as my monitor profile, which would be absurd. In other words, one has to take into account both the tolerances and accuracy of the Huey as well as possible human error.
    Participating Frequently
    November 29, 2007
    Tim: I would say everything looks natural... good color, not oversaturated. Rocks look tan, dirt looks slightly warm, similar to rocks but darker, not grey or neutral.

    Lowering the brightness causes trouble at this point. B=25 and C=85. In my case, Brightness is really black level and contrast is max white if you will. I have tried all of this and these are the most accurate settings. Lowering contrast (white point) doesn't help with saturation shift using SFW.

    I read that if my serial number ends in an "S" it means Samsung... it does. That's all I know.
    Color is great, I love it.

    Peter F: Progress is inevitable... as always. I'm just tired of wrestling with this. I just do not to wake up tomorrow and find that the world has changed to this new standard and I've just returned a good monitor I got for a super price. I still can't get over that it's so close to aRGB!

    Thanks again for your input.... love your photography website by the way! Classy and cool shots!
    Participating Frequently
    November 29, 2007
    I think that soon most browsers will read embedded profiles. Maybe if they are profile savvy you could also designate assumed profiles.
    November 29, 2007
    Peter,

    The sRGB tagged image I posted do the rocks look pinkish and/or oversaturated including the water or is it natural looking?

    What happens when you turn down the brightness of the display the same level as a sheet of white paper viewed under your current lighting arrangement? What kind of calibration results do you get then?

    It sounds like you might have an S-PVA panel. I've read comments how vivid Samsung brands of LCD TV's and computer displays are from other users. And everybody just loves the way they look.
    Participating Frequently
    November 29, 2007
    Ya, weird to say the least... it is a very colorful and bright monitor. I have tweaked the OSD RGB sliders and that's the profile I get. It is even more colorful with R-G-B all set to 100%

    If only browsers assumed sRGB instead of MonitorRGB... who's idea was that anyway?
    November 29, 2007
    mmh, I didn't think this thread would go on. You miss a lot when you leave to run errands. <br /> <br />I didn't think I'ld see Dell displays with such a large gamut. It doesn't really do you much good viewing web color since the size and shape of the gamut kind of puts you in color limbo between sRGB and not quite AdobeRGB. <br /> <br />I don't suppose reducing the saturation and adjusting the hue OSD sliders if any exist got you closer to sRGB. <br /> <br />Dirk, <br /> <br />I nolonger reside in Kerrville. Just moved two months ago to New Braunfels, Texas, the place I've been wanting to live since I saw Landa Park in my early '20's around 1980. The park has the most crystal clear bluegreen spring water rivers coming straight out of the rocks and river banks. <br /> <br />Been to Fredericksburg, nice sleepy little town just like Kerrville, but with more upscale professional types. Haven't yet made my rounds viewing the hill country sites yet which there are many. <br /> <br />Check out why I moved from this shot of one of several Landa park streams I took on my Pentax K100D with some editing in PS. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1QRSEUGyGoArs2BxDCvSozkQzM1pL3" /></a> <img alt="Picture hosted by Pixentral" src="http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1QRSEUGyGoArs2BxDCvSozkQzM1pL3_thumb.jpg" border="0" />
    Participating Frequently
    November 29, 2007
    Interesting... thanks very much. My eyes have not been deceiving me after all. I still have no idea what this means, other than no one else can view anything I create in quite the same way. I suppose this doesn't change anything, I still need a more mainstream compatible monitor. Thanks again for doing this.
    Participating Frequently
    November 29, 2007
    Here ya go...it's a bit of a pain in the ass to get representative views that show everything in one still image. When you are viewing the maps, you can scroll and see them from any angle, side or top to bottom, as well as adjust the wireframe opacities and colors to suit, but this should give you the basic idea. This Dell is not quite Adobe RGB, but it's much much larger than sRGB. A picture is worth 400 messages.

    http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TuavVHZtb0coWT6ALWkb7zKE2CNBM0
    November 29, 2007
    Peter F... Please post the profile thing in this thread so we can all see...