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CM Settings in Adobe Elements 4?

2006-04-13 by Jack Winberg

Hi All:

It is important for the input color space for PFP to be Adobe RGB 
1998.  In Adobe Elements 4 (WINDOWS), in setting up the color 
management options, does the choice of "Always Optimize for Printing" 
(Uses Adobe RGB Color Space"), actually ASSOCIATE, TAG or EMBED the 
image, with Adobe RGB?  Can one be assured that this setting properly 
prepares the image for PFP use?  I find the behavior of this setting 
rather vaguely described and am unsure what to tell users of this software.

Jack Winberg

Re: [colorvision_group] CM Settings in Adobe Elements 4?

2006-04-13 by CDTobie@aol.com

In a message dated 4/13/06 2:37:43 PM, jack.winberg@... writes:

It is important for the input color space for PFP to be Adobe RGB 1998. In Adobe Elements 4 (WINDOWS), in setting up the color management options, does the choice of "Always Optimize for Printing" (Uses Adobe RGB Color Space"), actually ASSOCIATE, TAG or EMBED the image, with Adobe RGB? Can one be assured that this setting properly prepares the image for PFP use? I find the behavior of this setting rather vaguely described and am unsure what to tell users of this software.

Elements will use AdobeRGB at the "full color management setting" (apparently renamed in v4), and the sRGB space at the simple color management setting (which I would predict is now called "always optimize for the web"...) This means it will assume these spaces for untagged files, will invisibly convert tagged files to these spaces on opening, will tag files on save with these profiles, and will send these profiles to the printer if you choose to let the printer do the output conversion (instead of having Elements do the workingspace to printer profile conversion for you, as is necessary with custom printer profiles).

So you can run an sRGB workflow by choosing the web setting, or an AdobeRGB workflow by choosing the optimize for print setting. If some of your images come from an sRGB camera or scanner thats clever enough to tag them, then they will be fine in the AdobeRGB workflow, but if they are untagged by the camera, scanner (or the web), it will get the color wrong. If you have a camera that can be set to AdobeRGB, then the AdobeRGB workflow is great, though you could convert the images to sRGB by using the web workflow... if the camera tags the files, which most cameras sophistocated enough to use AdobeRGB will do.

So basicly the full range of correct embed, tag and assume functions work as they should, though a few bad assumptions can occur. I suspect (though I've never bothered to check) that by changing from the AdobeRGB setting to the sRGB one, you could open an untagged file that should be sRGB correctly (which would NOT happen at the AdobeRGB setting), resave it (so that it will now be correctly tagged sRGB) then change your setting to full color management (now called print optimized it seems) and reopen the saved file, and have it invisibly, but correctly converted from sRGB to AdobeRGB, where you can now work on your file and resave in the desired AdobeRGB space. Not a direct solution, but not bad for a sub-hundred dollar application either...

C. David Tobie
Product Technology Manager
ColorVision Business Unit
Datacolor Inc.
CDTobie@colorvision.com
www.colorvision.com

Datacolor User to User Support Group.

CM Settings in Adobe Elements 4?

CM Settings in Adobe Elements 4?

Re: [colorvision_group] CM Settings in Adobe Elements 4?

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