"I am struggling to understand color management in PS. I've watched a number of videos which go into the theory of color management and sometimes that gets a bit confusing for me. I just want to know what my settings should be in PS.
I want to use the online company Mpix to print. My goal is simple. I want the colors of the prints to be close to what I see on my monitor.
That’s not quite so simple, and it's actually what pretty much everyone wants.
Print appearance is affected by not only the accuracy of the printer profile but also the print viewing lighting, screen appearance, as well as being affected by calibration target settings, is also affected by the ambient lighting
My monitor is color calibrated.
How do you calibrate the screen?
What are your a target settings
This is what I have my PS settings on:
Working Spaces
RGB: sRGBColor
Management Policies
RGB: Convert to Working RGB
Personally I'd recommend you to preserve embedded profiles
I also like to check Profile mismatches "ask when opening"
That way you'll get a warning if opening a file from another colourspace and be able to work out what to do with it.
Regarding Proof colors under the view menu, which option should I use Proof Setup? Choosing sRGB doesn't make sense to me since the image is already in sRGB.
Choose the ICC profile of the printer that will be used.
Not sure what Monitor RGB means or why I'd want that.
you would not want that
Mpix says they prefer sRGB color space.
OK
Why not get this Adobe RGB test image, convert it to sRGB [edit/convert to profile - don't worry about the Rendering Intent setting as only Colorimetric is available when the destination is a Photoshop workingspace] - you're doing this to make it ready for Mpix, next send it them as a print test.
How well does it match your screen? [view the print in daylight and the screen in subdued light]
To assess appearance and workflow I like to this:
"Have you ever wondered how to KNOW whether your screen [or printer] is ACCURATE and not just 'pleasing'?
If so please check this out: http://www.colourmanagement.net/products/icc-profile-verification-kit
If I'm working in sRGB and that's what Mpix wants, then what does using the Proof colors do for me?
allows you to predict printed appearance based on the printers ICC profile (IF you have it)
Should I ever use "Assign Color Profile" or "Convert Color Profile" in light of my stated goal?
Convert would be used to convert a file coming from another colourspace* to sRGB for MPix
(*maybe a camera colourspace or another working space like Adobe RGB)
Assign is used to change the profile associated with a file - maybe the wrong profile was associated, it can happen.
It can also be used creatively, but that’s something you may like to come to later in your learning.
Want to know more, start here: https://www.josephholmes.com/profiles/about-my-profiles
I suggest you also have a read of this: https://www.colourmanagement.net/advice/about-icc-colour-profiles/
I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer:: co-author: 'getting colour right'
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
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