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Participating Frequently
October 31, 2007
Question

Photoshop CS3 color management "Save for Web" problem

  • October 31, 2007
  • 680 replies
  • 62137 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 20, 2007
    Amen. The choir will now sing, " We Have Been Given Much, We Too Must Give".
    Participating Frequently
    November 20, 2007
    Craig,

    Like a lot of professionals, or maybe not, I work on my images on a hardware calibrated rreference monitor, either a Sony Artisan or a Barco Reference V. I convert web images to sRGB and don't worry about them after that. I know they started out right and that they'll be close enough on most screens. The main thrust, it seems of this endless discussion, is the discrepency between how the images look in Ps and the same untagged image in a non color managed browser. It seems that some folks here are having a hard time accepting that their monitors are not exactly sRGB and some are far from it. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter, and either your images look good or they don't.
    Participating Frequently
    November 20, 2007
    I find it easiest to just not obsess too much about web graphics and images. You can't control how your web veiwers have their monitors adjusted. How many people even know how to turn on color management in their browser, or that they should.

    The color drift is huge in web design, so design flexibly and don't sweat the small stuff.

    I think it is as hard for us photographers to let go of online color as it has been for graphic designers to let go of fixed layouts.

    Craig
    Participating Frequently
    November 20, 2007
    agree and not to make things more complicated - but what a mess this thread is and it speaks volumes to human error - on all sides of the issue and I dont think it will be solved anytime soon.
    Participating Frequently
    November 20, 2007
    The answers are certainly here, but you have to sift through a huge pile of crap to sort them out. The last few posts asserting great monitor calibration as proven by a certain screen to print match, but without really understanding why it might just be coincidental only serves to continue the confusion. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss...
    Participating Frequently
    November 19, 2007
    Another color cluster brought to you by the lack of global thinking.
    Participant
    November 19, 2007
    I had the same original problem, and this page solved this issue:

    http://tancredi.co.uk/2007/5/13/photoshop-cs3-and-save-for-web-issues
    November 19, 2007
    Another thought... about the Apple Calibrator... some have said you must start the process using a "good" profile, like sRGB. In my experience, it doesn't seem that can be controlled. When I choose different profiles and then start the Apple calibration process, the monitor colours shift back to what appears to be the default DELL profile as the starting point.
    November 19, 2007
    I just realized you meant (I think) my comment about the Dell's "Mac" and "PC" settings. I don't know for sure what they mean, its based on the appearance shift I see when I toggle the settings. The Mac one is brighter in a way that suggests the 1.8 gamma shift. I may try recalibrating starting from the Mac setting, just for kicks.
    November 19, 2007
    Lundberg02: "No. That color space can't even display the limited sRGB gamut."

    I think you're missing my point. I am trying to assert that my monitor is calibrated correctly, based on the matching appearance of the test image on screen and on paper. sRGB doesn't have anything to do with this particular test, it's a CMYK image. My point is: if my monitor profile is so "bad" then should I not see a very noticeable difference in my test image?

    "The Dell settings. How do you know what they mean?"

    I don't know what you mean. Can you be more specific?