• Global community
    • Language:
      • Deutsch
      • English
      • Español
      • Français
      • Português
  • 日本語コミュニティ
    Dedicated community for Japanese speakers
  • 한국 커뮤니티
    Dedicated community for Korean speakers
Exit
6

Input-only color profile. What in the heck is that?

Community Beginner ,
Apr 09, 2015 Apr 09, 2015

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I'm putting a watermark on a photo and getting an error message: could not place because the current document has an input-only color profile. What in the heck is that?

Views

86.6K

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines

correct answers 1 Correct answer

Participant , May 02, 2017 May 02, 2017

An input-only color profile usually implies that is was scanned or captured on a device that embedded an input profile. An input profile is a profile that describes the device in ColorSync language you might say.  Photoshop likes to use Working Space color profiles, such as sRGB or AdobeRGB, etc. I would suggest that the file be converted to a working space profile first, then it should be usable in your workflow.

To convert a file to a working space profile, open the file in question, go to the

...

Votes

Translate

Translate
Adobe
Participant ,
May 02, 2017 May 02, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

An input-only color profile usually implies that is was scanned or captured on a device that embedded an input profile. An input profile is a profile that describes the device in ColorSync language you might say.  Photoshop likes to use Working Space color profiles, such as sRGB or AdobeRGB, etc. I would suggest that the file be converted to a working space profile first, then it should be usable in your workflow.

To convert a file to a working space profile, open the file in question, go to the Edit menu and scroll down to "Convert to Profile", choose your favorite space from the top group of working spaces. I would suggest sRGB or AdobeRGB. Save the file and it will be embedded in the file.

Cheers,

Barry Rudick

Aker Imaging

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
May 02, 2017 May 02, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

The current version of CC will just prompt you if that is the case. I had to reinstall from the Creative Cloud app to clear the 'input only' warning.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Sep 15, 2017 Sep 15, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Barry's answer worked for me.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Oct 17, 2017 Oct 17, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Thanks, Barry!

That's got it.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Beginner ,
Nov 11, 2017 Nov 11, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Just remember to uncheck the "Flatten Image to Preserve Appearance" check box.

#wheredidallmylayersandworkgo

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Nov 11, 2017 Nov 11, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Yes, but that's a real warning, it means exactly what it says. Numerical adjustments are color space specific, and if you have adjustment layers, the file's appearance will change in the new color space. You will have to readjust them all.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Dec 13, 2021 Dec 13, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Thank you so much for this tip - I was pulling my hair out!

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Jan 13, 2020 Jan 13, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Thanks Barry,

After struggling with this problem for several days, that worked like a charm within seconds.

Cheers,

Hans

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Explorer ,
Jul 17, 2020 Jul 17, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Nope...doesn't work. The file (both of them) are already AdobeRGB.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Beginner ,
Jun 05, 2021 Jun 05, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

You should let people here know not to do that on a layered photoshop file. This change flattens all layers into one. Thanks for the help!

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Dec 14, 2021 Dec 14, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

boaza61185756 - there was a warning about flattening in the messages stream above - here it is:
Community Beginner , 
Nov 11, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

 

Just remember to uncheck the "Flatten Image to Preserve Appearance" check box.

#wheredidallmylayersandworkgo

 

DFossse also noted:

Numerical adjustments are color space specific, and if you have adjustment layers, the file's appearance will change in the new color space. You will have to readjust them all.

 

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

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Feb 15, 2024 Feb 15, 2024

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

LATEST

Thanks, that worked for me. 🙂

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Oct 14, 2017 Oct 14, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Barry's solution worked for me as well!

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Beginner ,
Oct 08, 2020 Oct 08, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Just got this for the first time in the latest cc update. I tried the above and it flattened all my layers. Instead I used Edit/assign profile and selected sRGB then saved. Preserved everything, though make sure you have a copy saved before attempting, just in case.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Oct 11, 2020 Oct 11, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

If you're interested you can learn a little about ICC profiles here

here is some reading on ICC profiles and how they work for you to provide accurate colour through the digital workflow: https://www.colourmanagement.net/advice/about-icc-colour-profiles/

 

I hope this helps

thanks
neil barstow, colourmanagement.net :: adobe forum volunteer
[please do not use the reply button on a message within the thread, only use the blue reply button at the top of the page, this maintains the original thread title and chronological order of posts]

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
New Here ,
Dec 16, 2020 Dec 16, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I have the CS6 version where the solution offered by Barry does not seem to work. I have owned this version for years, and this is the first time I've encountered this error message (although this version has not been supported by upgrades for a few years now).   I'm working with photos sent to my computer from my iPhone.  I converted the particular photo color profile within the Photoshop File "Save", and also changed my specific photo's regular file to RGB, independent of Photoshop.

Would anyone be able to offer another solution?

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Dec 16, 2020 Dec 16, 2020

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

If the file truly has an INPUT ICC profile embedded, then, using the Photoshop's Edit / Convert to Profile and selecting, as destination for the conversion, a working colour space such as Adobe RGB or sRGB would solve that issue. 

 

BUT do note [for layered files] - when converting:

Community Beginner ,  
Nov 11, 2017

Copy link to clipboard

 

Just remember to uncheck the "Flatten Image to Preserve Appearance" check box.

#wheredidallmylayersandworkgo

 

and the implications of that - 

DFossse also noted:

Numerical adjustments are color space specific, and if you have adjustment layers, the file's appearance will change in the new color space. You will have to readjust them all.

 

If you've done that - and still see the error message described earlier, then that seems like a bug.

 

You can report it as a bug here
https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/categories/photoshop_family_photoshop

 

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]

 

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Explorer ,
Oct 05, 2023 Oct 05, 2023

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Adobe should recognize that no-one wants an error message that doesn't provide a solution. 

Ok Adobe, so you know that i'm trying to place an image and you know the reason that you aren't able to do it, so then please do the thing you need to do so that i can do the thing i need to do, are you dumb?

 

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines