Which Display profile on MacbookPro(Retina) is suitable for working in Photoshop?

[harunaa14494993]

Hi, I've been working on Photoshop for the last few years(pretty much self-taught)  but only recently learnt about 'colour management' etc. (shame on me!!)

I'm currently editing scanned watercolour illustrations in Photoshop CC, on MacbookPro Retina.

After having read numerous amounts of articles about colour settings/managements/profiles on Photoshop, there's still something I'm not sure with: Display Profile

At the moment, the display profile is set to its default; Display LCD.

I would like to work in photoshop with sRGB Working Spaces(but eventually convert it to CMYK in InDesign).

Or does none of this matter as I'm only working on my laptop and not using any of external display nor calibration..

I'd really appreciate for some help!

Thank you

Haruna

[Derek Cross]

‌Re your proposed InDesign conversion to CMYK,  what is your final printing destination, is it your desk-top printer, a commercial litho printer or what?

[harunaa14494993]

Hi Derek, thank you for answering here too!

It will be printed here:CreateSpace: Self Publishing and Free Distribution for Books, CD, DVD

When I personally asked them which colour profile is best to work with in Photoshop, they couldn't give me a clear answer but suggested that CMYK would do. And after having some research and reading up on discussions in CreateSpace regarding the same topic as mine, I think they do well in sRGB as well. So I'm not 100% sure about converting to CMYK as they do a fine job printing sRGB files.

What I would probably do is to work in RGB, and Proof Setup>CMYK, and turn on Gamut Warning.. Not even sure if I'm doing anything right or wrong.

[Derek Cross]

‌As your printer hasn't given you a spec it'd probably best to work in RGB in InDesign, and export the InDesign document using the Acrobat PDF Presets, selecting PDF/X-4. In the subsequent Acrobat panel, select individual pages (not spreads), and tick Use Document Bleed Settings.

[harunaa14494993]

Thank you so, so much, Derek!

I will try doing those.. and hopefully everything should turn out alright!

[Derek Cross]

‌Lynda.com has an excellent online tutorial on color management and InDesign -

InDesign Insider Training: Color Management | Lynda.com

You can get a 10 day free trial.

[harunaa14494993]

Thank you Derek! Will have a look!

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

The profile that it's set to at the factory (Display or Color LCD) is a good default.

But that factory profile is generic, so the very best profile is one that you make with a separate device that measures your specific display, and generates a profile customized for your display. If you don't have one of those, stick with the default profile that Apple set.

The purpose of that profile is to tell OS X how your display reproduces color, so don't choose non-display profiles like Adobe RGB or sRGB in the Displays system preference. You should only choose a profile that's listed after you select "Show profiles for this display only." If you want to work in sRGB, choose sRGB as the RGB working space in Photoshop Color Settings. When you save a Photoshop file (with Save As), make sure Embed Color Profile is selected. That way, when you have InDesign convert those RGB images to CMYK, it will know what kind of RGB it's converting from.

[harunaa14494993]

Thank you very much, SaturnV!

All I have been searching for.. if working in the default setting was an alright thing to do..

Will keep those in my mind!

Thanks again!

[D Fosse]

(Just for summing up:) The original question does indeed have a very simple and very precise answer:

The best display profile is the one that accurately describes the display's characteristics.

That's basically it. A calibrator will make that, based on actual measurements.

[harunaa14494993]

Thank you D Fosse.

So I'm assuming that, as SaturnV suggested, for me to work on my Macbook Pro, the default Display LCD is good to work with..(without a calibrator?)?

..obviously there is still, so, so, so much to learn...

Thank you!

[D Fosse]

Correct, SaturnV's post is right on the mark.

Just wanted to sum it all up in one general principle

[harunaa14494993]

Thank you very much!!