[AP] Difference between Apply ICC and Softproof?

[maritan]

I have a 27" iMac and have calibrated my screen using a ColorMunki Display. I'm using the latest released version of Affinity Photo.

 

I recently printed out some pictures (exported as JPEG from AP - File -> Export...) at my local Costco and got a batch of unusable prints - pictures were less saturated, cooler temperature and much darker - lots of crushed blacks - than what I expected. I understand that a picture on the monitor and in print are going to be different, but this difference was more than that.

 

I got the ICC profile for their printer and tried to use the softproof adjustment layer to see how the picture looked on screen compared to the print out. There was a noticeable change when I selected the correct ICC profile in the window, but not at all close to the printout. This option will not allow me to make a decision to print or not based on the way it works right now.

 

Next, I used "Document -> Apply ICC..." to load the same ICC file (softproof layer deleted) and this made the display match the printout very, very closely. Not quite bang on, but enough for me to know I was in the vicinity of what I'd see when printing out.

 

My question is this - what is the difference between Apply ICC and Softproof "adjustment" layer? Should the Softproof adjustment layer allow me to work, say in sRGB, and then toggle it on and off to mimic applying ICC to the document?

[Leigh]

Assign ICC profile will assign the selected profile to your document where as the SoftProofing Adjustment Layer is only used to preview how your document will look when using the selected profile. This adjustment layer will not show when exported or printed.

 

What ICC profile is your document currently using?

[maritan]

Leigh,

 

Thanks for responding. Here's my workflow developed after the first round of printing (resulting in unusable prints) as far as printing goes:

 

1. Edit image as needed in sRGB (original colour space) ->

2. Add Softproof adjustment layer -> Change profile to printer ICC -> Compare monitor display to unusable prints -> Not close at all ->

3. Delete Softproof layer -> Apply ICC of printer to document -> Compare monitor display to printouts -> Very close to unusable prints (not exact, but enough for me to make an educated decision on how to further tweak the image for better prints)

 

I understand that the softproof layer is not supposed to show up when exported and printed - which is perfect for my application. That's exactly what I want. But, I found the Softproof adjustment layer so vastly different from the expected print output that for my purposes, it's utterly unusable. Now, I end up with two AFPHOTO files: one with sRGB colour space that will be used to display on web, and another with Printer ICC profile applied to actually print the photographs. This doesn't seem the most efficient way of doing things, and I'm wondering if this is a bug in the implementation Softproof layer or if it's a bug in the way I'm thinking about things.

 

I'm trying to attach the ICC file, but I get an error message saying I'm not permitted to upload this kind of file. Here's the link for it:

 

https://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/Profiles/IccFiles/Arizona/Costco-AZ-Chandler-Lus.icc

[Leigh]

Thanks for getting back to me :)

 

Changing the Rendering Intent dropdown in the Soft Proof Layer to Relative Colourimetric should give you the same result as assigning the Printer ICC to the image - it did for me on my test image using sRGB colour space. 

 

Also, looking through the Dry Creek website it states that the Fuji Frontier printer doesn't read embedded profiles. This means that you will need to use Document > Convert ICC Profile and select the Fuji Frontier ICC profile and export to JPG or TIFF. More information can be found here: https://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

[maritan]

Changing the Rendering Intent dropdown in the Soft Proof Layer to Relative Colourimetric should give you the same result as assigning the Printer ICC to the image - it did for me on my test image using sRGB colour space. 

Using Relative Colourimetric in the Soft Proof Layer does get closer to the Assign ICC option, but it's still a little brighter than the Assign ICC option. My starting point is also sRGB colour space.

 

 

Also, looking through the Dry Creek website it states that the Fuji Frontier printer doesn't read embedded profiles. This means that you will need to use Document > Convert ICC Profile and select the Fuji Frontier ICC profile and export to JPG or TIFF. More information can be found here: https://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

 

Yes, you are correct. Thanks for pointing this out. I have another batch to print up, so I'll use the Convert ICC profile instead of Assign ICC to see if I get closer.

 

Thanks again for the feedback.

[Leigh]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully the next batch will turn out as expected :)

[anon1]

Assign ICC profile will assign the selected profile to your document where as the SoftProofing Adjustment Layer is only used to preview how your document will look when using the selected profile. This adjustment layer will not show when exported or printed.

it will affect export, thus it is crucial to uncheck/ hide it before export 

 

for more information on color management 

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/33820-color-profiles-management-eg-srgb-adobergb/?p=165094

 

and soft proofing

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/32516-soft-proof-in-practice/

(which also has a reference to a recent official video tutorial 

 

cheers