looking at Vermont across Lake Champlain ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
on a drive along Lake Champlain ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
on a drive along Lake Champlain ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
MOVING RIGHT ALONG, RE: TRYING TO KEEP IT SIMPLE, to Step 3, making a "proof" print. And, similar to the use of CURVES as part of the process of creating a good quality image file, the making of a proof print could be presented in a very complex / detailed manner. Nevertheless, I am trying to keep it simple, so.....
Making a so called proof print is no different from making a print. Making a print requires: 1st) a decent photo printer, and, 2nd) installing the print software that comes with it. No big deal. The bigger deal is understanding how to create a simple and repeatable printing flow. Which, actually, is not that big a deal.
When I have an image ready for printing, I print directly from Photoshop by selecting PRINT from the dropdown EDIT Menu (I use a keyboard shortcut). Selecting PRINT opens up the Photoshop Print Settings dialogue panel in which I select the name of the printer + the paper profile (installed in your system by the printer software) in the Printer Profile dropdown menu and also select Photoshop Manages Colors in the Color Handling dropdown menu. There are other parameters to set in Print Setting-paper size, etc.-but the important settings are Printer Profile and Color Handling.
After making the settings, hit PRINT and you are off to the races. The resultant print-assuming you have created a good quality image file and entered the correct settings in the Photoshop Print Settings -will be a proof print which very closely simulates what the picture will look like in a printed photo book.
The reason for that outcome is, to put it VERY simply, saving images file to ABODE RGB (1998) + calibration (of your monitor which allows for reasonable WYSIWYG image file processing) + the use of the proper color profiles when making a print will produce a print that will look like the picture will look like when printed on virtually any other calibrated device. Meaning, any device from drugstore printers to a photo book printing press. The simple fact is that, in the digital photography domain, almost every device is fully capable of "talking" to any other device in a "language", aka: calibration+profiles, that they all understand.
CAVEAT Understand that by trying to keep it simple, there a quite a number of variables in the chain-from camera to print-which can't be covered here. None of those variables should be difficult to recognize and deal with.