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Participating Frequently
December 25, 2019
Question

Color profiles broken in PS 2020

  • December 25, 2019
  • 5 replies
  • 2188 views

Hi,

 

When I try to contact proof/assign a color profile or print using my icc color profiles I have used prior to updating PS, the colors are way off. I have used these profiles successfully in the past and now none of them seem to be working correctly. I even created a new icc profile and still have the same problem. Any ideas?

 

I'm on a Mac with the Catalina OS. I'm using PS version 21.0.2.

 

Thanks for any help!

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5 replies

Tuong Lam Photos
Participant
July 18, 2021

Are you sure your screen is ok?

Participant
July 18, 2021

Having similar issues running Mac OS Big Sur 11.4 and Photoshop 2021. 

When converting color profile the preview shows two different results of sRGB IEC61966-2.1. I open an existing image (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) and when previewing the conversion and selecting the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 (which should be of no difference) the result shows it to be more saturated - as I imagine Adobe RGB (1998) should appear. 

 

My Process:

1. Open an image that is embedded with Adobe RGB (1998)

2. Convert to sRGB IEC61966-2.1 - result as expected is less intense/enriched than Adobe RGB (1998)

3. If I then go back to "Convert to profile..." with current woring profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1), then select the exact same sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile from the list to preview, all the colors look entierly incorrect. The result SHOULD be absolutely no difference - as it is the same exact profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1. Its almost as if the profile is multipyling itself when it is being previewed.

 

Even if I just open an existing file that is sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and try step 3, the result is exactly that, wrong! There SHOULD be no difference in the preview/display.

 

sRGB IEC61966-2.1 should be exactly that, sRGB IEC61966-2.1.

 

I'ts gotta be a bug somewhere? Waiting for advanced support to get back to me.

 

Waiting!

 

 

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 18, 2021

To be clear, when you convert from Adobe RGB to sRGB you should never see a general loss of saturation. It shold only affect colors that are out of sRGB gamut, but otherwise the general appearance should stay the same.

 

The sRGB > sRGB conversion issue, however, is a glitch that has been reported from time to time (although rarely) as long as I can remember. I don't see it, but there's been a few posts here over the years.

 

It's probably a bug somewhere. What apparently happens is that the whole color management process stops, so that the RGB numbers in the file are just sent directly to screen. If you have a wide gamut display, that means sudden oversaturation. On a standard screen you probably wouldn't notice it.

Participant
July 18, 2021

Thanks for your reply D Fosse.

You are right to say what you said about the general loss of saturation, my comment lacked some refinement to what I actually meant to say.

 

The sRGB > sRGB conversion issue continued to puzzle me so I when exploring a little further. I followed the line of thought whereby the Mac update has throw the issue. In digging around I found this article about which screen profile is best for an iMac (https://larryjordan.com/articles/configure-the-new-macbook-pro-to-p3-color-space/ ). Basically, I had "iMac" set as a screen profile (obvious right??) but after reading this article I had instead chosen the screen profile to be "Display P3" and, problem solved - I hope.

 

Im going to keep my eye on the editing over the next few days to see if any further problem arise but for now its looking okay. It appears to me that "Display P3" is the only screen profile that does not throw the issue (keeping in mind that sRGB IEC61966-2.1, Adobe RGB (1998) should be used for Adobe Photoshop and not the Mac screen).

 

I am happy to also hear that the bug has been around before (not really happy in that sense), but it helps to feel I am not going nuts 🙂

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 25, 2019

Leave the document profile alone! You don't assign the print profile to the document. You set it up in the print dialog for Photoshop to convert to when sending data to the printer. The document profile stays what it is.

 

Never assign profiles unless a profile is missing, or you know for a fact that the embedded profile is not the correct one. If you need a different profile, you convert to that profile. But that's not necessary for printing.

 

Set up the print profile in the print dialog, then go into the printer driver and disable all printer color management. IIRC that happens automatically in MacOS. Also set the correct paper type in the printer driver. This controls total amount of ink.

 

What you can use the print profile for in Photoshop is soft proofing. This will show you on-screen if there is any gamut clipping that you may or may not want to compensate. That's assuming you have a monitor with a gamut wide enough to cover the entire print profile. Otherwise there's limited usefulness to soft proofing.

dede95064Author
Participating Frequently
December 26, 2019

D_Fosse,

 

Yes, I meant to say if I do soft proofing, I can see the difference in the color profiles. I have already disabled all color management on my printer. I've done this (printing with a custom color profile) numerous times with no problems. It's only until this recent PS are there problems. I haven't changed anything else in my workflow.

dede95064Author
Participating Frequently
December 28, 2019

I also noticed this problem in Lightroom 9.1.

 

I downloaded Affinity Photo to see if it was something I was missing or doing wrong and when I went to print my files with the custom color/print profiles, they printed fine. I'd rather not have to switch to Affinity Photo but if this is a known bug, I guess I might have to wait until it gets fixed.

Sahil.Chawla
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
December 25, 2019

Hi there,

 

That does not sound good, as the colors appears to be off, could you try changing the screen color profile to sRGB IEC61966-2.1: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-do-i-change-my-monitor-profile-to-check-whether-its-corrupted/

 

Let us know if it helps.
Regards,
Sahil

dede95064Author
Participating Frequently
December 25, 2019
Hi,
I’ve already tried this and I still have the problem. It’s when I change from the default srgb to the custom icc profile that it causes this problem. 
Thanks for the initial help!
Sahil.Chawla
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
December 25, 2019

Hi there,

 

That does not sound good, as the colors appears to be off, could you try changing the screen color profile to sRGB IEC61966-2.1: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-do-i-change-my-monitor-profile-to-check-whether-its-corrupted/

 

Let us know if it helps.
Regards,
Sahil