Color Guide

Bringing images from Flash into Photoshop can be rather alarming when your bright colors turn to mud in the Photoshop environment.

Download this Color Guide to use only these colors within Flash if you want to export it into photoshop.

Use this guide to calibrate your monitor to a printer. Follow the Printer Calibration guide.

WEB • File Calibration for Photoshop

*If you are working in web and print remember to change your monitor calibration settings (in your system preferences > displays > color) each time you switch between web and print so that your images look as close as they can to the final distribution.

Display Setup for WEB:
System Preferences > Displays > Color>
Apple Studio Display (for the Mac Desktops)
or
Dell 1780FP (for the schools extended monitors and a better PC color proof)
or
Color LCD (for Mac Laptops)
*You should choose the standard setting that came with your monitor. This is however a moving target and is not perfect in hue, saturation and contrast. Displays will all be different. The goal is for your image to look good on all of these monitor settings. This is one reason why extended displays are valuable as you can set them up for different calibrated previews.

Photoshop Setup for WEB:
Image > Mode> RGB
Edit > Color Settings > Settings: North America Web/Internet
Edit > Color Settings > Working Spaces> RGB: sRGB IEC61966
Edit > Assign Profile > check working sRGB IEC61966
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. print), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document.
(If on a Mac)
View > Proof Setup > Macintosh RGB
View > Proof Colors > unchecked will leave you in the proof set up you chose (Macintosh RGB)
checked will preview in Windows RGB (you can preview for most computers (PC))
(If on Windows)
View > Proof Setup > Windows RGB
View > Proof Colors > unchecked will leave you in the proof set up you chose (Windows RGB)
checked will preview in Macintosh RGB (you can preview for Mac users)

The shortcut in photoshop for proof colors is command/control Y to toggle between the proof colors

When saving for Web and Devices > keep convert to sRGB unchecked

In CS4 you can preview in Monitor Color or Mac or Windows
*However previewing is a moving target and is not perfect, monitors will all be different. The goal is for your image to look acceptable on all of these monitor settings.

WEB • File Calibration for Illustrator

*If you are working in web and print remember to change your monitor calibration settings (in your system preferences > displays > color) each time you switch between web and print so that your images look as close as they can to the final distribution.

Display Setup for WEB:
System Preferences > Displays > Color>
Apple Studio Display (for the Mac Desktops)
or
Dell 1780FP (for the schools extended monitors and a better PC soft color proof)
or
Color LCD (for Mac Laptops)
*You should choose the standard setting that came with your monitor. This is however a moving target and is not perfect in hue, saturation and contrast. Displays will all be different. The goal is for your image to look good on all of these monitor settings. This is one reason why extended displays are valuable as you can set them up for different calibrated previews.

Illustrator Setup for WEB:
File > Document Color Mode > RGB
Edit > Color Settings > North America Web/Internet
Edit > Color Settings > Settings > RGB: sRGB IEC61966
Edit > Assign Profile > check working sRGB IEC61966
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. print), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document.
(If on a Mac)
View > Proof Setup > Macintosh RGB
View > Proof Colors > unchecked will leave you in the proof set up you chose (Macintosh RGB)
checked will preview in Windows RGB (you can preview for most computers (PC))
(If on Windows)
View > Proof Setup > Windows RGB
View > Proof Colors > unchecked will leave you in the proof set up you chose (Windows RGB)
checked will preview in Macintosh RGB (you can preview for Mac users)

Saving images for web and devises is a moving target and is not perfect, monitors will all be different. Windows displays will generally be darker and Macs lighter. The goal is for your image to look acceptable on all of these display settings. Using the proof setup and checking and unchecking proof colors will give you a soft proof so that you can see a close resemblance of what other displays will provide.

Print • File Calibration for Laser, Inkjet and other Direct Digital Printing

Monitor Setup for PRINT:
System Preferences > Displays >
Color LCD (for Icarus the Laser printer matches best)
or
sRGB IEC61966 (to start with in profiling)
or
a color calibration profile that you will create (using the name of the printer you are targeting) to do this follow the steps in Display Color Calibration worksheet that follows.

Photoshop Setup for PRINT:
Image > Mode> RGB
Edit > Color Settings > Settings: North America Web/Internet
Edit > Color Settings >Working Spaces RGB: sRGB IEC61966
Edit > Convert to Profile > check RGB Profile: working RGB - sRGB IEC61966
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. web), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document. Using convert profile instead of assign profile gives a better color match to the source file.
View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK
View > Proof Colors > unchecked

Illustrator Setup for PRINT:
File > Document Color Mode > RGB
Edit > Color Settings > North America Web/Internet
Edit > Color Settings > Settings > Working Spaces RGB: sRGB IEC61966
Edit > Assign Profile > check working RGB: sRGB IEC61966
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. web), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document.) Note: Illustrator CS4 does not have a convert to profile.
View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK U.S. Web Coated (SWOP)
View > Proof Colors > unchecked

Colors in the color mixer with the icon (! in the triangle) are outside of typical 4 color printing capabilities. If you toggle the color caution icon illustrator will find a color that is within print capabilities. This color may not be what you want, so you can pick a different color, that does not pop up the color caution icon.

Print • File Calibration for 4 Color Offset Commercial Litho Printing

***For informational purposes only not to be used for the Kendall digital printers.

First work using sRGB so that you will not limit the color or the amount of filters and color adjustments that you can use. Follow the Digital Color Management for Print first then convert to the following 4 Color Offset Commercial Litho Printing profiles, saving your file with a different name that might contain CMYK in the name.

When your image is final then convert to CMYK.

Photoshop Setup for 4 Color Offset Commercial Printing
Image > Mode> CMYK
Edit > Color Settings > North America Prepress 2
Edit > Color Settings > Working spaces :
RGB : Adobe RGB 1998
CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
Edit > Assign Profile > check Working CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. web), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document.
View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK
View > Proof Colors > unchecked
Image Size > 300 dpi for small prints (under 10”x10”)- 150 dpi for large prints

Illustrator Setup for 4 Color Offset Commercial Printing
File > Document Color Mode > CMYK
Edit > Color Settings > Working spaces :
RGB : Adobe RGB 1998
CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
Edit > Assign Profile > check Working CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
(This will embed your profile so that when you open the file when you are in a different color profile (i.e. web), a pop up window with an alert message will appear, so that you can color manage the document.
View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK U.S. Web Coated (SWOP)
View > Proof Colors > unchecked

Note:

Uncoated paper will dull the color when printed, to see this on your monitor as closely as possible use the uncoated working profile instead of the coated.

Colors in the color mixer with the! in the triangle are outside of typical 4 color offset commercial litho printing capabilities.

Spot colors can provide some of the cautioned colors including fluorescent, metallics and glosses. Most presses will only allow 1 or 2 spots. Spots add to the cost of printing.

Display Color Calibration

* If you are working in web and print remember to change your monitor calibration settings each time you switch between web and print so that your images look as close as they can to the final distribution.

Create a display color calibration profile for a specific printer:

• Print the color guide 

• Go to System Preferences > Displays > Color > Calibrate

• Check Expert Mode. Follow the steps in the calibration menu paying specific attention to white tempurature to Match the display to the printed image.

• Save the color profile with the specific printer name that you are matching

• In system preferences keep Automatically adjust brightness as ambient
light changes unchecked

* Understand that the brightness toggle on your display or computer keyboard will effect the brightness and contrast expeceted in your print as well.

Change a display color calibration profile to web:

• Go to System Preferences > Displays > Color >
Apple Studio Display (for the Mac Desktops)
or
Dell 1780FP(for the schools extended monitors and a better PC color proof)
or
Color LCD (for Mac Laptops)

*You should choose the standard setting that came with your display, this is however a moving target and is not perfect, displays will all be different. The goal is for your image to look good on all of these display settings. This is one of the reasons why extended monitors work well because it give you a PC and a Mac web preview.