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Printing your photos with Photoshop
Printing from Photoshop has become very simple. If you have a calibrated screen and printer, it can even be pleasant because you won't waste much paper... It is indeed possible to "preview" on your screen how your photo will appear... or almost!
This last page of the Photoshop tutorial on color management is dedicated to printing from this software. Not only does Photoshop allow you to print with the right printing profiles that you have created or had made by an external service provider, but it also has a great function if you have the same ICC profiles and a good calibrated monitor : the printing simulation result on your screen ! On a calibrated graphic chain, a wide screen gamut (if you work with saturated colors) and with non-generic ICC profiles - so made for your printer, it's impressively efficient... at least on paper.
On screen printing simulation: softproofing
It is possible to anticipate to a certain extent on your screen how your photo will be printed. It is possible with Photoshop since version 6, so it has been possible for a very long time. Before I say how, I would like to talk a little bit about it.
As we have seen on the "Color management with Photoshop", the conversion from the image profile to the printer profile is not done, exceptionally, from the Edit menu / Convert to profile but directly in the "Print (CMD + P or CRTL + P)" menu of Photoshop. But before printing, you must choose the conversion mode : relative or perceptual that will be used.
On a calibrated graphic chain, with possibly a calibrated screen (obviously !) with a wide gamut (potentially displaying the Adobe RGB space) if you work with very saturated colors, especially towards greens, it is possible thanks to a simulation on the display. This is called softproofing. This visual conversion simulation does not affect the image at all (does not change the RGB values of your photo) unlike the conversion as we have seen. There is no risk for the image. It is only a simulation in order to visually approach the final result: printing (with all the shades that are appropriate in this case because color management is not an exact science).
Thus, we will be able to anticipate in part a loss of colour, its possible replacement by a less saturated color, the loss of color gradation, etc... Color management is used to keep the L*a*b* colors to a maximum, i.e. the "true" colors of our original file throughout the processing and printing process, even when a device does not know how to print a particular color. We now know that the choice of conversion mode is essential in this process. The real strength of this display simulation menu is therefore the simulation of a conversion BEFORE printing in order to get a good idea of the final result (while taking into account technical constraints). |
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During my on-site training sessions, therefore on very different graphic chains, I was able to verify that the screen / print differences are always present on certain saturated colours or in contrast on certain papers. This is normal and perfectly explainable ! There can only be a match on the common parts of their respective gamut. It is not uncommon to be able to print a "non-displayable" color or the other way around.
If a color is present in the original file, displayable or not on the screen, but not printable, color management will not work miracles ! It will not be printed or more exactly will be printed with the color closest to it (in the colors available for this printer) but more or less slightly less saturated.
Example with the image below : only a small saturated blue part of the sky and the yellow wall in its most saturated part will not be printed as on the original. The other colours will remain particularly close between the original and the print. This is a perfect illustration of this. Move your mouse over the images.
If you move your mouse over the image above you will see the same image that simulates a printing on baryta paper with a conversion to perceptual rendering intent.
If you move your mouse over it above you will see the same image that simulates a printing on baryta paper with a conversion to relative rendering intent.
In both cases, it is clear that some parts do not "move" in relative terms (the parts common to both colorimetric spaces) but it is at the expense of the sky which becomes a little flat. In perceptual mode, top photo, we see that everything moves more or less globally, but that a gradient in the clear part of the sky, at the top right, is preserved. The visual sensation is closer to the original, FOR THIS PHOTO, in perceptual mode.
This is on a case-by-case basis...
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Simulate a print preview : softproofing or "screen proofing"
If you have created or had created an ICC profile for a printer/paper pair, you will be able to know in advance how your image will be printed and especially what corrections to make to it to correct printing weaknesses. For that you have a very practical menu : the "Display / Proof format / Customized" menu : |
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First, choose the profile of the simulation device (non-generic if possible, so created by you or a professional) from the drop-down list (1). Then, after checking that the Preview button was checked, choose the Perception and relative rendering mode alternately. (The other two do not interest us). By alternative comparison, you will sometimes perceive differences. It is not systematic. It depends on the photo, the saturation of its colors and of course your screen and especially its gamut. Then confirm with OK.
 Note ! Do not check "Keep RGB values", which would make it impossible to choose the rendering mode anyway.
The image on the screen changes its appearance BUT not its profile ??? Yes : look down to the left ! It's a simulation, all right. The image profile does not change. To check that you are in the "Printer profile" display, simply look in the title bar of the image: |
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There are no "real" non-printable colors. They are obviously replaced by the most saturated and closest colors that your printer can reproduce.
However, the so-called "non-printable" colors of Photoshop have a big defect : they are all highlighted with the same grey (photo above) without shade so without informing you about the real difference that there is between the desired color and the printed color. Isn't the non-printable color available for 1%, 10% or 20% saturation?
You might as well say that if a particular color is not printable up to 5%, that is, if it loses 5% saturation when printed, when it is replaced by the nearest color in the reproducible color space, you may hurt your eyes at the play of 7 differences. And yet it is highlighted with the same neutral grey as if this difference were much greater.
Below 15/20%, without side-by-side comparison, it is very difficult to perceive this de-saturation because it only occurs, I repeat, on the most saturated colours. All the others remain absolutely unchanged (at least in relative colorimetric). And even in perceptual colorimetric, they are modified but really marginally.
This is how an interesting function, but implemented "basically", can impress a beginner or even more (!) and make him believe that he will "lose" things while only certain colors - those out of gamut, therefore very saturated with this color - will eventually be reproduced, a little less saturated than they should have been. Whether the saturated color comes out of the printing gamut for 1% or 100%, it is "marked" with the same grey !
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By " diversion ", it is even possible, as I read on Christophe Métairie's website (Thanks for this tip!) to display the colors that cannot be displayed this time. All you have to do is select not a print profile but the profile of your screen. At this moment you materialize the difficulty of softproofing because some saturated colors are themselves not displayable !!!
Photoshop Printing menu
Photoshop has its own printing menu like any other software BUT its menu incorporates the color conversion part directly. This is why the conversion is not done BEFORE printing. Before printing, we only selected the printing settings that are appropriate for THIS photo.
To convert or not with the ICC printing profile?
As we saw on the previous page, you should not convert the image before printing in Photoshop because this conversion is done directly in this menu - illustration below -. The display simulation we have just done just allows us to know which conversion mode is ideal for this photo. It is therefore necessary to retain it for the rest...
Print with Photoshop (CMD + P or CRTL + P)
The printing of an image is done through the File / Print menu. This window has several distinct parts, including the one we are interested in here : "Color management", top right. Figure below: |
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Main window of the "Print" menu in Photoshop. We find the two main parts necessary for a perfect control of the color management during printing: the part dedicated to the management of the printing parameters (the same ones that had made it possible to print the test chart during the calibration for this profile) and those dedicated to the color management. |
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 Remember to check if you should choose the Relative or Perceptual rendering mode thanks to the brilliant "Display / proof format" function.
Also, remember to display non-printable colours with the other convenient function : "Display/non-printable colours". It is not a specific function so it can be unnecessarily scary or impressive because it has an on/off side. It does not indicate whether the non-printable colours are barely or frankly printable.
If you want the highest printing fineness, choose 2880 dpi (for Epson or Canon printers) : this allows you to have more beautiful and progressive gradients in the sky, in particular, especially visible up close so on small format prints as you get closer to them. It's subtle but, personally, I see the difference and I clearly prefer it.
The dpi of the printer have nothing to do with the dpi (ppi) of the image. If you want to print a photo at 240 dpi, the gradients will be more beautiful if you print it at 2880 dpi (printer) than at 1440 and even more so at 720 dpi. They will also look better at 240 dpi (image) than at 120 dpi.
Beyond 240 dpi for an inkjet print, I don't see any difference but from 200 dpi I start to perceive it if I get closer to the print run. 300 dpi is only used for offset printing at the printer's but does not contribute anything to inkjet printing.
Remember to tick the button : black spot compensation if you print by choosing the relative conversion mode. Blacks will be denser and more beautiful because they will be suitable for YOUR paper. |
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