Color Profile settings for professional lab prints

I noticed there is no forum specifically for processing and printing images for customer sales so I guess I will try it here.

I do not have a calibrated monitor and will not have for quite a while.

I still would like to get the best color quality and correct colors with the prints I send to a lab for any business that I get here and there.

If I am working with sRGB on my computer and sRGB settings on my camera what is the best thing I can do to get the colors as accurate as possible from the lab?

Does color profile setting on the camera even matter if I am shooting RAW?

Do they automatically color correct? Do I need to send them files with any specific color profile? Do I need to actually shoot and work in Adobe '98 color profiles?

sRGB is the most tonally compressed profile, and the more reproducible by most printers, so it's the one recommended by default if you're sending images out for printing. So you're OK with the profile setting. It matters in RAW as it determines what levels of color can be achieved when the photo is taken. Adobe has a wider color space than sRGB, but some of those colors may not be reproducible on a printer, and maybe not even on some monitors.

As for color correcting, since you do not have a calibrated monitor it's entirely possible that what you see will not match what they see. Additionally, monitor calibration is to a specific profile, but printers may not match that profile 100%, so printers will often calibrate a dedicated monitor for the printer to match what comes out of that printer. My understanding is that "color correction" offered by print houses has more to do with that than with correcting it against a profile. The assumption is that the file they receive looks the way the photographer intends on a calibrated monitor - they have no way of knowing if the overly warm or cool tones are an error or a "look".

If you're using LR5, there's a Soft Proofing feature in the Develop module that will allow you to see the difference in color profiles. When you check the box you'll see a new set of options under the histogram that will allow you to toggle between profiles, including printer profiles for and photo printers you have. If you're shooting sRGB you should see no difference when you toggle to Adobe since they overlap 100%. But if you're shooting in Adobe you may see color loss highlighted when you go to sRGB. I have only started using Soft Proofing since I just picked up a good photo printer. There are some good tutorials out here if you're using LR5 (I vaguely remember you being on an earlier version).

BackdoorHippie said:

There are some good tutorials out here if you're using LR5 (I vaguely remember you being on an earlier version).

Click to expand...

I am currently stuck with LR 3.6. LR5 has system requirements my computer doesn't come close to meeting.

I do however, think that LR 3.6 also has "soft proofing" but I have not used it. I do not have a printer anyway.

Would you suggest that I send several photos out for prints and see what they come back as? Maybe I could send several photos, each with different tonal values so as to check a full range of values?

I haven't used outside labs for prints, but I know folks here have ordered 4x6's or something similar first before ordering enlargements so that they can make adjustments if necessary. Probably not a bad way to go. I'd definitely do that before forking over cash for large prints.

What is a good printer for home prints and what is the price point for one? How do they compare to professional lab printing? I am assuming they can't compare as the lab uses machines that are many thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in cost.

I had an Epson R280 for a while (no longer made) and just upgraded to an R2000 which will print up to 13". I'm extremely happy with it as it does true B&W, which the R280 didn't do even though it had dedicated black ink. B&H had a $100 rebate through the end of January so I couldn't pass on it. I am very pleased with the print quality.