Colour management help needed?!

Question

Hi everyone,
I'll soon be getting some of my images made into a photography book by a large and reputable printing company. They have just sent me their ICC profiles for me to use when I edit the photos for the book.
What exactly do I need to do in order to make what I see on the screen identical (or very close to) what my printed books will look like? I will be provided with proofs before the books are printed but would like to get colour management right the first time around.
I edit my images using Photoshop CS5, mainly in camera raw.
If anyone could provide me with the steps required it would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Poppy
P.S. I recently got given a spyder calibration device but have never used it, don't know if this needs to be involved in the colour management process somehow?

Answer 1

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PoppyAG wrote:
If anyone could provide me with the steps required it would be greatly appreciated!
How did they describe the profiles given to you?  What are their names?
This is not really a subject someone can just lay out for you in a forum post.  It's complicated to get things set up right, and the choices you need to make during setup require both understanding of the concepts AND of your needs.  There are few cases where without knowing your needs someone could just say "the right way to set it is this".  You need to go seek out all the information you can find about color management and read it, then come to a place like this with specific questions.  There are quite a few overviews online, but understand this while you're reading:  Not everyone who writes on the web really understands it either, so you'll have to keep in mind that some of the info you find is going to be just plain wrong, even though it sounds right.
function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
PoppyAG wrote:
What exactly do I need to do in order to make what I see on the screen identical (or very close to) what my printed books will look like? I will be provided with proofs before the books are printed
Inevitably the schedule will get crunched, and they'll suggest that the physical proof review can be skipped.
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH SKIPPING THE PROOF REVIEW.
In a recent book of astrophotography I did the printing came out too dark, because for all my color management knowledge and proper setup, someone without the proper knowledge at the printing contractor didn't handle the files properly, and because of the editor's stupidity they both caused the schedule to slip and requested that we make up time by skipping the paper review - and like an idiot I let them.  As a result the images are just interesting rather than spectacular, and book sales suffered.
-Noel