Soft Proofing Images with Photoshop 7.0

Using Photoshop 7.0 has now become a DTP system because of its absolute advantage in image processing, becoming the most common application software, and using the soft proofing function of Photoshop7.0 is not so well known, this article will be to this function A more detailed introduction: soft proofing the image, the first is the color conversion, when you want to preview the output file, you need to complete the two color conversion - from the color space of the image to the output device to preview the color space; From the device's color space to the monitor's color space. In Photoshop 7.0 contains two separate color conversion functions.

Conversion from image color space to output device color space

Select Proof Setup from the View drop-down menu and select the Custom command from its lower menu.
Note: The Proof Colore command is also available in the View menu. The function is the same as the CMYHPreview function in older versions: It allows a more accurate preview of the file you want to convert to CMYH mode. The new Custom Proof Setup is even more useful for CMYH output, and it also allows previewing of RGB output files.

After selecting the Proof Setup > Custom command, a Proof Setup dialog box will pop up. This small, unobtrusive dialog box contains powerful features.

In the submenu of the Setup menu in the upper part of the dialog box, the saved proofing settings are stored. These settings are saved in a fixed binder. If you are using the Windows platform, the binder address is: Program Files/ Common Files/Adobe/Color/Proofing; If you are using the Mac platform, the folder address is: System Folder/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Proofing.

In the next Profile (Device Description File) menu, you can select the profile of the output device to be simulated on the screen. In which you can select almost any device, you may not find description files for some input devices (such as some scanners or digital cameras). This is normal because soft proofing of files on an input device is not possible on the screen. What is the meaning? In this menu, you can select RGB, CMYK, or grayscale printers, as well as select displays.

The function of the Preserve Color Number radio button is to help the user see what happens if an unconverted file is sent to an output device that specifies the profile. This function is only available if the output file and output device description file share the same color mode, such as an RGB file and RGB output device description file, or CMYK file and CMYK output device description file. It can show how a CMYK file prepared for a printing process is output in another printing process. In this case, using this box is particularly useful. It can help you decide whether or not a selected output device is Needs proper conversion or editing to work properly.

Select the Preserve Color Number box. In this case, it means that you do not want to convert the image. You do not need to apply any conversion method. Therefore, the Intent menu underneath it will change to the class color.

From the Intent menu, you can choose how to convert from the file color space to the proof color space. You can see from this how different transformations affect the image. Menu items usually default to the default conversion of the device description file (not always Perceptual), so make it a habit to check this setting every time you open the Custom Proof Setup dialog.

Change from proofing color space to display color space

The next step is to set the transition from the proof color space to the monitor color space. By default, the Ink Black and Paper White checkboxes at the bottom of the dialog box are closed. At this time, Photoshop automatically executes the Relative Colorimetric conversion method that includes black dot compensation to complete the conversion from the proof color space to the monitor color space. This is the same operation as the old version of Photoshop, and it only works in two ways. In this case, the accuracy can be maintained: one is that no paper is displayed on the image, and the other is that the dynamic color compression that occurs during printing is not displayed.

The Relative Colorimetric (relative colorimetric) conversion method calibrates the whiteness of the destination (in this case, the white color of the proof color space is the white of the paper when printed on paper). The calibration of the black point compensation is also the black of the destination (in this case, the blackness of the display). In most cases, the white of the display is brighter than the white of the paper, and the black of the display is darker than the printed black, which is especially obvious when printing on less-smooth paper.

Select Ink Black and turn off Black Point Compensation. You will see that the black color in the image has become bright. The dark part of the image has a feeling of being washed. This is the case with printing on paper. The effect is closer. However, unless you specifically want to keep the details of the dark part, it is not recommended to use this setting, because although it can accurately show the details of the dark part, it does not show the color contained in the paper. Offset and highlight compression. Select Paper White, and PhotoShop executes the Absolute Colorimetric method, which transforms the proof color space into the monitor color space. Ink Black is not selectable when the Paper White box is checked. Black Point Compensation cannot be applied to Absolute Colorimetric: because it is absolute, so The black value printed is directly displayed on the screen. The Absolute Colorimetric conversion method also shows the paper's color and dynamic compression range during printing, enabling the most accurate soft proofing.

For printouts, this is the most accurate proofing, but it also takes a while to become familiar with it. When Paper White was selected, the image was not as vivid as it was because the dynamic range of the image was compressed in the process. There is a very useful technique for dealing with this situation. When selecting Paper White, do not stare at the image. If you don't actually see the change in the image, you can easily accept soft proofing. The effect is.

Using soft proofing can optimize the file for a particular device, such as adjustments for gradations, saturation adjustments, and sometimes for hue adjustments. You can use the Adjustment Layers menu to create a unique output layer and combine it into the main file so that you can use the same main file and output different layers to output different Go to the device.

When you need to output a soft-proofed file to the actual device, do not use the space in the Proof Setup dialog as the source space. Instead, use document space and print. Space is set to the following two device description files.

1. The device description file selected in Proof Setup (to confirm all the color conversions on the print driver are turned off);
2. The device description file in the printer color management (this is to confirm that the color conversion on the print driver is turned on).
There is only one case where the space in the Proof Setup dialog is used as the source space, ie when other output devices need to simulate the final CMYK printer. To realize this process, you need to first soft proof the CMYK file of the printer, and then set the space set in the Proof Setup dialog box as the source space, and proofing by the inkjet printer.

Once you have mastered how to use Photoshop 7.0 for soft proofing, you will find that the output image is more predictable and can save a lot of costs.