For years I have used Adobe RGB as my color space.
My main output is Fine Art prints from an Epson 9600 printer. The source of my files is RAW capture using Canon’a 1Ds Mk2. I am going for optimal quality and don't mind a little extra work.
Recently, after reading Dan's LAB book, most of my files spend some time in LAB to get maximum color variability.
Now, I'm wondering if my imaging has outgrown my colorspace, should I change to a wider gamut color space such as ProPhoto RGB?
My reading in “Real World Photoshop CS2” by Bruce Fraser prompted the question. He covers this topic on page 167-174. He writes:
For inkjet printing, however, Adobe RGB (1998) may be on the small side. Figure 5-6 shows Epson Ultrachrome inks... plotted as a solid against Adobe RGB as a wireframe. Adobe RGB clips a huge chunk of the yellow-orange range, a significant chunk of saturated darker greens and blues, and a tiny bit of magenta-red."
"It's the ability to hold color difference that represents detail, rather than the ability to represent ridiculously saturated colors, that drives Bruce to use ProPhoto RGB for all his digital ... work. The fact that it covers the entire gamut of all his output spaces is simply a nice bonus."
Queston: Should I switch to ProPhoto RGB for future work?
Thanks!
Henry F. Domke
www.henrydomke.com