Lightroom 2 and ICC print profiles

[*kev*]

I've got some images that i'd like to get printed at Costco and have noticed that they have started including ICC profiles for each of their stores on their website.

My problem is 2 fold, firstly i can't work out how to save the Costco Chester ICC profile into colorsync on my Mac (running 10.7), and secondly i can't find any information of how to apply an ICC to images that i want to export as JPEGS to be uploaded on to an external printers.

Does anyone know if Lightroom 2 supports ICC profiles on export, and if so how do I get them to work, and is it worth the hassle? If ICC profiles aren't supported in Lightroom 2 and it is worth using them, how would i go about applying the profiles to a batch of images i want to send for printing using photoshop CS4?

Thanks for any help with this, i've only found conflicting answers elsewhere.

Kev

 

[Chappers]

Just dropped onto the Costco web site to check this out.

It seems that these profiles are used internally within Costco for their printers. The profiles are made available to Photographers who wish to "Soft Proof" their images prior to sending.

They also state

Please do not embed profiles in the file you submit - silver halide mini-labs discard these. Please supply the files in standard sRGB only.

Which to be honest is the best way anyway.

Neither Lightroom 2 or 3 currently support soft proofing. I believe Aperture does as does Photoshop.

To soft proof in Photoshop, first ensure you have the profile loaded into you system.

Then go to View and select PROOF Set UP

From the dialog box choose Custom.
From the Customs Proof Conditions again select Custom

From the Device to Simulate box Choose the profile you want to use.

DO NOT TICK Preserve RGB Numbers.

You have two rendering intents Perceptual and Colormetric. Now the choice of these depends on how the final printing device works. I'd opt initially for Perceptual.Tick BlackPoint if it isn't already, and select simulate paper color.

Now save this with a name, sch as Costco Chester. This means it will appear in the saved list within Proof set up.

To see the effect the profile will have on your images simply select the proof setup you want and make sure Proof Colors is selected from the View menu. Cmd/Ctrl +Y switches this on and off so you can toggle between the on and off option.

Now you will see how the printer will print your image. If there is little difference then let it go. However if you want to make adjustments you can. The easiest way is to duplicate the image and put the original side by side with the duplicate. Now apply the profile to the original, and using the adjustment controls within Photoshop adjust the original to match the duplicate.. Remember though If the colours are altered due to the colours being out of of the printers gamut then no amount of adjustment will bring them back. For this reason it may be a good idea to have Gamut Warning enabled.

Now save the image, preferably with a slightly different name, such as appending CCICC to its original name.

I'd send off a coup;e of test images first to mae sure yu are getting back what you expect

 

[*kev*]

Thanks for the response Chappers, I decided to add the the Costco profile , as was suggested on their web site;

"copy your source, original image somwhere to separate it from the image you are intending to print at Costco.

To do the colour conversion, go to

Image/Mode/Convert to Profile (for Photoshop 7 or CS)
Edit/Convert to Profile (for Photoshop CS2).

Select the destination profile (make sure you select the lab you are sending the work to!), and ensure "Intent > Relative Colorimetric" is set.

Save the work as sRGB JPG without any embedded profiles."​

I did this before i had read your response, which explains why things are done in the way they are.

Thanks for your help.

Kev

The images turned out really well and i would say are some of the best prints I've had with regards to matching the colours on my screen, at a very reasonable 12p per 7x5 when printing 50 of them.