In last month’s column I reviewed some of the new methods and tools that the engineering team at Adobe has provided us for use in Photoshop CS3 (or Photoshop 10 for you purists) to convert color images into black-and-white images.

This month, let’s take a look at some of the changes that have been made that may impact our carefully crafted color-managed workflows. I know. You finally have everything set how you want it to ensure accurate color transformations and image handling and Adobe goes and changes things. Why, you might ask, can’t they leave well enough alone?

 

Well, the truth is that while I may sometimes agree with that question, in this particular upgrade Adobe has indeed made our lives a bit easier. As you will see, the Adobe engineers appear to be striving to improve existing tools as much as they are to add new tools.

The more things change...

It is also comforting to see that certain areas of the interface have remained unchanged. For instance, the Color Settings panel is identical to what was available in previous versions of Photoshop; its recommended settings are the same as is its functionality. You will also see the same warning messages appear when you open files with no embedded profiles or when there is a profile mismatch. The soft proofing setup? The same.

So, with everything in Photoshop CS3 almost the same (from a color management standpoint) as in Photoshop CS2, where exactly can the changes and improvements be found? When you finally print your masterpiece.

In previous versions of Photoshop, you had two options; Print and Print with Preview. Print with Preview was the option I always recommended since it was the only way to make sure that all the color management settings within Photoshop were set correctly for printing. Apparently, most other people were recommending or using the same feature because in CS3 Adobe has a single printing path. The old Print with Preview option has been adopted as the only option available and is now simply called Print (Figure 1).

Fig. 1: Missing from Adobe Photoshop CS3 is the Print with Preview selection. The Print option now provides that same feature set.

Selecting the Print command launches the new-and-improved printing interface. Here is where the changes are (Figure 2).
 

Fig. 2: The new Print dialog box replaces the old Print with Preview interface and includes some welcome improvements.
 

At first glance, this window looks like a slightly reorganized version of the old Print with Preview. However, upon closer inspection we can see the first enhancement located right above the Cancel button (Figure 3). A small check box labeled Match Print Colors can be selected, which will provide a fairly accurate soft proof in the print preview window on the left-hand side of the panel. Since the image is fairly small, I wouldn’t recommend trying to do any in-depth analysis. It is large enough, however, for you to detect any obvious errors such as the wrong output ICC Profile or an incorrect rendering intent.


Fig. 3: Photoshop CS3 now offers a soft proofing feature within the print dialog window called Match Print Colors.

Warnings and reminders

On the right-hand side of the print panel you will find the other much-appreciated change. While the functionality of the options is unchanged, selecting your Color Handling Method (Figure 4) will now give you an appropriate warning message. If you select Photoshop Manages Colors from this drop-down window, a warning message will appear reminding you to turn off color management in the printer driver (Figure 5). On the other hand, select Printer Manages Color or No Color Management and you will be gently reminded to turn on color management in the printer driver (Figure 6).


Fig. 4: Selecting a Color Handling method will now remind you of a very important additional task needed to ensure accurate color reproduction.



Fig. 5: A warning message reminds you to turn off color management in the printer driver.



Fig. 6: Select Printer Manages Color or No Color Management and Photoshop CS3 will remind you to turn on color management in the printer driver.
 

These reminders will help ensure that improper driver settings do not result in the wasting of expensive ink and media, not to mention your valuable time.

Will either of these small improvements prompt anyone to upgrade to Photoshop CS3? Probably not, but the improvements show Adobe’s commitment to provide us with improved existing features, rather than just new bells and whistles to play with.

John Nate is a senior color specialist for Chromaticity Inc., an integrator of color technologies for the newspaper and other industries. He can be reached at 616.988.6119, or by email at jnate@chromaticity.com.