RJN wrote:I am reluctant to buy and learn new software to fix a problem that is perceived by only a small fraction of APOD viewers. If you know how to adapt my "old reliable" software to do this, please do tell me and I will try. Beware that I am a seasoned curmudgeon who frequently considers the use of reliable older products a sign of efficiency. Therefore, if no easy fix is forthcoming, please do not be insulted if I stand pat for now.
I understand completely.
What version of Photoshop do you have? 6.0 or 7.0? Or do you have ImageReady as a separate product?
However, in this case color management is something that's really matured since the software you have and you should consider sparing a few brain cells and getting your head around it at some point.
It's all about person A preparing an image and persons B, C, etc., seeing the image exactly as intended. Color profiles not only unambiguously describe how the RGB values in an image are to be interpreted, but color-managed software also compensates for differences in display media by using monitor or printer profiles as well.
ImageReady was completely eliminated in newer versions of Photoshop, by the way. You just do everything in Photoshop, and then File - Save As JPEG (or File - Save for Web) now.
It's actually rather easier and more integrated than the way you're doing it.
Pehaps we need to take up a collection to buy Dr. Nemiroff a newer copy of Photoshop. He'll likely qualify for the highly discounted academic version.
It's important to realize that doing proper color management doesn't involve making decisions about what people intended in their images; just the opposite - managing the color so everyone sees the same thing. And it's not strictly necessary for someone to understand the ins and outs of it to adopt practices that produce the right results. To a large degree, just setting the preferences in Photoshop is enough.
-Noel
