I would like to list some points I think I've learned about posting photos to the web for viewing by users with unmanaged apps. I'd like to ask the color management pro's among you to confirm or refute these points so I can have them clear in my mind. Thanks in advance.
• The recommendation to convert photos to sRGB for posting on the web is based exclusively on the premise that this colorspace is the one that most closely resembles the colorspace of the majority of monitors currently in use by people browsing the web.
• The accuracy of what you see on your monitor when viewed through an unmanaged app is determined by how closely your monitor’s colorspace matches the image file’s intended colorspace. Examples:
o Viewing an AdobeRGB file on a sRGB monitor in an unmanaged app compresses the file information, thus distorting the color
o Viewing an sRGB file on an AdobeRGB monitor in an unmanaged app spreads the file information out, also distorting the color
o If you open an AdobeRGB file in an unmanaged app on an AdobeRGB monitor, it will look good
o If you open an sRGB file in an unmanaged app on an AdobeRGB monitor, it will be too saturated
o If you open an Adobe RGB file in an unmanaged app on a sRGB monitor it will look dull and unsaturated
o If you open a sRGB file in an unmanaged app on an sRGB monitor, it will look good
• Gamma, intensity, black level, variations, etc. of the monitor also matter in similar ways. The critical issue is how closely it resembles the intended environment
For those familiar with Spectraview on NEC monitors: I have a Multisync 2690 with Spectraview II and it allows me to switch calibrations between my photo editing target calibration and an sRGB emulation target calibration. I changed the sRGB emulation target to a set intensity instead of the default “maximum” because it was painfully too bright. But using this gives me the best reasonable simulation of what the web looks like to the assumed majority of web users, correct?