Workflow advice

[mrcmrc]

Hello everyone, I wish some advices to implement a correct printing workflow, especially on the color management front. I've just write down a brief list of steps, any consideration and advice are welcome.

I adjust my photos (usually BW sometimes colors) in CaptureOne5, sometime in Lightroom3.
In both software I use ProPhoto RGB color space.

To soft proof the Canson papers where I wish to print I’ve downloaded from the vendor web site the .ICC files of the papers of my choice.

To print on my Epson 3880 I use InDesign CS5. I use InDesign because I found very useful in order to arrange my photo with some captions, I’ve made some templates to print up to four images on large A2 size (Canson) photo paper, this way I can economize a little on the paper cost.

I export from CaptureOne (or Lightroom) my photos as ProPhoto 16bit TIFFs.
Sometimes I read than others export images as Adobe RGB, this because ProPhoto has so super wide gamut that you can never print all the colors it uses.

- any reason to export photos with embedded Adobe RGB color space and no with ProPhoto?

So I import my tiffs in InDesign. I’ve set RGB colours as ProPhoto RGB, don’t really sure if I have also to set CMYK and which to choose; as Colour Management Policies as set “Preserve Embedded Profiles”.

To print from InDesign I need some advice:

- Under Print/Output/Colour I need to choose “Composite CYMK” or “Composite RGB”? (near there is also the option “Text as Black” unchecked)
- Under Print/Colour Management/Options I set “Colour Handling” as “Let InDesign Determine Colours”
- Under Print/Colour Management/Options I set “Printer Profile” selecting in the menu the .ICC downloaded from the paper vendor.
- Under Print/Colour Management/Options I see that there is also a “Output Colour” option, depend if I’ve choose CMYK or RGB there is the option “Preserve XXX Numbers”

I wish also to know if there are any benefits to export pdf from InDesign and print them via Acrobat instead of printing them directly from InDesign.

Thanks for any advice!

[Scott Martin]

If LR would suffice for all your printing needs that would be a *huge* step forward for your workflow. Sounds like LR's Print module "Photo Info" feature doesn't meet your captioning needs (no surprise there). Consider the benefits of printing from LR without captioning if you haven't already. LR has the layout, positioning and template features you're looking for.

As for InDesign (if you decide to continue with it), stick with 16bit ProPhoto files for gamut maximization (some papers clearly exceed the capabilities of AdobeRGB). If you're already using 16 bit files there's no reason not to stick with ProPhotoRGB.

Choose "Composite RGB" when using any inkjet printer drivers (which manage color in RGB mode).

Let InDesign manage colors

Select the printer profile in the Print dialog box. Note that custom profiles are often better than generic ones from paper manufacturers. YRMV.

Don't "Preserve Numbers" (preserving numbers turns off color management for some InDesign elements like text and native graphic elements)

Keep it simple and don't involve Acrobat (or other applications)!

Hopefully you'll be able to do everything, including printing, in LR or C1 in the future.

[mrcmrc]

Many thanks for your kind advices Scott!