You can create more consistent color reproduction by doing the following:
- Calibrate your monitor using a colorimeter
- Install the Blurb ICC profile
- Soft proof and save your final images in the proper color space for your workflow.
Why calibrate your monitor?
A profiled monitor allows you to more accurately soft proof your images. Soft proofing is a special preview feature in Adobe® Photoshop® and InDesign® that allows you to see on your monitor how your images will print on a particular device. With a color-managed workflow including Blurb’s ICC profile, you’ll be able to better predict how your images will look in print.
Monitors drift with usage and time so we recommend monthly re-calibrations to ensure an accurate display.
What you need to calibrate your monitor
A properly calibrated and profiled monitor is required in order to accurately soft-proof your images. Calibrating a monitor requires both special hardware and software. It’s not something you can do by adjusting the monitor settings alone.
A variety of low-cost monitor calibration software/hardware bundles are available today. They include the Colorvision Spyder and tthe X-Rite Eye One Display series.
How to calibrate your monitor
Your colorimeter software/hardware bundle will include instructions for calbrating your monitor. Because there are many different monitors on the market, we can’t show how to calibrate them all. Rods and Cones created the Blurb ICC Profile and specializes in setting up and supporting color-managed workflows and selling monitor calibration hardware, software, and support packages. That's a good place to start if you need more information for calibrating your monitor. X-Rite also offers reference materials on monitor calibration.
Install the Blurb ICC profile
Color management works its digital magic by converting from one color space into another, while trying to preserve the closest possible color match. This requires an accurate description of the source color space and the destination color space. This description is known as an ICC profile.
Below are steps for installing the profile on a Mac or PC. Also check out our video that shows how to do this on either operating system.
Installing the Blurb ICC Profile on Mac OS X
- Download the Blurb ICC profile
- Place it into the following directory: Main HD > Library > ColorSync > Profiles
- If you are using Adobe CS, you can also place the profile in the Recommended directory for Adobe applications (Main HD > Library > ColorSync > Profiles > Recommended).
- Placing the profile in the Recommended folder makes it appear near the top of the profiles list inside Adobe applications
Installing the Blurb ICC Profile on Windows
- Download the Blurb ICC profile
- Right-click on the profile and select Install Profile.
- If you’re using Adobe CS, you can also place the profile in the preferred directory for Adobe applications: C Drive > Program Files > Common > Adobe > Color > Profiles > Recommended.
- Placing the profile here makes it more convenient because it will appear near the top of the profiles list inside Adobe applications.
Next:
Preparing Color Images for Blurb Booksmart Using Adobe® Photoshop®
Preparing Black and White Images for Blurb BookSmart Using Adobe® Photoshop®
Preparing Color Images for Blurb BookWright
Preparing Black and White Images for Blurb BookWright
Preparing Color Images for InDesign or PDF to Book Using Adobe® Photoshop®
Preparing Black and White Images for Adobe® InDesign® and PDF to Book Using Adobe® Photoshop®
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