ICC Profiles

January 22, 2011 • Tim Parkin

ICC Profiles and colour management seem to be the bane of many photographers lives. Understanding why and how to apply them seems a little like magic. Most of this confusion arises because simple descriptions of how they work are few and far between. I hope this article can act as an introduction to the intricacies of colour management, letting you get an overall understanding and acting as a jumping off point if you wish to look further.

The first thing to understand is why we need colour management at all! Well we’ll try and use an anology so bear with me.

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9 Responses

  1. EDTphotography

    This was very helpful, i have been struggling with this area of my photography for a while, i was so close to getting the prints i wanted but this clarification has allowed me to finally get there. keep up the good work.

    On January 27, 2011 at 9:42 am • Reply
  2. stevefrance

    Very useful Tim, and nicely presented.

    I do wonder at all those photographers with digital cameras, that process their images, and work in colour spaces that simply just wont print like they present them on their websites.

    Perhaps you could put together a resources page on the site, containing all links that were included in various posts, and even have an ftp area for sharing resources, like profiles, actions etc..?

    On January 28, 2011 at 2:28 pm • Reply
  3. Robinj

    Nice introduction. Here is where i dip in for no nonsense info. http://www.normankoren.com/printer_calibration.html

    On January 28, 2011 at 3:26 pm • Reply
  4. Tweets that mention ICC Profiles | Great British Landscapes -- Topsy.com linked to this.
    On January 29, 2011 at 8:37 am • Reply
  5. frankman57

    Hi Robinj,

    thank you for being so kind in supplying the calibration link.

    I haven’t been able to study it at length, but I shall do so.

    I’ve just joined as a subscriber to Landscapegb and hope to learn a lot of information.

    My set up is Canon 7D, Canon i9950 A3 printer, Photoshop CS ( version 8 ), which I’m not very good at, and HDR Photo Pro.

    For several years, all my prints have been disappointing, not matching what I see on screen at all – usually darker. Last weekend, exploring my DPP menus, I discovered the workspace being sRGB, which I changed to Adobe RGB, to match my camera’s setting. My prints now attempt a close approximation to what I see on screen!

    Regarding calibration, is it necessary? If so, what gadget do you recommend? If my screen is calibrated, how is that info translated to my printer?

    Sorry for being dim, this is a question I’ve been too embarassed to ask anywhere else! :)

    Frank.

    On February 2, 2011 at 11:04 pm • Reply
  6. Robinj

    I would not claim to be an expert and there is some good advice in this issue. I use an imac,epson 2880 and Lightroom3. My screen is calibrated with an xrite i1. I use 3 papers, but mainly Canson baryta photographic, with the standard canson profile. You could also check this out: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/why_are_my_prints_too_dark.shtml
    I continue to make every mistake possible, but from experience the simple mistakes are most common. Check, that your screen is calibrated. That you have colour management off in the printer driver and a good profile. I have had good experience from fotospeed. They offer free paper profiles for paper purchased from them and helped me through the process. Calibration is straightforward,if you have a calibration device. For black and white, i just made test prints using the epson advanced B&W driver, until i got the results that worked. I cut A4 paper down into 4′s for economy and concentrated on shadow and highlights.Now i am an Amateur, printing mainly for my own portfolio or for my wall or that of friends. I have a lot to learn too and the insights from Joe and Tim’s videos, confirm that there are lots of tweaks to learn for continued improvement. You could spend your life on printing and colour managment. The trick is too get to a consistent, good standard and like me try and improve from there. My first prints were also darker than the screen, which i always assumed was because the imac screen cannot be reduced in brightness to satisfy the screen calibration.The Canson and fotospeed profiles seem to have sorted this out.

    On February 5, 2011 at 2:50 pm • Reply
  7. frankman57

    Hello Robinj,
    Thank you for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it!

    I may have to turn off color management in my printer, that’s a good idea.

    Dealing with Fotospeed also sounds like a good tip.

    Thank you,

    Frank.

    On February 6, 2011 at 9:11 pm • Reply
  8. Ivinghoe

    I too used fotospeed to supply a personalised printer profile. They supply all the info you need to print out the target image.
    Then how to set up your printer and software to use it correctly. Worth doing as it takes all the guesswork out of home printing

    On February 12, 2011 at 9:59 pm • Reply
  9. frankman57

    Hello Ivinghoe,

    I’ve been in contact with Fotospeed, their response times are excellent. I’m waiting for some samples to arrive.

    I’ve also ordered a calibration device.

    Frank.

    On February 13, 2011 at 8:34 pm • Reply

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