Color Settings in Elements - Part 2

In the last post I wrote about Elements' Color Settings for people who don't use Adobe Camera Raw.  The essence of the advice was "most of the time it doesn't matter which setting you choose".

That's not the case for people who use ACR to process their Raw (or Jpeg) files.  The ACR which comes with Photoshop CS# allows you to choose the colour profile independently of the parent program; but the ACR that comes with Elements doesn't give that choice - it automatically processes files in the colour space dictated by Elements itself.

So this means that Elements users have to choose their Color Settings with a bit more care than Photoshop users.

Let's look at the options again:

 

As I stressed in the last post, NEVER choose "No Color Management".  It's abhorrent.

"Optimize Colors for Computer Screens" is the sRGB setting.  If you choose this, your ACR workflow will give you sRGB files.  This is the appropriate setting for most users.

"Optimize for Printing" is the Adobe RGB setting, giving you an Adobe RGB workflow through ACR.  As I've said many times before, the notion that Adobe RGB is the most suitable colour space for printing is a gross exaggeration - most labs require sRGB, and even the ones who accept Adobe RGB can't actually reproduce it in many cases.  However, if your lab ask for Adobe RGB files, this is the setting for you.

"Allow Me to Choose" is completely misleading - it doesn't allow you to choose at all!  Just like the "Computer Screens" setting, it gives you an sRGB workflow.  This setting is pretty silly, and I don't think anyone needs it.

So that's the nub of it.  "Computer Screens" setting for an sRGB workflow; "Printing" setting for an Adobe RGB workflow.

If you're still considering your workflow and colour spaces, consult your lab, and read the links I provided in the previous article.