How To Set Up Ideal Color Management Settings For Adobe Software

The Gamut Game

sRGB vs Adobe RGB 1998 - credit to Printing United Alliance

A gamut is the range of color a device can capture (such as a camera) or reproduce (such as a printer). Every device has a different gamut and colors that are outside its gamut and can’t be captured or reproduced.

To set yourself up for success, you want to start out with an RGB and CMYK working space in the Adobe software products that have larger color gamuts. Color management professionals usually recommend changing the RGB working space to Adobe RGB 1998 and the CMYK working space to Coated GRACol 2006 (ISO 12647-2:2004).

These working space choices give you a bigger color gamut. For a visual assessment, you can use a profile viewer to compare gamuts. For instance, if you compared the default RGB working space of sRGB to Adobe RGB 1998, you can clearly see that the gamut of Adobe RGB 1998 is larger.

To Honor Or Not: The Question Of Embedded Profiles

Another color management setting to consider is whether or not to preserve (honor) embedded profiles. There are arguments for both sides for this setting.

Many in the print industry deal with client provided files; not just files that originate at their facility. When a client submits a file to a print facility, it’s important to understand that they might have created the file in the default working spaces of sRGB or U.S. Coated SWOP. While it’s recommended to use the working spaces that allow for a larger color gamut, changing the setting might not produce the file in a way the client expected.

Overall, color management is about variables and deciding which ones to choose. If working with a client’s provided file, it’s generally recommended to honor or preserve the embedded profiles. You can also check the boxes for “Ask When Opening” so that each time you open or import a file you can choose whether to preserve the embedded profile on a case by case basis.