How to Setup Photoshop Color Management

Adobe Photoshop uses color manager to determine the handling of color data that does not immediately match the overflow of your current color management. Color manger provide instructions for the program to deal with your newly opened image or when you import color data into an active file.

By gathering color management controls in a Color Settings window, Photoshop simplifies your task setting up a work flow for managing colors. There is preset color management settings list that you can choose to work with, or adjust the controls manually to customize your own settings. The manager even allows you to save customized settings to share them with other Adobe products, i.e. Illustrator, which also uses the Color Manager to manage the color settings.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop, any version
• Mouse
• Some Photoshop experience helpful

1. Do either one below to open the color manager:
   
   (1) In Macintosh OS and Windows: Edit > Color Settings.
   
   (2) For Mac OS only: Photoshop > Color Settings.

2. PREDEFINED COLOR MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW SETUP
   
   Choose either one of the options on the Color Setting menu:
   
   (1) ColorSync Workflow - - for Mac OS only. Activate this option if you want to use with a mix of Adobe and non-Adobe products for the color management.
   
   (2) Emulate Photoshop 4 - - color management for Photoshop versions 4.0 and earlier. For both Mac OS and Windows.
   
   (3) Photoshop 5 Default Spaces - - color management for Photoshop versions 5.0 and newer. For both Mac OS and Windows.
   
   (4) Web Graphics Defaults - - controls color for web content. Meaning that the color manager is set to specific colors suitable for web publishing.
   
   (5) U.S. Prepress Defaults - - controls color for documents that will be published under U.S. common press conditions.
   
   (6) Japan Prepress Defaults - - same as the #5 above, but used for output in Japan.
   
   (7) Europe Prepress Defaults - - same as #5 and #6 above, but for use in Europe; for files that will be output under European common press conditions.

3. CUSTOMIZE COLOR MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW SETUP
   
   Under Color Management Policies (in the Color Settings window), select one of the following:
   
   (1) Off - - if you want the color manager to stop manage imported, new or opened data.
   
   (2) Preserve Embedded Profiles - - if you know that you will be working with a mix of "non-color managed" and "color managed" documents.
   
   (3) Convert to Working Space - - this will force all documents/color data to use the "current" color managing profile as a guideline for the color manager.
   
   By default, while you make adjustments to the color managing profile, the Settings option auto-changes to "Custom" from what the Adobe previously set when Photoshop was shipped.

4. 
    
   Photoshop color management

   More about the Photoshop color manager:
   
   The job of color manager (which uses Photoshop color management policy) looks for the preset or customized color profile related with an opened file or imported color data; image. It compares the preset color profile with the current working color data or document to make decisions on default color management. The color management policy is important for comparing imported document or color data with its preset profile for creating and editing colors, this helps the Photoshop color manager to decide how to handle color data in the document/image efficiently, which in turn helps make your projects in Photoshop flow smoothly.
   
   Color management policy in Adobe Photshop sold in the U.S. is by default set to U.S. Prepress Defaults. See #5 Step 2 for description.

[sonni57]

on 6/15/2009 Thanks for the good explanation on photoshop color management this is sure to help those who use it.

[goodselfme]

on 6/14/2009 Good tips to set up photoshop color management.