Hello Community,
I'm using indesign to print a small book of color photography. Typically when I print with Photoshop, I first select "Photoshop manages colors" then I select the .icc profile of the paper I'm using, in this case Canson Rag Duo. I open my print dialogue to select my media type, The color matching section is usually grayed out, like this screenshot:
However, in Indesign, when I go to the same dialogue box in InDesign, I'm able to select the .icc profile inside here as well.
That wouldn't seem to be a problem, except when go to Print > Print Settings > Color Management, I'm prompted to choose the .icc profile again 
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Replies
Hi Randy - I use multiple profiles because I print with my different types of paper, so in a way, yes multiple output devices. Each one requires its own little recipe and they're all avail for download on the manufacturers websites. It's a bit of a hassle but it does typically work without a hitch in Photoshop. I'm new to InDesign and one would think that with the fairly robust print module they have, it would be similar but I'm having no such luck.
So I've followed your suggestion. I printed 5 documents.
1. The Color Check PDF straight from my desktop using Preview (I don't have Acrobat)
2. The Color Check PDF from photoshop, with the .icc profile I hope to use
3. The Color Check PDF imported directly into Indesign, (again with the profile applied in both places)
4. The Color Check PDF from InDesign as a .JPEG exported from Photoshop with the .icc profile applied ("redundantly" as it were)
5. The color check PDF from InDesign as a .JPEG exported from photoshop BUT with the correct .ICC profile applied in the print dialog box only, and 'Document RGB', the default setting, left in the InDesign print window
Here is what I've learned - printing from Photoshop and selecting the profile once is the only way that it works. The JPEG and the PDF brought into Indesign behave the same way when printing if the profile is applied in both places - the print is far too yellow, and to the same degree in both. HOWEVER, when I tried again and kept one of them 'document RGB' and used the correct profile in the print dialogue, I was much closer to the correct color - leading me to believe that it is cumulative after all. I don't really understand how I can choose a 'neutral' or turn off one of the two - again, in Photoshop, my print dialogue gives me no such option. By selecting 'Photoshop manages colors,' in the photoshop print window, I'm precluded from making a selection further down the line. As far as printing the document straight from my desktop, it also is not quite correct because I'm unable to select a profile form my Preview print dialog. Thanks in advance. and p.s. yes this has been happening with any profile I try!
OK. We've got some things to look at here:
1. As far as I understand, MacOS Preview has no color management output capabilities, short of what is defined in a given print driver. Which you saw because you can't change color settings as Preview prints the original PDF Test Page. And how does it compare to your output using Document RGB for your printer profile? Are they the same? Or is the yellow washed out in the Preview version?
3. Are the various ICC profiles you're using created by Epson, or did you build them in-house for your output?
4. Are you using a colorimeter to determine arbitrarily/empirically that you have problem with your Yellow color build, or are you interpreting this from the impression you get from an image with your own eyes? Without empirical testing, we're talking about what you consider "pleasing color" rather than what calibration would call "accurate color." Those can be two wildly different things. Jus' sayin' ...
5. It would be correct when you select the "Photoshop manages colors" in the Color Handling: options box that you have no option to pick any ICC profile. You're telling InDesign whatever Photoshop color settings specify, rules.
Further testing will determine what's "right" for you, but I suspect that you're half-right that InDesign is "double-applying" color profiles. The half-wrong part is that it's happening when you use the Document CMYK transparency space, rather than double-applying your ICC profile. ICC profiles and your Document RGB printer profile let your output device do the translation from the RGB images you placed in your InDesign files to CMYK output. Document CMYK transparency space and choosing Let InDesign determine colors in the Color Handling: options box does the translation right up front in the InDesign document. It also tells InDesign to use whatever settings your CMYK: working space specify.
So it's not applying your ICC profile accumulatively, it's applying a different color profile before your Epson SureColor gets a shot. I'm hopeful that when you either let Photoshop set the rules or you set the RGB transparency space that you'll get better results. And that you won't see much difference between them.
Please try printing those two InDesign document test files with the Document RGB transparency space and let me know if that works out for you. I'm hopeful this will make things better for you. And if not, the answers to the questions above will help us get the results you're looking for.
Sorry to be killing your paper stock, but running tests is the only way to be sure.
Randy
Hi Randy,
2. This occured to me earlier as well - the CMYK - RGB problem as I moved from Photoshop to InDesign, unfortunately your solution does not work, though it was definitely a good thought.
3. the ICC profiles are created by the paper companies. I have several for my different Canson papers, Hahnemuhle, Epson, etc. This one is for Canson Rag Duo, double sided matte paper.
4. I'm not using a colorometer, but this is very obvious to the naked eye, and when it's wrong it's consistently wrong. I'll try to share an example... Correct: 
5. I think maybe i've been a bit unclear - when I use Photoshop, it doesn't prompt me to select a driver in the printer dialogue because I've already selected "Let Photoshop Manage Colors" in the Photoshop Print Window. However, when i'm in Indesign, that's not the case! When I select "Let InDesign manage colors," and I select a profile, then it prompts me again in the printer dialogue! So I just don't know why InDesign specifically asks me to to choose twice. Thanks so much for all of your help. I'll figure it out... Maybe it's an epson issue having not updated their driver for Sequoia which has been a major PITA, but that's a different story altogether.
Happy New Year!
The one thing you haven't shown us is your Print Driver settings:
In Option 1, if you select Colorsync and select the matching Paper Profile. under Print Settings, the option to set Color Management in the driver should be greyed out. (I'm not on the same OS as you, so my screen grabs are from a Monterey).
Alternatively, In Option 2, you COULD select EPSON Color Controls, but make sure he now active Color Management setting is set to Off.
Try option 2 and see if that works better for you.
 
 
Hey Brad - thanks for your response. I actually shared a portion above. The problem is it's *not* grayed out, and I am prompted to choose an icc profile. See here: 
So at this point it's clear there are 2 color profiles being applied, so I will just continue to poke around until i figure this out or epson gets their act together and updates their drivers. ha. Thanks for taking the time! Happy new year!
"The problem is it's *not* grayed out"
Not there. I mean in the Epson's Printer Settings (i.e the right-most panel in my screen grab). This is separate from the ColorSync settings, and is often where the double management is occuring. When you slect a ColorSync profile, the two setting in the PRINTER settings there should be greyed out.
However, if you think setting both ID Color management and ColorSync is applying the double, then remove the first one. I think you've already tried this, but set ID to sRGB so nothing is converted there. Still make sure the option in the Print Settings are greyed out.
 All this being said, I also agree with the others that the PDF route is the best. It's less hassle overall, especially with the newer OSs.
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