Introduction to color management
Sometimes the colors in the same image will look different on different monitors. The color of an image printed with a desktop printer may look very different from the color of a printed image in a publication. If you need to generate consistent colors between different devices, you should use color management as an important part of your workflow.
Learn about color
Color is how you perceive light. Light can be reflected, transmitted, refracted, or emitted.
Why colors sometimes do not match
When you view an image from a scanner or digital camera on a computer monitor, the colors in the image change. When you send an image to a desktop printer or press for printing, the color changes again. This is because various devices (digital cameras, scanners, computer monitors, desktop printers, printers) use different color spaces when they are running. If the color conversion from one color space to another color space is incorrect or lacks this conversion, color inconsistencies will result. Correctly converting color values ​​produces a consistent color. For more information about correctly converting color values, see Using Color Management to Generate Consistent Colors.
Use color management to generate consistent colors
Importing images from source devices, editing images on a computer, and outputting images, you need to maintain the appearance of colors in the process. Photoshop's color management system can help you achieve this. The color management workflow used by Photoshop is based on the conventions set by the International Color Consortium (ICC), which is responsible for setting standards for configuration file formats and processes, with the goal of producing consistent colors for collaborating software and devices.
Calibrate and create configuration files
The color management system knows the way the device generates colors and the actual colors in the document through the configuration file. When you add a device to your system, it usually installs a device configuration file. The accuracy of these configuration files (commonly referred to as generic profiles or prefabricated profiles) varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Third-party software and hardware can also create device profiles (often called custom profiles).
The color management system uses a configuration file to correctly convert colors from one color space to another. A. Profiles that describe the meaning of RGB values ​​in documents. B. Color management systems that use color labels to identify actual colors. Output profile (destination profile), which describes the color space of the device so that when printing in CMYK, the RGB values ​​are converted correctly to maintain a consistent color
Use Photoshop color settings
Unless properly set up, the color management system does not guarantee the expected color effect. You calibrated the monitor, created a profile for all devices, but the resulting colors still changed unexpectedly. Photoshop simplifies the task of setting up color management workflows by centralizing most of the color management controls in one convenient location - the "Color Settings" dialog box.
About the workspace
The workspace is the default profile for images edited in Photoshop. It defines the color space where the image being edited is located.
Lab
You cannot select it as a workspace in the Color Settings dialog box. If you choose to edit a document in Lab mode, the document will be converted to the monitor's color space before viewing the document, and the available editing functions will be reduced accordingly. Since Lab contains all visible colors, from a practical point of view, it is better to use a work space that is smaller or more suitable for the device's color space for capturing, displaying, or outputting images.
RGB workspace
It is based on the RGB color model. Some RGB workspace options are device-dependent (for example, a monitor profile-based workspace) and some are device-independent (for example, Adobe RGB, Apple RGB, and sRGB). For most image editing, it is best to use a device-independent workspace.
CMYK workspace
It is device-related. Although the RGB workspace can be device-independent, the CMYK workspace is based on the actual combination of ink and paper. In general, it is best to use the RGB workspace to edit the image in Photoshop, and when you are ready to print the image, use the associated CMYK profile to convert the RGB image to CMYK. The data in the CMYK workspace is the data used to convert the image to CMYK. For more information on RGB and CMYK workspaces, see Choosing RGB Workspaces and Choosing CMYK Workspaces.
Photoshop offers the option to embed workspace profiles when you store images. It is recommended that you embed the configuration file because the configuration file tells Photoshop and other applications that support color management the color meaning of the values ​​in the document.
Adobe RGB and sRGB are smaller than Lab color spaces and they provide the actual workspace for editing images and outputting images. A. Adobe RGB (1998) B. sRGB