RHPS's
post about printing a color strip along one edge of a photo to check when he needs to get new profiles made me think about how this could be done when using outside printers. Ideally, one should print color strips that would match when adjacent to a colorchecker card. But this will not happen unless you print the image in Abs. Col. Intent and that is rarely appropriate for printing pictures. When you print a Colorchecker image in Perceptual or Relative it is altered in various ways and will not match an actual card.
But there is a way by round tripping a colorchecker image. You can create a new image that, when printed in PI or RI will come out looking exactly like a colorchecker card. You have to create 3 different images, one each for Relative Intent, Relative Intent w BPC, and Perceptual Intent.
Here's the recipe in Photoshop (not possible in LR):
Assume we have a profile named "E9800Luster" To create an image that can be printed using Perceptual Intent:
- Start with a Colorchecker image in Lab colorspace.
- Convert to printer space using the printer profile and selecting Absolute Colorimetric conversion.
- Then Convert back to Lab using Perceptual Intent.
Save the created image as CC_Perceptual_E9800Luster.tif
Do the same steps for Relative and Relative w BPC but, in step 3, change use "Relative" or "Relative w BPC" and label appropriately.
Now you have three different images that can be printed alone or spliced into another image that you will print. Just select the one to match the printed intent you will choose when sending the image out. When you get the prints back just compare the printed CC with an actual CC.