File Preparation

Preparing files for print

In Adobe Photoshop:

• Ensure Your file has embedded Adobe RGB (1998) ICC Profile
• With the image open in Photoshop select Edit, CONVERT to Profile (do NOT select assign to profile, this will likely cause a shift in color)
• Set the Destination Space Profile to: Adobe RGB (1998), click Ok.
• It is likely your Source Space will be sRGB IEC6 1966-2.1, so you should see little to no color shift. However if you are coming from another Source Space such as ProPhoto RGB which is larger than AdobeRGB 1998, you may experience some color shift due to gamut compression.

Understanding Proper Color Management

Accurate color is only possible with a properly calibrated color workflow, and a basic understanding of proper color management principles.

Color management is a system of different imaging devices (such as your camera or scanner, a computer and it's monitor, or a printer) and the process of properly changing the way colors are interpreted on the different devices to ensure the colors appear the same to the human eye.

Each device in the color management workflow has it's own limitations of how much color (how many different colors) it can produce/capture (cameras and scanners "capture" colors while printers and monitors "produce/display" colors). Some devices will be able to capture or produce more colors than other devices. The amount of color a device can capture or produce is called the device's gamut.

We use an ICC profile to help convert colors from device to device. An ICC profile is a big table of color values that represent all the colors a specific device can produce and measurable unique values (L*, a*, b*) that allow us to properly change colors from one device's color gamut to another device's color gamut. Common analogies for ICC profiles are maps and coordinates on the map. Different maps may use different units of measure, but if the maps are of the same geographical area, the same locations exist on both maps.

Unfortunately camera capture technology has drastically outpaced printer technology. As a result, even though we have the most advanced printers available today, our printers still can't produce nearly as many colors as most cameras/scanners can capture. Going back to our map analogy, this would be like having two maps, but one map shows the whole world, while the second map only shows North America. In situations like this, we use a mathematical principle called "Rendering Intent" to substitute color values that are as close to the color values of the larger gamut, but exist in the smaller gamut device. This is known as gamut compression and this will result in some small color shifts in prints from time to time.

In order to ensure we know the colors in your files, we request that a color profile be saved inside the file when preparing the file for printing. This is like a key on a map, it lets us know what the color values are and how to convert the colors to work on our printers. The profile that is embedded in your file is known as a source profile.

We use Adobe RGB 1998 as our source profile for printing, and calibrate our printers with a G7 process to ensure a neutral print density. Our in house G7 Expert, Matthew Sambrook; the only certified G7 Expert in Washington, performs this calibration.

Now you have a basic understanding of proper color management. For more information on color management, please contact our customer service department!