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Color settings for commercial printer for newbies with ICC

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
December 12, 2018
5 replies
2509 views

Hi, I use Indesign to create documents (brochures, cards, posters) that a local company prints for me. The printed proofs often look quite different from the PDF. For example, a number of photos were too yellow or red. I realize that I can never get what I see on the screen to predict perfectly what comes from that printer, but I must be able to get closer.

I use the Adobe Creative Cloud and a very new iMac. The ICC profile for the commercial printer is GRACoL2013?CRPC6.icc.icc. What do I need to change in Indesign (or Bridge, Photoshop, Lightroom) and what display profile should I choose on my iMac to ensure that what the commercial printer produces is as close as possible to what I see on the screen? There are so many items on the Color Settings page for these apps, and I just don't know what should be set to what. I am not well-versed in this at all, and I can't seem to find a clear, comprehensive explanation of what I need to do (and how that might implicate other settings in other Adobe apps).

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Correct answer rob day

Messer/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Settings doesn't exist, or I can't find it on my Mac,

Do I need to "load" it from Indesign color settings? I tried that, but it said that some values were outside the parameters and default values would be substituted.

Here are detailed instructions on revealing the hidden Library

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=0ccSXLKAHM61ggehkIXoCg&q=os+x+user+library+folder+hidden&oq=OSX+user+library&…

There is a difference between saved Color Settings—a .csf file that remembers all of the settings in your Color Settings dialog—and the CMYK color profile you received from your printer.

You can, but don't have to, create the Color Settings file when you click the Save button in Color Settings—it is similar to saving a Document, Printer, or PDF preset.

To use you printer's .icc CMYK profile you have to move it into one of the system's profile folders, which is similar to installing a type font.

Any of these should work:

This Recommended folder makes the profile only available to Adobe apps:

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Test Screen Name

Legend

/Library/Application Support is a hidden folder, but an important one. Use Go > Go to folder in Finder.

rob day

Community Expert

The ICC profile for the commercial printer is GRACoL2013?CRPC6.icc.icc. What do I need to change in Indesign (or Bridge, Photoshop, Lightroom) and what display profile should I choose on my iMac to ensure that what the commercial printer produces is as close as possible to what I see on the screen?

Your Color Settings should look like this:

You can save these settings and also use them in PS and AI, but keep in mind Color Settings are your color preferences for future documents and don't usually have an affect on existing documents. You can check an existing document's assigned .icc profiles via Edit>Assign profiles...

The monitor profile is equally important. For CMYK colors and images, both the assigned CMYK profile and the monitor profile you select in the OS have an affect on the displayed color. For RGB colors and images the assigned RGB profile is used.

If you don't have access to a hardware display calibrator, OSX has a software calibrator that runs through an subjective screen test and generates a monitor profile. Go to System Preferences>Displays>Claibrate. If you hold down the Option key when you click Calibrate. You will get advanced options, which will allow you to select the display gamma as well as the temperature.

The fact that you are getting a yellow cast might be from the out-of-the-box default monitor calibration being too blue—I would consider setting the white point to 5500K in the calibration process. GRACol 2013 also has a slightly warmer gray balance than the default US SWOP Coated. I don't think it would hurt to try a custom calibration/monitor profile, and then open a file that's been printed, assign GRACol 2013 see if you get a better match.

Do you deliver CMYK PDFs?

markm7717170Author

Participating Frequently

CoatedGRACoL2013 isn't an option in the dropdown menu. Thank you for these suggestions. I'll take another look in the morning.

rob day

Correct answer

Community Expert

Messer/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Settings doesn't exist, or I can't find it on my Mac,

Do I need to "load" it from Indesign color settings? I tried that, but it said that some values were outside the parameters and default values would be substituted.

Here are detailed instructions on revealing the hidden Library

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=0ccSXLKAHM61ggehkIXoCg&q=os+x+user+library+folder+hidden&oq=OSX+user+library&…

There is a difference between saved Color Settings—a .csf file that remembers all of the settings in your Color Settings dialog—and the CMYK color profile you received from your printer.

You can, but don't have to, create the Color Settings file when you click the Save button in Color Settings—it is similar to saving a Document, Printer, or PDF preset.

To use you printer's .icc CMYK profile you have to move it into one of the system's profile folders, which is similar to installing a type font.

Any of these should work:

This Recommended folder makes the profile only available to Adobe apps:

Derek Cross

Community Expert

This is a useful online video tutorial on Color Management (you can get a 30-day free trial):

InDesign: Color Management

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Test Screen Name

Legend

Don’t ask the printer what display profile to use. Calibrate your monitor and use that profile. The monitor profile is what allows your computer to show you correct colour; without it, everything else is pointless.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Ask the printer.

markm7717170Author

Participating Frequently

They gave me the ICC profile but had no other recommendations.

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