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What Is Hard Proofing in Photoshop?

Last updated on November 22, 2022 @ 11:35 am

Hard proofing is the process of simulating how an image will look when printed on a specific output device, such as a printer or proofer. Photoshop’s hard proofing feature lets you view an on-screen simulation of how an image will appear when printed on a particular output device, using either the currently active color management settings or custom color management settings that you specify.

You can also specify the rendering intent and black point compensation options.

Simulating an image’s printed appearance is useful for two main reasons:

PRO TIP: In Photoshop, hard proofing is the process of simulating how an image will look when printed on a specific type of paper using a specific printer. This is done by adjusting the image’s color profile to match the printing environment. Hard proofing can be useful for ensuring that an image will look its best when printed, but it is important to remember that the colors you see on your screen will not necessarily match the colors you see on the printout.
  • You can ensure that an image will print as expected, without having to actually print it out.

  • You can compare two or more different output devices to see which one produces the results that you want.

Hard proofing is particularly useful when you’re printing to a device that uses a different color space than your working space. For example, if you’re working in Adobe RGB (1998) and want to see how an image will look when printed on a CMYK printer, you can simulate the CMYK output by hard proofing. Or, if you want to compare how an image will look when printed on two different types of paper, you can create separate hard proofs for each type of paper.

To create a hard proof:

1. Choose View > Proof Colors. 2. In the Proof Setup dialog box, select the desired options in the Device To Simulate section.
3. If desired, click More Options and specify additional color management options.
4. Click OK.

The Proof Colors command simulates the appearance of an image when it’s printed on a specific output device, using either the current color management settings or custom settings that you specify.

Kathy McFarland

Kathy McFarland

Devops woman in trade, tech explorer and problem navigator.