The Adobe Photoshop software offers a so-called ‘soft proof’ function with which, for example, an RGB file from a camera can be displayed in a CMYK colour space. This so-called soft proof in Adobe Photoshop has some advantages, but also serious disadvantages:
Advantages of Photoshop Softproof:
- A colourful RGB file can be quickly and easily simulated in a usually smaller CMYK colour space
- For image retouching, for example, the colours that would lie outside the later CMYK colour space can be quickly displayed and visualised so that the retoucher knows which areas of the image to pay particular attention to, as the colours of the original image in the print colour space will be ‘out of gamut’.
- Different CMYK colour spaces can be quickly and easily simulated against each other,
Disadvantages of Photoshop Softproof:
- With its name ‘soft proof’, the Photoshop soft proof simulates that it really is a binding colour representation of a file on the monitor. Of course, this is by no means the case. Why? Photoshop Softproof is not interested in whether the monitor is calibrated or has a completely green cast and is set up incorrectly. It does not know the monitor, so the softproof will only be reasonably consistent if the monitor is correctly calibrated.
- The Photoshop soft proof does not see whether colours are ‘in gamut’. Example: With a correctly calibrated monitor that can cover the sRGB colour space, a cyan in the ISOCoatedV2 print colour space is far outside the displayable colour space. Photoshop doesn’t care about this, it still displays a Photoshop soft proof, even though it cannot be colour-accurate.
- Compared to a real soft proof on soft proof software such as Spectraproof, a Photoshop soft proof cannot take ambient light into account. Whether at 7 a.m. at sunrise, at 1 p.m. in full sun, in winter with clouds or at night with fluorescent light: Photoshop always shows a great Photoshop softproof on the same monitor, although a colour sample placed next to the monitor would always look different. In a real soft proof, the ambient light is of course also measured and adjusted so that a colour sample placed underneath looks identical to the soft proof on the monitor.
Conclusion: There is a real soft proof and a Photoshop soft proof
The real softproof measures and validates the monitor, the softproof standard light and the file displayed via a softproof. The soft proof software Spectraproof validates the CMYK colours displayed on the monitor, Spectraproof generates a report and thus proves the correct colour representation by means of an individual measurement result for the soft proof, the monitor and the soft proof standard lighting.
Of course, Photoshop Softproof cannot do all this, it merely displays a larger colour space for a smaller CMYK colour space. That is all. Therefore, it would actually be good if Photoshop would rename its ‘Photoshop Softproof’ to a kind of ‘CMYK colour space simulation’. Because what Photoshop can do doesn’t really have much to do with a real soft proof.
More articles related to this topic:
New edition of ISOCoatedV2 in M1 in sight?
Even almost 9 years after the introduction of the successor colour space PSOCoatedV3, ISOCoatedV2 / FOGRA39 is still the most widespread colour space in Europe. We at Proof GmbH count around 200 jobs from time to time for the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, among others. In the last count, proofs in ISOCoatedV2 accounted for around 68% of all proof jobs at our company. This is a clear sign of the continued widespread use of the colour space. ISOCoatedV2: From the classic colour space to the beacon of the … read more
Proof.de: New video online
In this short image video we – the Proof GmbH – introduce us and our work. Find out who we are and what drives us. What do you think of our short film?
“Digital First” often means “Colour Problems Second!”
Whether it’s a large global corporation or a small company, the following often applies to designs or redesigns today: we develop everything for digital first.
Colour deviations in 2023 PANTONE Color Bridge Guides
After Eddy Hagen pointed out in this posts, that there were some major colour deviations between the brand new PANTONE Solid Coated Guide 2023 and the previous version especially for the PANTONE 2635 C, I was curious to lookup the same colours in the new PANTONE Color Bridge Coated Guide of 2023 and compare the colours with the previous version. I measured a dE00 of 8,15 between the two colours that Eddy mentioned, which is really far apart from how accurate PANTONE colours should match between the different PANTONE guides. … read more
Proof GmbH 2025 once again Fogra and Fogra “Spot Cert” certified
This year we once again created proofs for Fogra certification and sent them to Munich-Aschheim for testing. With these proof prints, which we print according to three different proof standards and on three different papers, we point out that we not only deliver excellent proof quality through internal quality controls and checks, but that the quality of our proofs is also measured and confirmed by external experts. We have now had test prints certified by Fogra for the 12th time. We have also been “Spot-cert” certified for the display of … read more
Precise proofing of tonal values of spot colours
In recent weeks, there have been lengthy discussions on the Fogra digital printing mailing list as to whether a research project should be launched to define standardised tonal value gradations for spot colours. What is this all about? In the field of CMYK and seven-colour printing, the definition of clear, printable and proofable standards is well established and has been tried and tested in practice. If the paper or paper class is known and defined, a measuring standard such as M0/M1/M2 has been established and the content of optical brighteners … read more
Proof GmbH 2021 Certified Again by Fogra with Fogra “Spot cert”
In 2021 proof.de was again Fogra certified including Fogra “Spot cert” certification, i.e. for the display of spot colours such as PANTONE C and U.
New PANTONE Formula Guides with incorrect ink formulations
Several errors have crept into the new PANTONE 2023 fan decks. In both the PANTONE Solid Coated and the Solid Uncoated color fans, there are colours for which the new ink formulations are incorrect. In the PANTONE Formula Guide Solid Coated fan 2023, PANTONE 107 C and PANTONE 108 C have absolutely identical ink recipes, as well as PANTONE 113 C and PANTONE 114 C. As the colors differ, this cannot be the correct. Several errors in the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 In the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 … read more
PANTONE Find a Color No Longer Available Without Registration
Shortly after Adobe’s announcement to remove PANTONE colours from their products, PANTONE removed the popular PANTONE Find a Color from their website
We passed the first proof certification for the 7C proof under FOGRA55
A few days ago Proof GmbH was the first company to be certified for proofing for the new 7C exchange colour space FOGRA55. Fogra has developed characterisation data for extended multicolour printing with the printing colours CMYKOGV – i.e. cyan, magenta, yellow, black (contrast), orange, green and violet – FOGRA55 as part of a research project over the past few years. The characterisation data and the ICC profile Ref-ECG-CMYKOGV_FOGRA55_TAC300.icc have been published on the Fogra website in recent weeks. We have now carried out the certification via GMG ColorProof, as … read more