ICC profiles- how are they used?

[Dagwood]

Can anyone advise me as to how to use ICC paper profiles?I have a new printer, a Canon Pixma MG6150, Ilford Galerie papers (Pearl and Gloss) and have downloaded the two ICC paper profiles which are sitting in my Downloads folder. I have Windows7 and am using Elements 9. Problem is I don't know how to use the profiles which are in zip folders. Do I need to open them and transfer anything to Elements plug-ins or what?
Any help appreciated....oh,and I know I will need to calibrate my monitor but have to beg,borrow or steal (ok buy!) a Spyder3 or similar in the next week or two.
Many thanks
Dagwood

[chris-p]

Try this tutorial it's pretty thorough and looks like it's got everything you'd need.

[KeithT]

I sometimes use an ICC profile for my Blurb work within Photoshop. With the image open, on the menu bar I go to View and turn on Proof Colours and Gamut Warning, then I go back into View and go to Proof Setup, and click on Custom. In the dialogue box click on the Device to Simulate dropdown menu and find the ICC profile you want. When you have found it click on it to set it, Go back to the dropdown menu and set Rendering Intent to Relative Colorimetric. You can save these settings so that it is easy to do again. You might notice now that some of your image is greyed out. That’s a gamut warning to tell you that your printer doesn’t recognise that particular shade. You can reduce contrast of the image until all the greyed out areas have gone. Your on-screen image may look a bit flat, but don’t worry about that, do a test print from that point and then save the file. Don’t forget to restore your settings back to normal afterwards by doing everything in reverse order. I hope this helps

You will need to put the profiles into the PS profile folder to get it up in PS. Copy and paste the profiles to that folder, which is under Common files - Adobe - Color - Profiles. (Just in case you didn't know)

Calibration of some sort is necessary, just adjust the brightness and gama to suit your eye — but I do question trying to calibrate any monitor which isn't suited to image editing in the first place. A lot of monitors are designed specifically for office and web use and are totally unsuitable for image editing no matter how many times you run a callibration tool.

[Dagwood]

Chris and Keith, many thanks for your replies. I'll take a look at the tutorials Chris and have a go at what you suggest Keith, and let you know how successful I am (or not!) I am a bit worried however by the comment re monitor suitability

Originally Posted by KeithT

Calibration of some sort is necessary, just adjust the brightness and gama to suit your eye — but I do question trying to calibrate any monitor which isn't suited to image editing in the first place. A lot of monitors are designed specifically for office and web use and are totally unsuitable for image editing no matter how many times you run a callibration tool.

I have a 1yr old Samsung Syncmaster P2250 and assumed it would be perfect for the job. I guess if not it won't take long for someone with monitor expertise to advise me
From the threads re calibration that have gone before this I realise it is a major issue and affects all digital photographersand suggested at our camera club last night that we purchase one and let members use it for a couple of pounds or so. This seems to have been accepted and I look forward to them getting a Spyder3 shortly. Mmm..I wonder if they need one for Macs and another for Windows?? Then again will I need it after the profiles are sorted out?
Thanks again
Dagwood
ps thanks for the guidance on where to put the profiles.. I didn't know that

[KeithT]

Hi Dagwood, my comment about monitors was really expressed to give you, and others reading the thread some idea about expectations from them. Most of us are hobbyists and cannot afford to get a pro monitor that is specifically built for image editing. The best we can do as far as monitors go is to do the best we can with what we can afford. In general, cheap monitors are really a waste of time for anything other than web searches and office use. When I purchased my monitor it had to have at least two criteria: 1 it remained stable when you moved you line of sight to left or right and 2. it was suitable for video gamers and editors. I plumbed for the HPw2207 (this model has since been upgraded) which has a photo editing setting that I leave on all the time. The top of the range Dell monitors are fine too.

Your Samsung monitor looks very similar to mine. Samsung, in my opinion is probably one of the best panels you can get for the money, and you shouldn't have much of a problem with colour rendition. Most modern monitors with a medium to high price range are now spot on with colour and it would be doubtful you could improve it much by calibration. I always adjust gamma and brightness every so often to suit my eyes and have never bothered to calibrate it using a device. To be honest, I couldn't improve on the IQ of my screen as it is. I'm sure someone will say I am talking a load of old rubbish, but before you spend out on a calibration tool why not check with Samsung to see if they recommend it? You can reach a technician online here:

# Ask a Samsung Technicianwww.JustAnswer.com/Samsung

13 Samsung Technicians Are Online! Ask a Question, Get an Answer ASAP.

Read more: How to Calibrate a Samsung Monitor | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5883692_cali...#ixzz1Gr9ANhI3