Setting your Profiles for Better Prints

Setting up you Colour Profiles for Better Prints

Getting your prints to look the same as the image on your monitor can involve many variables but you can make the job a lot easier if you are consistent with your colour profiles.
Your camera, monitor, PhotoShop and printer all have a colour profile. If the colour profile is not the same through all applications then your pictures are constantly being changed and will look very different.
I recommend first deciding on a colour profile. The two most widely used colour profiles are Adobe RGB 1998 and sRGB. Adobe RGB 1998 has a wider range of available colours than sRGB but might not be available in some lower range printers.
I used to use the sRGB profile but have been getting better results with the Adobe RGB 1998 profile.

Your Camera

If your camera has a colour space setting, set this to one of the profiles, Adobe RGB 1998 or sRGB. (As far as I am aware, all digital SLR cameras should have this setting and should be found in the menu options.)

Your Monitor

The next step will be to set the colour profile on your monitor:
1) From your Windows menu select Start - Control Panel - Display.
2) From the Monitor dialog, click on the Setting tab.
3) Click on the Advanced button.
4) Click on the Colour Management tab.
5) If in the bottom section of the Colour Management tab there is already a default profile, take a note of this so that you can revert back to it if required.
6) Click on the Add button to view a selection of Colour Profiles then select the same profile you have set on your camera.
7) From the Colour Management tab, click on the profile you have just selected then the Set As Default button.

Adjusting your profile

I found it quite useful to next set the Adobe Gamma settings for the monitor. You can then make this a customised version of your colour profile.
1) From your Windows menu select Start - Control Panel - Adobe Gamma.
2) Follow the wizard instructions and on the second screen it will list the profile you have selected above giving you the opportunity to rename the adjustments to this profile. For example, Adobe 1998 Neils Settings.
3) When you have finished with the Adobe Gamma setting and have renamed the profile, go back to the Display setting above for your monitor and select the new updated profile you have just created.

PhotoShop

Photoshop has its own colour setting that you will need to set:
1) From the PhotoShop menu select Edit - Colour Settings…
2) In the Working Space area click the RGB dropdown button and select the same colour profile that you have set for your camera and monitor, Adobe RGB 1998 or sRGB.
3) In the Colour Management Policies area, select the RGB of Preserve Embedded Profiles.

Printer

1) Load a photo that has a good selection of colours or colour chart into PhotoShop.
2) If you are loading a RAW photo make sure that the RAW converter is set to the same profile as your camera. Adobe 1998 or sRGB.
3) Select File - Print with Preview…
4) From the Print dialog, Options area, select Let PhotoShop Determine Colors.
5) Click on the Printer Profile dropdown button and select the same profile as your camera and monitor.
6) Rendering Intent. I use Relative Colorimetric.
7) Select the Page Setup button - Printer - Properties.
8) Check your printer setting and if it has a colour mode, set this to the same profile as your camera. Do not let your printer take control of any colour management as you want PhotoShop to manage this.
9) Print your Picture.

Monitor Adjustments

If you are happy that your printer, although it doesn’t match your monitor, is consistent in the colours it is printing, you can now move on to the next step.
You will be extremely lucky if at this stage your print(s) match the colour and tones on your monitor. The object of the next exercise is to make your monitor match your print(s).
You will never get an exact match between your monitor and your printer as the monitor is lit from behind and your prints are seen by the light reflecting off the paper, but you can get very near to the same results.
Most monitors default settings are far too bright and the colours can be very intense.
You now need to change the monitor settings (on the monitor), Brightness, Colour and Contrast so the picture you are looking at in PhotoShop looks the same as the print. With your picture open in PhotoShop, hold the print(s) against the monitor and keep adjusting the monitor until you think that it matches the print.
After you have matched the monitor and your print(s), your monitor will probably look a lot more muted in its colours and brightness, get use to it as you will now open a picture in PhotoShop, make what ever adjustments you require and have the confidence that your printer will now produce the same results as you are seeing on the screen.
Your picture, as seen on the monitor, is lit from behind and the print is seen by reflected light, you might want to over boost the Levels and Curves in Photoshop on the monitor version of the picture to produce a brighter print.

Printing Papers

The paper you use to print on can give you very different results. Once you have your printer and monitor set be consistent in the paper you use.
HP paper used on an Epson printer or Epson paper on a Canon printer can give very strange results. Stick to the manufacturers own paper unless you use specialised papers like PermaJet, which will recommend the settings to use for many of the popular printers.