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johnh45913112
Participating Frequently
April 21, 2023
Answered

Printing from Photoshop or Lightroom Classic without any color management

  • April 21, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 5887 views

I want to print from Photoshop or Lightroom Classic without any color correction at all. It was possible some time ago, until Adobe changed Photoshop. They then introduced Adobe Color Printer Utility as a solution. However, that program is not updated to work with later OsX. So what is the solution now?

Setting File>Print>"Photoshop Manages Colors" forces user to select and ICC profile in the list menu. Setting "Printer Manages Colors" have no (apperent) setting for "No Color Management"/"Profile Making" that I can find (see two attachments). However, its extremeley easy in some other non-Adibe app to print without color management (see third attachment with "Profile Creation" setting.

I have turned to Adobe chat support, but after hours, I still don't know for sure. Adobe chat support first suggested to select sRGB in list menu (?) and that would somehow stop color managment. I didn't understood that logic. Next support wrote after wanting me to reset Photoshop completely, that there are no current solution.

The purpose is to print color patches in order to measure the colors and create ICC printer/paper/ink profiles. It's very easy to do from some other apps, but I dont want my clients to be forced to buy an additional app (go outside their Adobe eco system with PS & Lr) when printing the color patches needed for profile making. 

Do you have a solution withing Photoshop 2023 or Lightroom Classic, or is the current (2023-April-21) solution only to buy another separate software?

Reference:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/no-color-management-option-missing.html
"The Adobe Color Printer Utility is not supported on macOS Catalina 10.15 or later."

"Use the Adobe Color Printer Utility application to print your targets without color management applied."

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer TheDigitalDog

A null profile conversion assumes a profile. that is not printing without color management. The proper way to print targets is to send RGB numbers to the print driver without management.

5 replies

NB, colourmanagement
Community Expert
NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 24, 2023

I've not been able to test it on latest macOS but it's said to still work despite Adobe's comments to the contrary. 

 

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

TheDigitalDog
TheDigitalDog
Inspiring
April 21, 2023

Printing targets without color management using the ColorSync utility (cause it's not intuitive):

http://digitaldog.net/files/PrintingTargetsCSUtility.pdf

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    April 21, 2023

    You can't use LR or PS to print without color management! Not since, like Photoshop CS5 or so. 

    Those of us who need to print targets for creating an ICC profile must do this, we can't without using the Adobe Color Print Utility (free) or one can do this with the ColorSync utility also free and a few other applications. A null profile isn't the same as using no color management to print (send the numbers, AS IS to the print driver). 

    Adobe Color Print utility does still work! Even under Ventura. So use that or the ColorSync utility on your Mac. 

    Or, better yet, just print through the application that produces the target and should if it's worth its salt, allow you to print the targets without color management. 

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
      J
      johnh45913112Author
      Participating Frequently
      April 21, 2023

      Thank you, Andrew!

      Can you please explain why "No color management" gives different results vs "null profile" for us?

      Good to know that Adobe Color Print Utility works, despite that Adobe states otherwise. 

       

      I have no problems printing without color managment, using either the program(s) that created the target or other alternatives. However, others who wants to print color patches and send them for profiling don't own the same software as I do. They usually only have PS and Lr. Therefore my initial question.

       

        TheDigitalDog
        TheDigitalDogCorrect answer
        Inspiring
        April 21, 2023

        A null profile conversion assumes a profile. that is not printing without color management. The proper way to print targets is to send RGB numbers to the print driver without management.

        Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
          T
          Test Screen Name
          Legend
          April 21, 2023

          Isn't that a printer with a 12-ink system?

          J
          johnh45913112Author
          Participating Frequently
          April 21, 2023

          Yes

          T
          Test Screen Name
          Legend
          April 21, 2023

          Ok, here is my understanding - I can't see how the concept of "no colour management" could ever be used for that printer. If it were a CMYK PostScript printer, it is possible to imagine designing in the actual ink colours. But when you work with a 12-colour printer, it is always sent RGB. Then the RGB is converted to some actual mix of 12 inks. This process is, by definition, colour management. It can't be turned off, because it's fundamental to it. If you choose "let the printer manage colour" then the RGB from your design is sent to the printer, and the printer converts to 12 inks according to its setup, and you get ink on paper. It isn't always going to to the same job, of course, because one person might be working on an sRGB document and and another person might be working on an Adobe RGB document. These of course should convert the SAME RGB colour to DIFFERENT 12-colour mixes, otherwise something is broken. But the result sounds ideal for making a profile from a patch, because it will be a true reflection of what will happen if a colour managed app prints specific colours.

            D Fosse
            Community Expert
            D FosseCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            April 21, 2023

            If you set the print profile to be the same as the document profile, color management is effectively turned off. No conversion happens, which is the definition of no color management.

             

            This applies to any and all color management everywhere. If the two profiles are the same, nothing happens. Doesn't matter which profile it is. It's known as a "null transform".

             

            None of this has any effect on the printer driver settings for media type and so on. That's not part of the color management chain and is a separate concern. But I assume that's just a matter of consistent settings (I don't do printer profiling).

             

            J
            johnh45913112Author
            Participating Frequently
            April 21, 2023

            Thank you, that sounds logical.

            However, I don't find the profile in list menu when Photoshop Manages Color and I cannot select it when selecing "Printer Manages Color".

            Example: Image has sRGB assigned as profile, and sRGB exists in OsX but is not visible in the Photoshop listmenu.

            What to do about that?


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