Color Management:

MonitorRGB < SourceProfile/Space > TargetSpace/Profile

Basic Color Management theory in other words:

1) The Color Management System CMS CONVERTS the SourceSpace/File/Profile into MonitorRGB (the custom "calibrated" monitor profile) and PROOFs the color accurately on the screen.

2) The Color Management System CMS CONVERTS the SourceSpace/File into the TargetProfile/Space (the custom "calibrated" printer profile) -- a SPECIFIC Printer/Paper/Ink ICC Profile or PressCMYK -- and PROOFs the color accurately on the printed paper.

Color Management is ONLY about CONVERSIONS (and knowing the file's SourceSpaceProfile):

• A SourceSpace is CONVERTED to a TargetSpace.

Color Management starts with a good monitor profile (to PROOF the color accurately on screen), and Color Management ends with a good target profile to PROOF the color accurately on the print (in a printing workflow).

The file (the document Source Space) is independent of Photoshop:

The Color Management System CMS, Photoshop, ONLY uses the monitor profile for one thing: To PROOF source file on the monitor (the monitor profile has zero to do with how the file prints).

The Color Management System CMS, Photoshop, ONLY uses the printer (target) profile Print Space for one thing: To PROOF source file on the paper (the printer profile Print Space has zero to do with how the file looks on the monitor).

The simple challenge (for me) is:

1) Knowing the settings when/where the Conversion takes place, and

2) Controlling it (the Conversion).

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While my simple PROOFING ANALOGY doesn't address the pitfalls of relying on a bad monitor to evaluate and adjust digital color, it does make two important facts about Photoshop and professional color-managed printing workflows:

1) The printer can PROOF (print) the source file faithfully regardless of how right or wrong the monitor is set up, and

2) The monitor can PROOF (display) the source file faithfully regardless of how right or wrong the printer is set up.

Getting a known good file (like the Adobe RGB Photodisc reference image) into Photoshop allows me to evaluate the monitor alongside the print to help me identify where the problem is occurring.

For HELP with monitor calibration, troubleshooting and evaluating monitor profiles.

Information about why how and where to download the high-resolution PDI Photodisc RGB reference files.

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To see profiles work on your color-managed web browser:

PROOF my point HERE in your color-managed web browser Safari and FireFox 3 -- a side-by-side comparison tutorial of tagged and untagged AppleRGB, sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998) and visually demonstrates how color management works.

For a free Photoshop tutorial about how Photoshop handles color, a how to Honor profiles in Photoshop, Convert profiles, Assume profiles, and Assign profiles, please see my ASSIGN v CONVERT Adobe Photoshop white paper for Adobe Photoshop CS3 CS2 CS1 PS 10 PS9 PS8 PS7.

For a proven how to make the monitor match the print workflow and take control of the print utility, please see my NO COLOR ADJUSTMENT printing tutorial.

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This online free Adobe Photoshop tutorial can be used with CS3 CS2 CS1 PS 10 PS9 PS8 PS7 PS6.

All a Color Management System CMS does is Convert one Color Space to another:

• A known SourceSpace to a specific TargetSpace.
• How a Color Management System (like ColorSync, Adobe ACE) Works gballard.net.

I like to diagram the entire color management theory like this (and for the most part, this is all we need to understand about Photoshop Color Management theory):

MonitorRGB < SourceFile/Space > TargetSpace/Profile

Terminology:

MonitorRGB = The viewing monitor's accurate custom (calibrated) monitor profile
SourceSpace = The file's or document's Color Space (tagged with a ICC Profile or untagged)
TargetSpace = The printer's accurate specific CMYK, or specific Printer/Paper/Ink ICC Profile

MonitorRGB < SourceSpace > TargetSpace, in other words, in a Color Management System:

SourceSpace is Converted into MonitorRGB and PROOFed accurately on screen.
SourceSpace is Converted into the TargetSpace and PROOFed accurately on paper.

In Photoshop Color Management System CMS, for example:

1) IF the viewing monitor profile is accurate Get a Good Screen gballard.net, and
2) IF Photoshop knows the SourceFile's specific ColorSpace, SourceSpace:

Photoshop's Color Management System CMS will Convert a file's SourceSpace into MonitorRGB and PROOF the file accurately on screen.

Photoshop CS 8 7 6 all Convert a SourceFile into MonitorRGB and onto the viewing monitor screen - we cannot turn this feature off (since version 6, and we couldn't turn this feature on, monitor compensation, on until version 5).

Likewise:

1) IF the printer ICC Profile, CMYK, ColorSpace is accurate, and
2) IF Photoshop knows the specific ColorSpace, the SourceSpace of the SourceFile:

Photoshop Color Management System will Convert a file's SourceSpace into the printer's TargetSpace and PROOF the file accurately on paper.

In other words:

The file's SourceSpace is independent of Photoshop.

The color managed applications - merely - use a Color Management System CMS to PROOF the file accurately on screen, and to PROOF the file accurately on paper (or any other PROOFing device).

The problems users have with Photoshop, and color managed applications are:

1) They break the Color Management System CMS, by attempting to turn it off -- when in fact they can't!
See: Turn Color Management on And Honor my Embedded Profile, Please gballard.net

2) They have bad profiles....

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