Photoshop Color Correction and Printing

Adobe Photoshop has long been used to correct images that suffer from color and tonal range problems or have been faded, ripped, stapled, etc. The use of color correction techniques is typical for images that will be printed on a commercial printing press. Even pictures used on websites often need minor corrections. This class focuses on color correction for printing. Whether you are printing on an ink-jet, dye-sub or laser printer you will benefit from an understanding of these techniques. This class will teach you the techniques used by commercial printing professionals. The goal is for students to fully understand Photoshop's color correction tools including curves, levels, adjustment layers and filters. Students will learn how to modify brightness, contrast, focus and more. This class can be modified to include any topics you need.

Class Objectives:

* Identify the typical uses for color modes, describe the Color Management and Color By The Numbers workflows, and combine the two workflows to create one that will work best for you
* Calibrate your system for maximum color accuracy
* Control the scanning process to work with the best possible images in Photoshop
* Remove defects such as moiré patterns, dust, scratches, noise, and red-eye
* Perform curve-based color corrections to remove color casts, enhance image detail, and ensure balanced images, and modify the brightness, contrast, color balance, hue, and saturation of images
* Create custom color separation settings and modify images’ gamuts to create quality CMYK output.
* Sharpen images to improve focus and detail.
* Create better grayscale images from RGB files than with Photoshop’s default conversion method; and use spot colors to create duotones and spot overlays in images

Lesson #1: Color Workflows

1. Color Modes
2. Color Management
3. Color by the Numbers
4. Hybrid Workflows

Lesson #2: Calibration and Profiling

1. Calibrating and Profiling Your Monitor
2. Choosing a Working Color Space in Photoshop
3. Opening and Converting Images
4. Printing and Color Management

Lesson #3: Scanning

1. Scanning Various Image Types
2. Scanner Settings and Adjustments

Lesson #4: Removing Image Defects

1. Removing Dust and Scratches
2. Minimizing Moiré Patterns
3. Eliminating Red-eye

Lesson #5: RGB Color Adjustments

1. Color Correction Objectives
2. Locating Highlights, Shadows, and Neutral Areas
3. Automatic Color and Contrast Adjustments
4. Basic Curve Adjustments
5. Memory Colors

Lesson #6: Creating CMYK Separations

1. Color Settings for Prepress
2. Calibrating to a Proof
3. Out-of-gamut Colors
4. Color Separating Images
5. CMYK Curve Adjustments

Lesson #7: Sharpening

1. Unsharp Masking
2. Sharpening Techniques

Lesson #8: Grayscale and Spot Colors

1. Converting Color Images to Grayscale
2. Duotones
3. Spot Color Images

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