Jump to content

When to attach the required colour profile?


Recommended Posts

Hi all, I'm new to working in a colour managed workflow and haven't found a straight answer to this question. I'm looking to send 8-bit TIFF files to a professional print house and they require that files have the Adobe 1998 RGB profile embedded.

I'm editing RAW files for printing and it looks like there are three places I can potentially add this profile:

  1. As the output profile from the develop persona when editing the RAW
  2. Assigning/converting the document during editing after RAW developing
  3. On export by embedding the profile in the export dialogue

The question I can't find an answer to is whether I need to use this profile all the way through my workflow from step 1, or can I just use whatever the defaults are and embed it at export without bad things happening? Export doesn't have an assignment/convert option so it's not entirely clear what impact embedding a different profile at the export step actually has.

As seems common the print house's help info is all based on Adobe products and isn't very helpful for anyone not using them unfortunately.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Morat said:

As seems common the print house's help info is all based on Adobe products and isn't very helpful for anyone not using them unfortunately.

I think that the methodology of the correct use of ICC profiles is quite general - for any workflow, not dependent on any specific product. On specific application can depend only where (in which dialog) the respective profile is set. So if you have any recommendations from the printer that relate to your questions (ICC in develop/edit/export), apply them to Affinity as well.

P.S. You might be interested in this document.

EIZO_Color_Management_Handbook_EJP.pdf

Edited by Pšenda

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.5.5.2636 (Retail)
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.4317.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.4317.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Morat said:

...I can potentially add this profile:

  1. As the output profile from the develop persona when editing the RAW
  2. Assigning/converting the document during editing after RAW developing
  3. On export by embedding the profile in the export dialogue

In the absence of (or in addition to) any other factors that might be an influence, my general practice* is to keep the color space as large as possible, for a long as possible, throughout my editing workflow. The reason is to, as much as possible, avoid potential gamut / conversion issues and maintain the most room for stretching, raising, etc., colors and tones with minimal artifacts. That's why I stay in ROMM RGB / ProPhoto until export.

So generally I'd lean toward #3 but I'm no uber-expert (at all!) and there may be specific considerations that come into scope for your workflow. If you run into conversion artifacts upon export, maybe drop back to #2 but just prior to export (so you can check and mitigate).

* Not specifically for print, but the same logic generally applies unless something specific overrules it.

Len
Affinity Photo 2 | QCAD 3 | FastStone | SpyderX Pro | FOSS:  ART darktable  XnView  RawTherapee  Inkscape  G'MIC  LibreOffice
Windows 11 on a 16 GB, Ryzen 5700 8-core laptop with a cheesy little embedded AMD GPU

Canon T8i / 850D | Canon EF 24-70mm F4L IS USM | Canon EF 70-200mm F4 L USM | Rikenon P 50mm f/1.7 | K&F Concept Nano-X filters
...desperately looking for landscapes in Nolandscapeland        Flickr

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When working with wide gamut color profiles it is important to use RGB/16 instead of RGB/8. otherwise you have a high risk of banding effects in areas with smooth gradients.

So a agree to the advise, export to RGB/8 and a smaller gamut as last step. Keep all edits in RGB/16 and any suitable wide color format.

Also note AdobeRGB and other wide gamut formats do not contain (fully overlap) each other. Depending which colors are actually used in the document, and the intended output (print, lcd display) you may need switch earlier to AdobeRGB (still RGB/16). After exporting, check the exported files for issues like clipped tones or banding.

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

My posts focus on technical aspects and leave out most of social grease like „maybe“, „in my opinion“, „I might be wrong“ etc. just add copy/paste all these softeners from this signature to make reading more comfortable for you. Otherwise I’m a fine person which respects you and everyone and wants to be respected.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.