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Participant
May 27, 2021
Answered

How can a Perceptual Rendering Intent Preview still have Out of Gamut Colours?

  • May 27, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 840 views

I've been experimenting with different rendering intents recently, and noticed that with some of my files the out-of-gamut warning areas vary between different intents. (I've shown perceptual and absolute in the examples, but the warning areas are different in relative and saturation too. My warning colour is green.)

 

It's easy to understand the out-of-gamut warning for absolute colourmetric: it's the areas which cannot be rendered in the printer's colour profile. But what does the warning areas indicate in perceptual preview mode? Surely the point of the perceptual rendering intent is to bring all of the colours in-gamut, which would mean there should be no out-of-gamut colours?

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Correct answer davescm

The warning tries to warn of colours that are out of gamut and will be altered. I don't know where it draws the line though between altered a little bit or altered a lot, because perceptual rendering by design will also alter in gamut colours. The warning is a bit of a blunt tool IMO and I prefer to go with an ordinary proof colours view and adjust the image to get the look I want.

 

Dave

2 replies

davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 27, 2021

The warning tries to warn of colours that are out of gamut and will be altered. I don't know where it draws the line though between altered a little bit or altered a lot, because perceptual rendering by design will also alter in gamut colours. The warning is a bit of a blunt tool IMO and I prefer to go with an ordinary proof colours view and adjust the image to get the look I want.

 

Dave

Participant
May 27, 2021

Thanks so much for your answer, Dave. I've had a look at the exact colour values that are being highlighted, and I think you're right - the out of gamut warning isn't highlighting colours that are out of gamut, as the name suggests it would, but colours that are being altered by more than a certain (arbitary and secret) amount. In this case, some very saturated reds.

 

I do hardproof everything visually so it's not going to be a problem. I'll keep thinking about how this feature might potentially be used in my workflow!

Participant
May 27, 2021