Preparing scans for web display

Hi all,

Sorry if this doesnt belong here-ive stuck it in misc but if its not welcome here ill delete it. I am in massive need of some help. I have recently calibrated and profiled my monitor for the first time using a spyder and im very happy with the end result. I have been going back through some of my photography prints and rescanning them so as to upload to my website. Now, I am having major issues with the images I save as jpeg from photoshop having a colour shift from what they looked like in photoshop (cs5 by the way). I have tried setting different profiles in the colour setting menu, changing profiles on the individual images and everything I can think of. Can anyone shed any light on this issue at all?

Methinks this post is likely to be deleted soon. Suggest going to photo.net, Digital Darkroom forum. See my PM.

Although somewhat off-topic for this website, there will be many here (myself included) who need to re-photograph/scan their prints so as to display on the web.

The answer to your question is that the effect you are experiencing in terms of the difference you see between the image in Photoshop and on the web is due to the fact that every viewing environment has different colour spaces and profiles.

If you edit your image in Photoshop this has a complex series of colour management controls that may not be available in a web browser.

What you need to do is

• Open your image and rename it as XXXXX for web.
• Before you do anything else, go to Image>Mode>Convert to profile... and set the profile to sRGB IEC61966-2.1 (this is the web standard)
• Now save the file as a JPEG with Embed Color Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1 switched on.
• Now edit your image until it looks correct.
• Then do a 'Save as' to overwrite the previously saved file making sure that it is a JPEG with Embed Color Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1 switched on.

If you now open this file in your browser you can compare how it displays in comparison to Photoshop.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

David,

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately the scans already have an sRGB profile and even when saving with an embedded sRGB profile i still get the colour shift. Everything just looks redder for some reason when i view in the windows image previewer.

There are many sRGB profiles available in editing software.

You need to convert your files to sRGB IEC61966-2.1 before editing and when saving.

It doesn't matter what profile they currently have, just change it before editing and make sure you save with the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 embedded.

Bests,

David
www.dsallen.de

Tentatively, I've moved this to the "Presentation/Marketing" forum and retitled the thread to make the boundaries a bit clearer.

In general, discussion of scanning is OK when it relates to posting in the APUG galleries, and we've tolerated limited discussion as it relates to marketing analogue photography on the web. The original poster can't post in the APUG galleries, because he isn't a subscriber, but the information is useful for those who do want to post to the APUG galleries and to market their work through the web.

As long as it doesn't go in the direction of digital printing, then I think it's a fair topic. The question is: how to adjust the image profile so it looks the same on the web as it does in Photoshop after scanning the transparency or print?

As a general rule, save only your master digital files, export JPGs for sending to the lab or uploading to the web, and then trash these derivative files so as not to have multiple versions of a file that will need to be cataloged.

From Photoshop, use the SAVE FOR WEB feature and click the sRGB box. This works well, but is my second choice.

From Bridge, use TOOLS--PHOTOSHOP--Image Processor. This is my least favorite way to handle this. Not many options available here.

Best is from a Lightroom catalog, using an export preset. Much easier to catalog and find your master files as needed, and then export your derivatives with full color space conversion, sharpening options, resizing options, file formats, etc.

If you don't have Lightroom, it is well worth the small investment. Bridge is okay but is not a robust cataloging app, and if your images aren't cataloged, you're wasting precious time.

I would not bet $0.50 that any Windows media product respects embedded color spaces, so I would not trust it. Export from an Adobe product, upload and see how the images look on several different monitors.

Feel free to peep me off line if you need more help.

No mater how carefully you prepare your files, you must remember that once they are on the web, most people will view them with uncalibrated monitors.

a help

I find this discussion helpful. It explains why I have junked my 11x17 Epson inkjet printer and am going back to my wet darkroom. Staring at a computer screen does nothing for me. Film and silver prints for this desert critter.

Thanks for allowing the post. I'm so accustomed to printing in the darkroom that anything image-computer related i am brainless at! Oh how i long for simpler times! ParkerSmithPhoto - i do have lightroom so i may try that, im just more used to editing my print scans in photoshop is all but ill try it out and see what happens. Ill also try converting to sRGB prior to editing. I think my scanner (an Epson V500) automatically an ICC profile of Epson sRGB in the image though. Perhaps i should be saving as TIFF's instead...

wilfbiffherb said:

ParkerSmithPhoto - i do have lightroom so i may try that, im just more used to editing my print scans in photoshop is all but ill try it out and see what happens. Ill also try converting to sRGB prior to editing. I think my scanner (an Epson V500) automatically an ICC profile of Epson sRGB in the image though. Perhaps i should be saving as TIFF's instead...

Click to expand...

Lightroom and Photoshop do duplicate some functions but in general, do your retouching, spotting, toning, etc. in Photoshop on a high res TIFF or PSD, then use Lightroom to catalog the files, print, export for web, etc.