What You Should Know About Soft Proofing in DxO PhotoLab

[@lakejindsay]

As someone who is deeply entrenched in the printing rabbit hole, this is invaluable. Thanks, Robin!

[@RobinWhalley]

You are very welcome. I'm pleased you found it helpful.

[@toomuchkit964]

Once more an excellent video, many thanks

[@RobinWhalley]

Nice of you to say. Thank you.

[@alangauld6079]

I kind of knew this from reading your books on making prints and colour science but it was good to get a refresher, especially in Photolab, since that's what I use for raws. I usually print from Affinity Photo however, but the same principles apply (I just put all printing adjustments in a layer group which I can turn on/off as needed since Affinity doesn't have Virtual Copies.)

[@RobinWhalley]

That's good to hear and Affinity photo is another good choice. I have a video on Soft Proofing in Affinity Photo if you haven't seen it kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpObkKyuh7BqnaM. Thank you also for purchasing my books. It's appreciated.

[@richardturner81]

Cheers Robin 👌🏻

[@RobinWhalley]

Your welcome. Thanks.

[@doroncohen305]

As always Robin, clear and educational video. After watching your videos about soft proofing and printing, could you make a tutorial on how to prepare my photos for photo album printing applications such as Blurb etc. ? I have downloaded their ICC profile but there's no option for paper selection (probably because there's no photo printer connected to my pc) Of course don't forget to mention that screen calibration is a must😊

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you and thanks for the suggestion. I have added it to my list of possible future tutorials although I cna't say when I might be able to do this.

[@Sky-rq1jk]

Like all your videos this one is very informative. Question? What if I intend to send a file off to be professionally printed. Do I need to send the original or a soft proof file? Maybe you can do a video on how to set up your file for professionally printed images. Thank you so much for all that you do for us photographers. Respectfully SKY

[@RobinWhalley]

I'm pleased that you found it helpful. As for sending your images to a print shop, the process is the same. You just need to obtain teh Printer Profile for the paper/printer they will use. Many of them have this on their website for download. You then install and soft proof the same way as in the video although they may have a default rendering intent they always apply. Once the Virtual Copy is ready, export it to an image file and send that for printing.

[@Sky-rq1jk]

Thank you so much. That’s very informative and helpful. May GOD bless you and your family.

[@keithsimpson8676]

this would make a good subject for a LR video.

[@RobinWhalley]

I agree. It may be a little old now but try this kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGWbi5aDf9VnbdE

[@josephrossi4062]

Hi, tnx for video. I'm doing soft proof just now with some photos i'd like to print (i'll send the files to a printer shop). I downloaded the ICC profile of selected paper from printer website. When i try to simulate "ink+paper" with all photos there is a loss of contrast and saturation. Also WB change..... If i do not select "simulate ink+paper" the correspondence with master image is perfect.... Just for your information, the instruction of ICC profile i downloaded, indicates "Simulates paper color: Active": is it correct that i enable the "ink+paper" simulation in the virtual copy of the immage? TNX, Rgrds from Italy.

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes, the effect you describe when you click the Simulate Paper and Ink is exactly what should happen. Ink on paper can't reproduce the range of contrast and brightness we see when viewing an image on a screen. The screen emits light where the paper reflects it. The simulate paper and ink option allows you to view the image as it would appear if printed on your seelcted paper. It does this using the ICC profile. It's often when viewing an image using this option that see it needs more contrast or other adjustments to make it look how we want it to. That's the purpose of soft proofing the image.

[@josephrossi4062]

@@RobinWhalley Tnx so much. In video, you operate only con contrast....to match the color of master immage, i have to operate also with other parameters (eg. WB, midtones, tonal curve,....). In that way i can reach a similar result. Is it norma? Tnx. Rgrds PS. I really appreciate your video!!!

[@RobinWhalley]

@@josephrossi4062 Yes, it is normal. Sometimes, you even need to adjust the colour and saturation. It really depends on the printer, ink and paper used.