Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
If I want to match most of the colors in the photo as closely as possible, I will
use Relative. Relative preserves the tonal relationships in the photo. However,
for photos with very saturated colors, especially blues, oranges and greens,
Perceptual sometimes gives a nicer overall appearance, even though some of the
colors may shit a bit. Perceptual better preserves the color relationships. Only
testing will tell you which is the better rendering intent for a given photo, but
in general, if you want your photos to look nice but don't care if they are totally
accurate, use Perceptual. If you're really trying to match exact colors and tones,
you must use Relative.
6
It's critical that if you use Lightroom's color management with an ic c proi le
and rendering intent, that you disable all color management in the printer
driver; see the “Printing the Job” section below.
Get custom proi les
If you have a device like the X-Rite ColorMunki or EyeOne Pro, you can make
your own printer proi les. If not, you can use a service to do it. It's simple; you
download and print a set of test targets using the provided instructions, let them
cure, and mail them in. h e service bureau makes your own custom proi le
from the targets you printed and typically sends them to you by email. For this
service, I highly recommend http://www.cathysproi les.com. You can also Google
“custom printer proi les” for more options.
Using printer color management
If you can't, or don't want to, have Lightroom handle color management, set the
popup menu to Managed by Printer. Lightroom's color management controls
become disabled. You then make all your color management settings in the
printer driver screens.
One example of when this might apply: I use Epson's Advanced Black and White
driver options for making black and white prints and have been very pleased
with the results. In this case, I turn of Lightroom's color management altogether
and use only the driver settings to handle the output.
You should also set the menu to Managed by Printer if you're sending the i les to
a raster image processor (or “r ip”, such as ImagePrint, Qimage, ColorBurst, etc.)
and want color management handled there.
Soft prooi ng in Photoshop
It's important to remember that because a monitor is a transmissive device
(transmitting light to generate color on the screen) and a print is a rel ective
Search WWH ::




Custom Search