How do I change the color profile in Photoshop ICC?

Changing the color profile in Photoshop involves either converting the document to a different profile or assigning a new profile. Here's how to do both:

Converting to a New Color Profile

Converting changes the actual color values in your image to maintain the visual appearance as closely as possible under the new color profile.

1. Open Your Image: In Photoshop, open the image you want to modify.

2. Convert to Profile: Go to Edit > Convert to Profile...

3. Choose Your Destination Space: In the "Destination Space" section, select the new color profile you want to use from the dropdown menu. This is the new ICC profile you are converting to. Common options include sRGB IEC61966-2.1, Adobe RGB (1998), or a specific profile for your printer or intended output.

4. Conversion Options: (Optional, but important to understand)

   • Engine: Choose the color management module (CMM) to perform the conversion. Adobe (ACE) is generally a good choice.
   • Intent: Select the rendering intent. This determines how Photoshop handles colors that fall outside the gamut of the destination profile. Common options include:
     • Perceptual: Aims to preserve visual relationships between colors, making it good for images with many out-of-gamut colors.
     • Saturation: Preserves the saturation of colors, making it suitable for graphics.
     • Relative Colorimetric: Compares the white point of the source and destination profiles and shifts all colors accordingly.
     • Absolute Colorimetric: Preserves the exact colors from the source profile, but can lead to unexpected results if the white points differ significantly.
   • Use Black Point Compensation: Usually a good idea; helps preserve shadow detail.
   • Use Dither: Helps reduce banding artifacts in the converted image.

5. Click OK: Photoshop will convert the image to the new color profile.

Assigning a New Color Profile

Assigning a profile simply tags the image with a different profile without changing the color values themselves. This can drastically alter the appearance of the image if the assigned profile is significantly different from the original.

1. Open Your Image: Open the image in Photoshop.

2. Assign Profile: Go to Edit > Assign Profile...

3. Choose a Profile: Select the "Profile" option and choose the desired ICC profile from the dropdown.

4. Select the Correct Profile: Photoshop gives you the option to not color manage this document if you desire. This should be used with caution.

5. Click OK: Photoshop will assign the new color profile to the image.

Important Considerations:

• Profile Mismatch: If you open an image with an embedded profile that doesn't match your Photoshop color settings, you might see a dialog box. The reference suggests selecting "Use the embedded profile" as a starting point, but you can also choose to convert to your working space or discard the embedded profile (not recommended unless you know what you're doing).

• Working Space: Photoshop's working spaces (set in Edit > Color Settings...) define the default color profiles used for new documents and for images that don't have embedded profiles.

• Saving: When saving your image (especially for web use), consider converting to sRGB, as it's the most widely supported color space. Embedding the profile helps ensure consistent color display across different devices and applications. You can do this by checking the "Embed Color Profile" option in the Save As dialog.

By converting or assigning color profiles, you can effectively manage the color appearance of your images in Photoshop and ensure they look their best across various platforms and devices. Understanding the difference between converting and assigning is crucial for achieving the desired results.