Problems with Conversion to Adobe RGB Last?

[Peter York]

Hi all,

My current hybrid workflow is: scan > assign scanner profile > convert to Adobe RGB > edit photograph.

Are there any problems with converting to Adobe RGB at a later stage, say during a printing session? Since these scans are master files, I want to eliminate any destructive actions.

Thanks!

[Preston]

Peter,

I think it's safest to have the image in your preferred profile as early in the process as possible.

If your scanner software will allow it, set the scan output to Adobe RGB. From the scan, create your master file and edit as needed. From your master file you can create duplicates and target them as needed; say for the Web (sRGB-8 bit).

--P

[Peter De Smidt]

You don't want to edit in the scanner profile. It's not necessarily a very even or large color space. (When you edit, you could very well need colors outside of the scanner's color space.) You are doing it the best way for the scanner you have.

[patrickjames]

I am in the habit these days of scanning into ProPhoto RGB. I typically edit color in LAB. I figure it is best to go with the biggest spaces possible because you never know how good output will become. I doubt I am really getting much more out of my scans by using ProPhoto but what the heck. It is important to understand how color works if you are going to do this though.

[Peter De Smidt]

The only question is if you want to use a larger space than Adobe 98 for your editing space. The two main choices are ProPhoto RGB and Ektaspace by Joseph Holmes. The latter is available as a free download from Mr. Holmes's site. Ektaspace supposedly has all the possible color that Ektachrome film has. It's bigger than Adobe 98 but smaller than ProPhoto RGB. There are pluses and minuses to using the bigger spaces.

[Peter York]

Thanks Preston, Patrick, and Peter. I'll stick to my current workflow.