Proof setup display colour changes when reselecting Monitor RGB

[J22808556dsmy]

I'm quite sure i don't understand the logic behind this as I've searched this topic as best I can online, but having the right question leads to better answers, and I don't quite know what the question is yet.

If i open a document in photoshop v24, the colours appear somewhat blown out and can look overly saturated.

On checking View > Proof Setup, this is always set to Monitor RGB.

However, if I then select View > Proof Setup > Monitor RGB again - or reselect it as the case may be - the colours dull and becomes less saturated.

On output, though, the image appears to follow the second, less saturated colour palette.

I think that my question would be something like: is there a way to fix the Proof Setup in photoshop so that i am not reselecting Monitor RGB every time?

[D Fosse]

This means your monitor profile is defective/incorrect.

Proof to Monitor RGB disables the display color managent chain and bypasses the monitor profile. Without an accurate monitor profile, Photoshop cannot display correctly.

Are you using a calibrator to make your monitor profile? If not, you may be getting manufacturer profiles distributed through Windows Update, and these profiles are surprisingly often bad.

[J22808556dsmy]

No, the last time I remember seeing a monitor calibrator was probably 1997... and that was to calibrate our print guy's old sun microsystems apple macintosh clone!

I have an eight year old BenQ 27" monitor - it does the job, but is by no means a high spec piece of hardware.

[D Fosse]

It's not about the monitor itself. It's about the monitor profile, a standard icc profile like any other icc profile, sitting in the system profile directory.

A calibrator will make this profile by measuring color patches, and plotting the response into the profile. The profile is a map of how the monitor behaves. Like any map, it has to correspond to the actual terrain to be useful.

Photoshop converts the document RGB numbers into the monitor profile, on the fly, as it sends them to the monitor. This happens under the covers as you work, continuously. But if the profile isn't correct, the wrong numbers will come out.

Proofing to Monitor RGB short-circuits this whole process, and sends the original document numbers directly to the monitor, without this correction. In other words, no color management.

[NB, colourmanagement]

@J22808556dsmy It's not correct procedure to select Monitor RGB in proof setup as a rule.

you wrote: On checking View > Proof Setup, this is always set to Monitor RGB.

by "checking" do you mean activating (adding the checkmark) or "looking at"?

please make a screenshot of that dialog box [and post it inline using the little image icon above your reply].

It would be u useful to make the various screenshots of your proof setup process and add explanation as to what you are doing please. 

Note that unless you activate it proof colours (it will show a checkmark) is not affecting your image 

Maybe read  Photoshop's embedded Adobe help pages on proof setup and proof colors. 

you wrote: If i open a document in photoshop v24, the colours appear somewhat blown out and can look overly saturated.

over saturated compared to what? 

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
Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.
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[J22808556dsmy]

If i open up photoshop, then navigate to the following:

what we see is that Monitor RGB is selected by default?

If i were to now open an image, that image appears oversaturated and too rich in colour.

But if i then go back to the View menu as per the first screencap above and actually select (click on) View > Proof Setup > Monitor RGB, with the image still open, the image will then change in saturation and become duller and generally look more authentic?

Although it is not hugely visible in the above two examples you should hopefully be able to see the differentiation between the two snippets where the first is much more vibrant and too rich in colour.

I can post other examples if that's of use to more clearly illustrate this disparity?

[NB, colourmanagement]

@J22808556dsmy when you do the first step adobe, you are just  viewing what's selected as an option for softproofing. The checked item being remembered from how it was previously set last time you opened that menu.

You'll see that "proof colors" [next item down in the list] is not checked, therefore softproofing is not activated.

Once you click on the checked selection (in your case Monitor RGB then  "proof colors" is checked so you are actually activating softproofing.

Hence the difference you see. [You just switched off colour management]

You can toggle "proof colors" on and off to see this - with Ctrl+Y on Windows or CMD+Y on the Mac keyboard.

But, to repeat, selecting Monitor RGB here and activating Proof Colors is simply circumventing colour management not and sending the raw image RGB numbers to the screen. Photoshop's softproofing is predicting for you how a non colour managed system would show your image. 

As D. Fosse has written - you do need a good ICC Monitor profile. Contrary to your opinion these are not a thing of the past but an important part of accurate image viewing on screen 

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
Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.
Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

[J22808556dsmy]

I cannot seem to edit my reply of two minutes ago so unfortunately i cannot correct the odd inline formatting that this platform appears to have applied to that post, apologies.

[D Fosse]

@J22808556dsmy 

I need to be clear: do not use Proof!

Read my latest post above again. This is a bad monitor profile, and Proof just shows that it's a bad monitor profile. It doesn't fix anything. The profile is the problem.

[NB, colourmanagement]

@Flora_Evista9408 you wrote "make sure the Monitor RGB profile is accurate"

I'm sure you mean well,  but how would the @J22808556dsmy  know whether their Monitor RGB profile is accurate without a known image and some kind of printed reference to compare?

To solve that I recommend this: 

Have you ever wondered how to KNOW whether your screen [or printer] is ACCURATE and not just 'pleasing'?
If so please check this out: http://www.colourmanagement.net/products/icc-profile-verification-kit

Built in visual display calibration tools are notoriously inaccurate. Display CAL requires a calibration sensor (which generally comes with its own free software) 

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
Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.
Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.