What is Abstract Profile?

[aaronchan]

Dear all,

I've already read several answer from web and even read the menu of ColorThink Pro, but still don't really understand the actual mean and usage of abstract profile.
Does anyone can be able to explain it in a better way or refer a actual live experience?

Best Regard & Thanks
Aaron

[digitaldog]

See: http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/The_7_ICC_Profile_Types#Abstract_Profiles

[aaronchan]

See: http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/The_7_ICC_Profile_Types#Abstract_Profiles

Dear Andrew,

So an abstract profile is to modify the L*ab of an image or a device to correct or alter the actual color without touching the embed profile?
I am still kind of confuse.

The explanation sad I can capture and create a abstract profile such as cross-processing look. How do I do that?
And how do I apply this effect to my final file with ColorThink Pro? (I do own ColorThink Pro, and looking forward to upgrade with the ColorCast version.)

Thanks
Aaron

[digitaldog]

Lets put it this way, I’ve never seen the need to even use such a profile.

[aaronchan]

Lets put it this way, I’ve never seen the need to even use such a profile.

Dear Andrew,

You mean in a realistic photographic world?
Because I saw this on Chromix website:
Soft and hard-proof Hexachrome™ and other n-channel profiles inside Adobe Photoshop with NO plugins!
Alter desktop inkjet profiles to proof SWOP or ISO CMYK anytime
Embed effect profiles into digital camera profiles

Which makes me feel like am I missing a huge part in my color management study?!

Aaron

[digitaldog]

CS5 (CS4?, can’t remember) support nColor, Abstract and Device Link profiles. Click Advanced in Convert to Profile.

[aaronchan]

CS5 (CS4?, can’t remember) support nColor, Abstract and Device Link profiles. Click Advanced in Convert to Profile.

Dear Andrew,

Cool!
So is that possible for me to capture an analog color reaction and create an abstract profile for my digital capture devices?
I was doing a job for a photographer who use wet plate with a large format camera.
The final plate produce different color cast in the whole range of tonality which is a very nice effect.
I used color balanced and such and such and such to try to simulate the color cast for his "mono color scanned" image.
If abstract profile is that powerful, would that be easier for me to do such kind of work?

Thanks
Aaron

[Pat Herold]

Yes that is exactly the use I would envison for abstract profiles.  They can capture an effect that you want to put into an image, and putting it into the profile level allows this effect to be used for the entire output of the workflow (ie: all of your prints).  The hard part is finding an app to actually create the abstract profile.  Photoshop and the Worksheet in ColorThink Pro allow you to apply/convert to an abstract profile.  ColorThink Pro will allow you to take any workflow - any ordering of as many profiles as you want - and roll that into one abstract profile.  But literally the only app I know of that actually creates abstract profiles from scratch is the old Kodak ColorFlow Photoshop plugin which you can't get anymore.

[Ernst Dinkla]

  But literally the only app I know of that actually creates abstract profiles from scratch is the old Kodak ColorFlow Photoshop plugin which you can't get anymore.

Yup, and is not running on the latest OSses or Photoshop versions. I have to reinstall it again on XP and a CS2 version one day. I think old copies are still available at some places. The main function of that type of profile was (if I recall it correctly) to tune created normal profiles in Colorflow.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst
Shareware too:
330+ paper white spectral plots:
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[Ethan_Hansen]

Argyll's refine utility can create an abstract profile for a proofing system; i.e. better tune a printer used for proofing for the output of the actual press. I have used it a few times. If you have good profiles for the press and proofing printer, several test images off the press, and a roll of paper and an afternoon to burn, the process works.