Working with color management in Lightroom
Working with color management
Color Management gives you two controls, Profile and Rendering Intent, both with two choices. Here’s how to use them:
- Profile. This is the paper profile of the printer and defines how colors are translated from the computer space to a specific paper. You have two choices: Managed by Printer and Other. With most advanced photo printers, Other generally works best and gives you optimum control, so I describe it first. However, you may find that some printers work better with Managed by Printer.
- Profile:Other. Other gives you choices in paper profiles as shown in Figure 2. You simply check the profile that matches the paper you are using. This is frequently the best way to go with high-end inkjet printers designed for pros. These profiles have been very carefully developed by the printer or paper manufacturer. They either come with your printer when you install it or you can add them later by downloading profiles from a paper or printer company Web site. However, Managed by Printer often works quite well with a printer and can be worth trying, especially with lower-priced inkjet printers.
Figure 2: Lightroom includes a number of different color management profiles.
- Profile:Managed by Printer. Many Photoshop users often downplay this choice. Years ago, it was rarely the best choice. However, printers today are very, very good. Printer manufacturers want you to have a good experience printing.
It is to their benefit when the printer software handles the paper profile automatically if the resulting prints are good. I find when working with a lot of photographers that this choice works well with the simpler and more mass-market photo inkjet printers. In addition, photographers occasionally find that no matter what they do, they cannot get the results they want with a paper profile on a particular printer. Yet if they select this option and let the printer take control, they often do. It can be worth trying a sheet of paper to see how it does. - Rendering Intent. You have two choices: Perceptual and Relative. Both work, but it is my experience that photographers generally prefer Perceptual. I would recommend you use it. Try Relative if you want to experiment.
- Warnings. If you have turned them on, as shown in Figure 3, you will find some very useful warnings underneath Rendering Intent. The warnings basically remind you that you need to leave printer color management turned on when the color management is left to the printer, and turned off when a profile is used to control it within the computer. You turn printer color management on or off in the printer driver—where and how is dependent on the printer and the operating system.
Figure 3: When warnings are enabled, they appear under Rendering Intent.
Where to go from here
For more information about Photoshop Lightroom, see the following:
