Dot Gain in PS

Can someone explain to me how dot gain compensation works in PS in a nutshell? If I take a picture then open that picture into PS, does the application show me the picture as is or does it preview the image with dot gain? If it previews with dot gain, by how much?

Chris said it right, dot gain is incorporated into any well-made print profile. You should never have to attempt any sort of visual compensation for dot gain.
Think of it like this. Take any flattened image. Image Duplicate.
One the first, Convert to Profile, Select Gray, Then Select "Dot Gain 10"
One 2nd, Convert to Profile, Select Gray, Dot Gain 30.
Compare the two images. They look the same, right? It's because the dot gain is built in to the destination.
Now Select All on one of them and copy. Go to the other and Paste. Choose "Preserve Numbers."
Pretty big shift, right? If you paste the Dot Gain 10 into the 30, it goes really dark. Go the other way, it gets really light.
One more thing – don't save these changes.
Hope this helps.

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