Adobe 29180155 - Photoshop Elements 4.0 User Manual page 156

Managing color with profiles
A. Profiles describe the color spaces of the input device and the document. B. Using the profiles' descriptions, the color management system
identifies the document's actual colors. C. The monitor's profile tells the color managements system how to translate the numeric values to the
monitor's color space. D. Using the output device's profile, the color management system translates the document's numeric values to the color
values of the output device so the actual colors are printed.
Profiling devices
For color management to work, you must profile your devices or use an ICC profile created by the device's manufac-
turer.
Profiling is not critical for capture devices such as digital cameras or scanners. You may want to
Capture devices
profile a scanner, however, if you want to accurately reproduce the colors in scanned transparencies, and thus save
you color correction work in Photoshop Elements.
Calibrating and profiling your monitor is important. If you are using a laptop or other LCD monitor, you
Monitors
can use the profile provided by the manufacturer. If you own a colorimeter and corresponding software to create
profiles, you can use those profiles in Photoshop Elements.
Profiling your inkjet printer will generally give you better results, though you can make excellent prints
Printers
without a printer profile by using the controls in your printer driver. Many printer manufacturers provide ICC
printer profiles on their web sites. You need a separate profile for each printer, ink, and type of paper. You can also
have profiles made for your favorite combination of ink and paper.
When you work on a photo and save it, Photoshop Elements can embed (tag) an ICC profile that reflects the colors
on your computer monitor or the device that produced it. Embedding profiles with an image makes its color
portable, so that different devices can translate its color values. For instance, if you send the photo to your inkjet
printer, the color management system reads the embedded profile and translates the color data using the printer's
profile. Your printer can then use the translated color data to accurately translate its color to the selected media.
Color management tasks
If you want to use color management, you need to perform the following tasks:
Set up color management by embedding a color profile and utilize device profiles when scanning or printing. (See
•
"To set up color management" on page 152)
A
B
C
D
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 4.0
User Guide
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