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Participating Frequently
October 31, 2007
Question

Photoshop CS3 color management "Save for Web" problem

  • October 31, 2007
  • 680 replies
  • 62136 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
    November 12, 2007
    OK... you win... are these simple steps on your site? Or are you referring to View>Proof Setup> Monitor Profile... because Macintosh RGB is light and unsaturated, Windows RGB is the Darkest, and Monitor RGB is in the Middle but slightly more saturated and actually looks the best... I would prefer it if I could actually use it full time.

    Please point me in the right direction.... I think I have done this previously, but I am certainly willing to revisit the steps you speak of.

    Thanks
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    >> We need to think outside the box here.

    Sorry, I work inside the box, but still no answer what happens when my simple steps are followed -- that is the root of the problem and it is where the answer lies.
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    >This has been discussed here many times in the past...the simple steps...

    So the fact that the Finder displays a file correctly and an app does not, means I could have a problem with my monitor profile?

    We need to think outside the box here. The monitor profile is fine..... colors look great. I am a graphic designer and photographer, everything looks awesome... except certain apps display of my images... specifically Photoshop's SFW feature.

    Standard test image files we all have seen and used many times (printer_test_file, and olenomoire, etc) look absolutely perfect opened in preview and photoshop with color management. No problems at all.... I even made a profile by hand with Apple Calibrator and had very similar results. Something else is wrong here.

    One other thing I am wondering about is RAM ECC Errors... I have had a few and have replaced some RAM and am still having random ECC errors now and then. Not sure if this could be contributing, or an indicator of something?
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    >> I can only assume that no one in this forum has seen this before and therefore has ABSOLUTELY no better idea how to fix this

    This has been discussed here many times in the past...the simple steps outlined are the straightest lines I know to get us on the same page and identify where the problem occurs.
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    I do appreciate the time you all have put into helping with this problem.
    I appologize for being sarcastic, as my frustration with this gets the better of me from time to time. I do not know what other avenues to persue in attempting to resolve this.

    Thanks again
    November 12, 2007
    >Safari 3.x does NOT come with Leopard. It is still beta.

    Wrong!

    Leopard comes with Safari 3.0.4 the Beta available for use with Tiger is Safari 3.0.3
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    Lundberg02 and Nini - Safari 3.0.4 did come with my install of Leopard. I installed Leopard on a clean disk from scratch. Safari 3.0.4 was part of the install. It's running great and I like it.
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    Please look at this image... this is an example of what is going wrong with my system.
    In this un-altered screen grab, you will notice that in the Finder preview (looks awesome) and in the QT Player (looks like crap) the SAME EXACT FILE appears different in the SAME EXACT screen grab. Nothing wrong with the monitor profile, something wrong with how the system displays images. Since I have now demonstrated this to be a system-wide issue, I can only assume that no one in this forum has seen this before and therefore has ABSOLUTELY no better idea how to fix this than a complete idiot like myself. Perhaps I should spray some Windex on the power cord

    Screen Grab
    Nini Tjader
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    Safari 3.x does NOT come with Leopard. It is still beta.
    Participating Frequently
    November 12, 2007
    When the monitor displays the same exact image, 2 different ways, at the exact same time and they look completely different, how can that indicate a monitor profile problem? Makes absolutely no sense to me.