What color space should I calibrate my monitor to?
The answer to this question will vary, but I prefer to calibrate all my Macintosh and Windows monitors to 2.2 gamma and at 6500 degrees Kelvin.
For Macintosh users, a gamma of 1.8 at 5000 degrees Kelvin also works well, but the monitor’s color takes some time getting used to.
Since most monitors are in a 2.2 gamma naturally, then calibrating to this setting is usually the best.
By making sure your operating system and application software understands how your monitor is displaying color, you will make better color decisions using your montor before commiting them to paper.
STEP 2 : Opening Your Image File
Next, open your image file and choose the proper conversion option. If your image file already contains a profile that matches the Color Settings you’ve selected in Step 1 or if your image file is in LAB space, then the image will come right up. If not, then Photoshop will display this dialog:
Adobe Photoshop 7 Opening Conversion Dialog
In order to open your image file properly, you should NOT convert your data file. Instead, select “Leave as is (don’t color manage)”. The less color conversions you perform on your data file before printing the better.
Whenever you ask Photoshop to convert color using this dialog box, you will be modifying your image file forever. Depending upon how you created your image file, you may be limiting the quality of the actual image!
However, if you know what you’re doing, then select “Assign working RGB: Adobe RGB (1998)” or assign a different profile using the “Assign profile:” radio button.
Photoshop will then perform any color conversions and open your file into a window.
4