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Printing With Photoshop (Pre-CS5) in Snow Leopard and Lion
When Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) made its debut back in August 2009, Adobe Photoshop CS4 users started having problems with color-managed printing on their Mac computers. There were some unexpected changes with the ColorSync utility in the new operating system, and these changes started wreaking havoc when folks tried to print from Photoshop using a printer profile. Printing issues showed up in this new OS right away, but it took a few months to figure out what was going on. Here is what was happening…
When printing from Photoshop (CS4 and earlier) in OSX (10.5 Leopard and earlier), we always had the same color management options as Windows PC users: (1) tell Photoshop to manage colors, or (2) tell the printer to manage colors, or (3) turn color management off altogether. This third choice was always something you could do if you wanted to. The ability to do this, of course, is an essential option if you need to print a target image for analysis and for creation of a custom printer profile.
But then, Snow Leopard came along and changed the rules! Mac OSX 10.6 would not allow you to print without color management! Even though you may select the option in Photoshop (pre-CS5) to not manage colors, the system was doing it anyway. It turns out that color management is built into the operating system through the ColorSync utility. Although you still have the ability to tell Photoshop NOT to manage colors, Snow Leopard will figure out that no profile has been attached to the image you are printing. And the OS will then assign its own default printer profile to your image. So, unbeknownst to you, your efforts to print with no color management will fail. And you will end up puzzled by whatever squirrelly results you achieve because your Mac has interfered and changed the equation. Bummer.
Let me say this unequivocally – the situation has improved substantially. There is no reason at this point in time – more than 2 years after the initial release of Snow Leopard – to have printing problems with any version of Photoshop in Mac’s OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard, or with its successor, 10.7 Lion. Although folks struggled with this strange behavior of Photoshop in Snow Leopard for several months, there have since been numerous updates to the original release of 10.6 – some of which addressed printing issues. And all of the major printer manufacturers have introduced updated drivers to make their printers fully compatible with this new way the ColorSync utility works in Snow Leopard and Lion. And for the most part, these updated printer drivers work just fine in Lion, too.
Using the latest printer driver release is important. You should definitely check your printer manufacturer’s website to make sure that you have the most current printer driver for your operating system. Also, if you are running Snow Leopard, It is important that you have installed the latest version, which is now 10.6.8. An even better idea is to upgrade to the newest OS X release, which is 10.7 (Lion). The ColorSync utility works the same way in Lion as in Snow Leopard. This means that the Mac OSX will default to its own color-managed printing in the absence of any color management provided by third-party software.
How Photoshop CS5 Manages Color in this New Mac OSX Environment
Before things settled down and folks got their arms all the way around this new approach by Snow Leopard to color management on a Mac, Photoshop introduced CS5, which threw yet another monkey wrench into the works! Now, instead of having three color management options in the software, as described in the second paragraph above, Adobe decided to eliminate the “No Color Management” choice altogether, since it was no longer really a viable option with Snow Leopard, anyway. Now, you could either “Let Photoshop Manage Colors” or “Let Printer Manage Colors.”
So… How do you turn off color management now, when you print with Photoshop CS5 in Snow Leopard or Lion? It took awhile to figure it out, but the solution is really quite simple. It turns out that if you choose the same profile to be your SOURCE profile as well as your OUTPUT profile in Photoshop, then the profile doesn’t have to make any adjustments to the image file when it prints. It makes sense – and it really works! Here is what you do…
In Photoshop CS5:
- Open your (untagged) profile target image in Photoshop.
- Edit >> Assign Profile… >> Adobe RGB. Click OK.
- File >> Print…
- Set Color Handling = Photoshop Manages Colors.
- Set Printer Profile = Adobe RGB
- Set Rendering Intent = Relative Colorimetric.
- Uncheck Black Point Compensation.
- Click Print…
In the Printer driver:
- Disable color management.
- Open the menu drop-down to select Color Matching.
- If you are able, choose Epson Color Controls, Vendor Matching, or some other similar option. (Choices you see may vary depending on your printer driver.)
- If ColorSync is pre-selected and cannot be changed, then continue on with ColorSync. This depends on the printer driver, and should work okay.
- Print the target image…
Choose whatever other driver settings you normally want to use for printing on your chosen paper (e.g., 16-bit, appropriate media type, thickness, High Speed = Off, etc.). Then Print.
Interestingly, it does NOT matter that Adobe RGB is used as the profile for printing the target image. You could just as successfully use Pro Photo RGB instead, for example (the default color space in Lightroom). It DOES matter, however, that you choose the exact same profile to be your SOURCE in the “Assign Profile” dialog box and the OUTPUT Printer Profile choice in the “Print” dialog box. (Also, it is important to make sure NOT to choose “Working RGB-xxxx” as the printer profile.)
The impact of tagging the image with the same profile you select for printing is like “canceling” the profile altogether. The effect when the image reaches the printer is as though the printed image was not color managed at all – and the colors will still be unadjusted when laid down on your print media. And it will be possible to successfully create a custom profile from the resulting target image. Pretty neat, huh?!
Use the Adobe Color Printing Utility (ACPU)!
If you are using Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) or later, there is an easier way to print the target image for your printer profile with color management turned off. The Adobe Color Printing Utility (ACPU) is a small disposable software program whose sole purpose is to send the target image to your printer with color management turned off. Because the latest releases of Adobe Photoshop (and even Adobe Lightroom), along with Snow Leopard and Lion, will not allow you to print the target image without using a printer profile to manage color, Adobe has come up with this simple little program (ACPU) – and it will accomplish the task for you automatically. While it is possible to print from other software packages with color management turned off, the Adobe Color Printer Utility is so foolproof and easy to use, I have made it available on the Downloads page for printing the target image. Note that there are two versions of ACPU – one for Windows, and one for Mac (Mac OS X 10.6 and above only – it will not work with 10.5 Leopard and below). Make sure you download the appropriate version and follow the ReadMe instructions that are included with the download. When finished printing the target image, you can delete the ACPU software. You should have no further use for it.
Conclusion: How to Make the Most of Photoshop with Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard and 10.7 Lion
There is no reason not to get outstanding image quality and amazing color precision with the newer releases of the Mac OSX – 10.6 Snow Leopard, and also 10.7 Lion – when you print with Photoshop, even CS5. While the color management interface has morphed a bit because of software design changes, the underlying functionality has not. If anything, it is probably better. The secret to continuing to get great results is to understand the changes and make them work for you. But still, perhaps the single most important thing you can do to improve your digital printing is to incorporate the use of a custom printer profile into your printing workflow. ICC custom printer profiles are the best low-cost solution for professional photographers and others who demand accurate color results from their printers. Using the power of i1Profiler, the very latest and most advanced professional color management software from X-Rite®, I can create a Color custom printer profile for any combination of RGB printer and paper you use.
I invite you to visit my Color Management 101 page for a quick and informative article about how your results can be improved by using an ICC custom printer profile that is designed especially for your digital printing workflow. Or check out the Testimonials page to read what clients have said about my custom printer profiles and the superior customer service I provide.
For as little as $15 (for black and white) or $25 (for a custom color profile), I can help you get the most out of printing your images with Photoshop on your Mac. Check out the menu links listed at the top of the page to discover how a custom printer profile can make your life easier. Learn how to acquire an ICC custom printer profile from this website, and use it successfully in your digital printing workflow.
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Some information included above was excerpted from two articles that are published on the web:
Solving Recent Profiling Issues With Apple Computers, Epson Printers, and Photoshop, written by Mark Dubovoy in November 2009. The article appears in its entirety as a tutorial on the www.luminous-landscape.com website.
Prints look too dark using printer driver with Leopard or Snow Leopard, written by technical support staff of X-Rite® in November 2009. The article appears in its entirety on the technical support pages of the X-Rite® website, www.xrite.com.
