Soft Proofing in Photoshop

Wouldn't it be great to be able to preview what an image will look on press without having to print or proof the image? Have you ever thought it would make life so much easier if you could just view the printed image on your monitor so you could make more accurate color correction decisions? Well, with the right tools and accurate colorimetric data from your monitor and printing press you can in just 4 simple steps. This process is called soft proofing and is yet another tool to help improve your color management process.

Step 1: First create a profile for your monitor to make sure it is accurately reflecting the color gamut. This is also important if you expect to view the same image on more than one monitor as each monitor has it own color space. The tools you need include all relevant monitors you want profiled, a colorimeter and the software for creating accurate colorimetric profiles, such as MonacoOPTIX from X-Rite, which includes the required hardware and software. Once you have created your profile save it with a short, descriptive name such as 10-03Mon1D50 ([date][monitor ID][light source]). This profile should be saved in the ColorSync-Profiles folder.

Step 2: You then need to create a profile for your printing press or proofer by printing a colorimetric target. The tools you need include a printed colorimetric target for you printing press or proofer, a spectrophotometer, and the software for creating accurate colorimetric profiles, such as the DTP41 and MonacoPROFILER from X-Rite. Once you have created your profile save it with a short descriptive name such as 10-03Press1CS1CMYK150 ([date][press ID][substrate][colors][lpi]). This profile should be saved in the ColorSync-Profile folder.

Step 3: In your System Preferences-Display-Color dialog box, set your Display Profile to the corresponding monitor profile.

Step 4: With your image open in Photoshop:

1. Select View-Proof Setup-Custom.
2. Select Preview to display a preview of the proof settings while you have the dialog box open.
3. Select the proofer or printing press profile you want to simulate.
4. Select Preserve Color Numbers to simulate how the document will appear on the printing press or proofer. This is a soft proof for which you can use to make color correction judgments. Two points to note here. First, you will not have this option unless your image color mode (CMYK, RGB, etc.) is the same as that of the profile you are trying to simulate. Second, using your info palette and eye dropper tool, you will notice that the values in your info palette do not change when the proof profile is applied though the image may noticeably become darker or lighter. This allows you to make the necessary color corrections to the original file while simultaneously seeing how the image will appear on the printing press or the proofer.
5. Deselecting Preserve Color Numbers simulates how the image will appear if you convert the image from the document's color space to the nearest equivalents in the proof profile color space based on the specific rendering intent you choose.
6. If needed and available, you may also select Simulate White Paper to simulate the proof profile's substrate, which automatically turns on Simulate Ink Black, or Simulate Ink Black to preview the proof profile's dynamic range.
7. If this is a common proof setup you intend to use, you can save the setup for viewing this and future images.

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