> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ AUGUST 2019[ 52 ]
PROOFING COLORS
Under the View menu, Proof Colors and Gamut Warning
are two options that help guide us in checking our image
file. When you choose Gamut Warning from the View menu,
by default it’s looking for colors that are beyond the CMYK
printable range. You’ll see a gray overlay that represents any
pixels in the image with colors that are out of gamut.This photograph I recently took of a sunset in Idaho
shows you how vibrant beautiful colors might not be print-
able in CMYK. The gray overlay on the right shows colors in
the image that are beyond the CMYK printable range.
Using the shortcut Command-Y (PC: Ctrl-Y) will turn on
Proof Colors, allowing you to see a preview of the colors
in your proofing color profile/gamut. Pressing this multiple
times is like an on/off switch. If you press it and see colors
shift, those are colors that will be changed when your im-
age is sent to the printer. The pixels that are changing color
are the same ones that you’d see as a solid gray overlay inthe Gamut Warning. Either of these techniques is valid for
checking out the potential issues of your image output, but
you should use both.
But wait, proofing in CMYK isn’t helpful if you’re
printing things on your awesome Epson home printer.
Fortunately, it’s really easy to set up Proof Colors in Photo-
shop for your output device. Just click on View>Proof
Setup>Custom and you’ll see this dialog appear.In the Proof Conditions area there’s an option for Device
to Simulate. Click on this pull-down menu and it will show
a long list of profiles, gamuts, and devices. If you have
previously installed your printer profile on your machine,
it will show up in this list. It’s important to leave Preserve
Numbers unchecked; otherwise, you won’t see accurate
conversion examples of your colors for the proof setup.ALL IMAGES BY MARK HEAPS EXCEPT WHERE NOTED