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romany36267645
Inspiring
January 19, 2021
Answered

Correct monitor color mode to use when editing

  • January 19, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 23863 views

I was wondering which monitor color mode (adobe rgb, or srgb) to use and when.

 

I do my raw conversion in lightroom using prophoto rgb, and do further editing in photoshop with the same color space from lightroom. All of my work is then exported in srgb. 

 

Since I'm exporting in srgb I should also be using my monitor in the srgb mode correct? Reserving the Adobe rgb mode for the rare occurance when I know I'm gonna be exporting in adobe rgb?

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Correct answer romany36267645

Yes, start with native, as I recommended. I don't know the Asus calibration software but if it does allow access to their internal hardware calibration (the uploading of a calibration LUT to the screen itself) then why not try it first.

My favourite calibration/profiling app. isn't one you listed, it does work very well with the i1display 2 device, https://www.colourmanagement.net/products/basiccolor/basiccolor-display-software/

Unsure about calibrated appearance?

What is RIGHT?

So many people are in this position because they have no unequivocal reference.

To solve that issue, I use this http://www.colourmanagement.net/products/icc-profile-verification-kit

 

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management


Thank you both for the help. Using your information i've been able to find some good tutorials on how to do the things that you've described. Unfortunately, i've found that a lot of the options that I am looking for don't exist in the software that I have. Also, there is almost no information/tutorials specifically for the Asus software. 

 

In the advanced settings of the Asus software there is not an option for Panel Native. There are only options for Srgb/Rec709, Adobe RGB, BT2020 REC2020, DCI P3, and xvYCC. I assume one of those is the panel native for my monitor but I don't know how to find out which. The monitor is the Asus PA329c. Based on the specifications I would assume picking Adobe RGB would be my best bet here? 

 

The only other customizable settings are brightness (I have set 120), black level (minimum), gamma (2.2), color temp (6500k). 

 

It seems that this software is somewhat limited in customization. Are there any other programs available that can save the color parameter profiles straight to my monitors ic chip? Is the basiccolor display software you recommended able to do this? 

 

3 replies

NB, colourmanagement
Community Expert
NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2021

Monitor 'mode' is simply calling an emulation of a colour space, you don't mention the monitor display make and model,

but I expect that native mode (if you have that) or Adobe RGB is the place to start. Might as well let that wide gamut monitor display use its full range. 

 

Next, ideally, calibrate and profile the monitor display using, say, Xrite i1 Display Pro. This outfit makes an ICC monitor display profile.

That display profile will describe the calibrated** display's characteristics to applications such as Photoshop to provide accurate colour on-screen. 

 

Emulation (using display modes) is occasionally useful

- Some users such as web developers like to use emulation reduce the monitor display gamut*  to sRGB to better emulate the average display in the field.

This is not really necessary as long as they use colour management savvy applications to view files.

Even most web browsers have colour management switched on these days but apps such as Windows Photos do not.

 

(*gamut. - a device's ability to show a range of colour and tone)

(** don't change any display settings after making your profile or it will no longer relate to the display state. )

 

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
[please only use the blue reply button at the top of the page, this maintains the original thread title and chronological order of posts]

R
romany36267645Author
Inspiring
January 19, 2021

Thank you for the help Neil. The monitor I purchased is the Asus pa329c. So if I understand what you're saying correctly, I should use my monitor in the adobe rgb mode regardless of the fact that all of my work is being exported in srgb? This being because lightroom and photoshop have proper color management, and will display colors the same regardless of whether or not i'm using srgb or adobe rgb modes? So upon receiving the display I should just stick to the adobe rgb mode exclusively for photo editing (even when exporting srgb). 

 

I actually just bought that exact calibrator that you mentioned (Xrite i1 Display Pro). I plan to use with the monitors native profile calibration software (Asus Pro Art Calibration), instead of displaycal, which I am currently using for my other monitors. Is this the right way to go about it? 

 

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks again for your help. 

R
romany36267645Author
Inspiring
January 19, 2021

You're basically on the right track.

 

But don't set the monitor to the Adobe RGB preset. Run it at it's full, native response. The Adobe RGB preset just limits the unit for no reason at all. The monitor doesn't have to match Adobe RGB. It doesn't have to match anything. It is what it is, and that's perfectly fine.

 

The monitor profile maps the monitor's response, whatever it is, and the data are remapped from the document color space into the monitor color space. There is only one requirement of the monitor profile: it has to describe the actual, current behavior of the monitor. Whatever it is. The calibrator does this by measuring it.

 

Wide gamut monitors can only be used with color managed applications. That's the deal you accept when purchasing such a monitor. If you need to use it in a non-color managed situation, you can use the sRGB preset, which will limit the gamut to that of a standard monitor. That's the only time a monitor preset is useful.


Okay gotcha, that makes sense. So standard mode it is then. In your opinion which program would be best to use with my calibrator? Asus Pro Art Calibration, Displaycal, or the software that comes with the Xrite i1 Display Pro?

 

Also, with a monitor that allows hardware calibration these monitor profiles are saved directly onto the display correct? So if I transfer my monitor to my laptop, everything will work the same (no need for recalibration)?

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2021

You're confusing several unrelated things. You need to stop and go back to start.

 

Document color space and monitor color space do not need to match.

 

The whole point of color management and icc profiles in the first place, is to translate seamlessly from one color space to another, preserving appearance unchanged, so that color spaces no longer need to match.

 

Color management and icc profiles convert/remap from the document color space and into the monitor color space, whatever it happens to be. There's a source profile and a destination profile. You need both.

 

If you didn't have icc profiles like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc - then they would have to match. But then we'd all be limited to sRGB, and wide gamut monitors would not be possible. With all these different color spaces that are available now, color management becomes a necessity. It's the solution to the problem.

 

The monitor doesn't need to be in any particular "mode". Those modes are just emulations anyway. The monitor is what it is! It can be anything at all, it could just as well be something in between sRGB and Adobe RGB, or something else entirely. It should just be in native mode, just be whatever it is.

 

All that said, it's prudent to take precautions for situations where there is no color management. Lots of other applications don't support it. That's why you convert to sRGB. It has the greatest chance of being represented correctly in the highest number of possible scenarios. Not entirely right, but close enough.

 

And finally, I would strongly advise you to not use ProPhoto. It's a stick of dynamite. You really need to know how to handle it. If color management procedure fails at any point, if the chain breaks, it will look horrible. I don't know why someone thought it was a good idea to set ProPhoto as default in Lightroom, IMO it's a terrible idea. ProPhoto carries a lot of implications and it should only be used by highly eperienced expert users.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2021

If by “monitor color mode” you mean the profile assigned in the Displays settings in your operating system, the correct profile is the one that most closely describes how that specific display represents color. If you use a profiling/calibration device, the correct profile is the most recent one generated by the device after it analyzed that specific display.

 

If you bought an affordable general-purpose display and you don’t have a profiling/calibration device, the OS might install or select a generic profile for it. That will work OK for general use, and it’s better than nothing, but because of manufacturing variations it might not precisely describe the specific unit you have. Although many general-purpose displays aim for sRGB, the actual panels coming off the factory might not hit it exactly, so it isn’t always accurate to select sRGB as a display profile. For uses where color and tone accuracy are important, it’s always better to run a profiling/calibration device on the display to generate a current, accurate profile so that the system can adjust displayed colors correctly.

 

When should you select an Adobe RGB profile for the display? There’s only one time when that makes sense: You specifically bought a display that can cover Adobe RGB, and it’s documented to be factory-calibrated to ensure that specific panel is actually covering Adobe RGB accurately. When those two things are true, it’s safe to select Adobe RGB as the display profile, because the profile will be an accurate description of how the display reproduces color.

 

When should you switch the display between sRGB and Adobe RGB? Almost never. Most displays cannot be switched between profiles, because most displays display color only one way and that’s it, which is exactly why the only correct profile is the one representing the one color gamut that display can reproduce. More expensive professional displays supporting hardware calibration can store multiple calibrations internally; those are safe to switch as needed because the display will actually change its color reproduction to the selected color space (and some will also change the selected display profile in the OS to match the new color space setting).

 

The profiles embedded in different images, the profile assigned to the display, and the profiles used for export and printing can all be different, and usually are different. Especially if the point is to adjust for each device’s color reproduction accurately. If you open an raw image in Lightroom Classic, which edits in a form of ProPhoto RGB, on a display that’s sRGB-ish but with an accurate display profile, and then you export to Adobe RGB for a print, colors will remain consistent so long as each link in the chain is using profiles to convert colors properly to the different color gamuts for display, export, and printing.

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