HP z3100 Users - Calibrating monitors to AdobeRGB?

[mchudzik]

My photos look great on my Adobe RGB calibrated monitor look great and print "spot on" to my printer.
But, when I export the photos via Lightrom's PDF/RGB export utility, the colors end up looking terribly dull on my website.  I am following the LR defaults to convert the photos to RGB.  So what is the problem ad how do I solve it?

Steps and equipment:
I am importing my Raw photos into Lightroom.  My Nikon is set to AdobeRGB, but I was told that if I am shooting RAW, there is no assignment of the photo to anycolorspace, until Lightroom converts it on import.
On import, I allow the photo working colorspace to default by Lightroom to "ProPhoto RGB".
Monitor color profile is Xrite-i1 calibrated to Adobe RGB.  I do that because I have an HP z3100 wide format printer that the manual recommends AdbobeRGB profile for best printing; and I always send it to the printer with the Print Manager set to "Application Controls Printing".  The results in the printing is that the prints are as good as I see them on the monitor, by my fussy standards.

So,  what am I missing?  I am suspecting that it is that the photo adjusted to look good on an AdobeRGB calibrated screen for oprimized printing is converting to a bad looking photo on sRGB standard set monitors.  I don't see other Lightroom users work on the internet look like these though.
My website is www.michaelchudzik.com.

Got Help?

[Geoff Wittig]

The vast majority of computers default to sRGB colorspace, and the world of cyberspace (Flickr etc.) is an sRGB world. If you transmit photographs as JPEGs from your usual AdobeRGB or ProphotoRGB colorspace without deliberately converting the files to sRGB, they'll generally look awful on the monitor. Drab, desaturated, low contrast. Once you convert them to sRGB, they'll look pretty good because the conversion does its best to display the original colors despite the smaller gamut.

Just don't try printing that sRGB file on your high-end printer; you'll be losing a lot of subtlety and may see weirdness like color banding.

[mchudzik]

If you transmit photographs as JPEGs from your usual AdobeRGB or ProphotoRGB colorspace without deliberately converting the files to sRGB, they'll generally look awful on the monitor.

I am very satisfied with my AbobeRGB calibrated monitor-to-print setup and am having to very little proof printing, so I don't want to change that and mess that part up.

I believe that I AM telling the LR export to create sRGB jpegs in highest quality, with "sharpness for web" set as well.  
I assign the LR default of assigning a ProPhotoRGB ICC profile on importing photos.   I am curious whether of not the AdobeRGB calibrated monitor to a ProPhotoRGB ICC profiled photo has anything to do with it.  I know that the gamut is wider in ProPhotoRGB than AdobeRGB, but they have different ranges.

[tived]

I am very satisfied with my AbobeRGB calibrated monitor-to-print setup and am having to very little proof printing, so I don't want to change that and mess that part up.

I believe that I AM telling the LR export to create sRGB jpegs in highest quality, with "sharpness for web" set as well.  
I assign the LR default of assigning a ProPhotoRGB ICC profile on importing photos.   I am curious whether of not the AdobeRGB calibrated monitor to a ProPhotoRGB ICC profiled photo has anything to do with it.  I know that the gamut is wider in ProPhotoRGB than AdobeRGB, but they have different ranges.

You do not have to change your setup, just convert any images destined for the WEB as sRGB. Knowing that your prospective and current client will see nice looking images online.

Henrik

[Ernst Dinkla]

My photos look great on my Adobe RGB calibrated monitor look great and print "spot on" to my printer.
But, when I export the photos via Lightrom's PDF/RGB export utility, the colors end up looking terribly dull on my website.  I am following the LR defaults to convert the photos to RGB.  So what is the problem ad how do I solve it?


Got Help?

I do not get the "calibrating monitors to AdobeRGB....."

My monitor is calibrated to say 5000K, 110 cd/m2, 2.2 Gamma and then profiled to describe its gamut with the profile to the color management system. That wide gamut monitor more or less exceeds AdobeRGB in gamut but another one that I have stays way below, probably just sRGB, yet has the same 2.2 Gamma.

AdobeRGB and sRGB have 2.2 gamma, ProPhoto 1.8.

I guess your problem is related to the fact that ProPhotoRGB has 1.8 Gamma and your workflow 2.2 Gamma, though one would expect adaption in the software. It could have to do with image files not having the color space assigned at export or similar CM flaws. Check the import color management policies in your software. Set preserve embedded spaces and let a warning pop up on any mismatch or profile absence. Load the image intended for the web again and check what the assigned color space is in the warnings.
It is possible that LR does it wrong in your case.

Export to the web is done in RGB with sRGB color space profile assigned to the image. That is the best compromise today on usable color spaces with CM or no CM available on the world's web displays. Depending on your browser it has CM aboard (but the default can be "CM off") or not. So your browser may not cope too. Check its settings. Use more browsers to check web designs if they are intended for a wider audience. Firefox, Explorer, Chrome, and the smaller ones after that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

[Sven W]

Export to the web is done in RGB with sRGB color space profile assigned to the image. That is the best compromise today on usable color spaces with CM or no CM available on the world's web displays. Depending on your browser it has CM aboard (but the default can be "CM off") or not. So your browser may not cope too. Check its settings. Use more browsers to check web designs if they are intended for a wider audience. Firefox, Explorer, Chrome, and the smaller ones after that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

And also try a simpler or common low-cost monitor and/or a laptop.
/Sven