When to apply a printer profile in photoshop....

[steve2916]

When does one apply a printer profile? After editing a photo, i think it looks great, but after applying a printer profile ...not so much. Am i doing something in the wrong order. Any help here would be greatly appreciated..

 

[crimbfighter]

Are you applying a printer profile to a digital image? I'm a tad confused as to what you working towards. Are you printing the photo and are unhappy with the print results?

A printer profile, or ICC profile, is only applied during soft proofing for printing, or during printing itself. The ICC profile is a profile created for a specific pribter/ink/paper combination to achieve accurate color reproduction. So long as your monitor is also calibrated, a proper ICC profile will ensure your print matches your on screen edited image.

I actually profile my own printer/ink/paper combos using the x-rite i1 Studio system. I print test swatches, then measure them with the device, and it creates custom ICC profiles for each paper and ink on my printer. Many paper manufacturers will also have ICC profiles for their papers that you can download yourself.