ICC Profiles and Applikations - Frequently Asked Questions

1. For what do I need ICC-Profiles? The use of profiles facilitates both a true-color preview (Softproof) on the monitor as well as the adaptation of different printers. You can already see on the monitor what is to be printed in the laboratory. 2. Does Frontier also support color management now? No, you have to do the profiling and the profile conversion of the image files with external software (e.g. Adobe Photoshop 6 or 7). 3. Which image processing software is suitable for color management? Any software that supports ICC Profiles. Our instructions are based exclusively on the use of Adobe Photoshop 6 and 7. 4. Do the profiles also work with photopaper from other manufacturers? No. The profiles can be used exclusively with FUJICOLOR Crystal Archive papers or Pictrography ER media. Color deviations result if other materials are used. 5. Are there also Profiles for other media than FUJICOLOR Paper or Pictrography Material? They have to be individually created by technical experts. 6. Who should convert the data, the photographer or the laboratory? When working with technical labs, this question must be clarified with the laboratory in question. When working with other laboratories, the files must be prepared by the user. The service providers generally do not make any changes to the files. 7. Which versions of Photoshop can be used? The recommendations apply only to Adobe Photoshop 6 and 7. The older versions do not support all the important functions of color management. 8. Can the ICC-Profiles on the Fujifilm homepage be used for all Frontier types (330 – 390)? Yes. The profiles can be used for all Frontier devices. These profiles are so-called "generic" profiles, which can be used for the entire family of devices. Individual printer profiles should be created for very stringent requirements for the color accuracy. Note: The Frontier profiles on the homepage apply only to output in "sRGB mode“! Please inquire from your laboratory whether it will print your files in the “sRGB-Mode“. 9. Why are the Frontier profiles on the Fujifilm homepage for "Frontier sRGB" and not for "PD/no convert/"? If you wish to use the maximum color space for output-profiled prints on the Frontier, you should use the "no convert / PD“ mode. The output profile for this can be obtained free of cost from the email address qualityservice@fujifilm.de. 10. Why are the Pictrography profiles on the Fujifilm homepage for "CM-on3 (sRGB)" and not for "CM-off"? If you wish to use the maximum color space for output-profiled prints on the Pictrography, you should use the "CM-off" mode. The output profile for this can be obtained free of cost from the email address qualityservice@fujifilm.de. 11. Which "Rendering intent" should I use? The use of "Perceptual“ (sometimes also called "Perceptive“, "Awareness“ or "Photographic“) is recommended. 12. I have installed an ICC-Profile for Frontier and taken the color settings for Photoshop. Will my pictures now automatically become better? No. The conversion into the Frontier color space has to be done manually, e. g. in Photoshop. In this context, please read the instructions that you can access on this page. With wrong usage of ICC-Profiles, the image quality can also become worse. 13. Must I inform my service provider that my files have been converted for output? Normally not. Most of the Frontier operators print the data in the way it is supplied. Please inquire with your laboratory whether it modifies the files. 14. Can I also output the files of digital cameras profiled? Yes, if they are professional digital cameras, which can output raw data as well as support ICC camera profiles. No, if the cameras involved output unprofiled JPEG (Exif) files. With these files, the Frontier automatically makes corrections; these corrections depend on the relevant image contents. 15. What does the Frontier do with files from digital cameras? The DSC-correction automatically and intelligently optimizes the image quality of digitally recorded photographs. The type of correction depends on the data in the EXIF-header of the file as well as on the color and density distribution of the image contents. Mostly, the images become richer in contrast, more saturated and selectively changed in some colors. 16. How can I prevent the Frontier DSC Autocorrection with certainty? Save the file in a format that does not support the EXIF header, e. g. as bitmap (*.BMP). Upon opening this file again, the EXIF information vanishes, regardless of in what format the file is saved thereafter. 17. How can I simulate the subsequent print result on the monitor in a color-true manner (soft-proof)? In this context, please read the instructions that are accessible on this page. 18. From what can I recognize whether a supplied file is already in the Frontier color space? This is not possible in the normal Frontier-workflow. If only one profile is appended, the color space can be displayed in Photoshop. If there is no profile appended, there is no possibility to draw any conclusions about the color space of the file in question. 19. Must I append the scanner profile to the file every time? Yes, if the Frontier scans are to be printed outside of the Frontier. Then, the Frontier scanner profile has to be assigned to every scan. The file must then be saved as a TIFF or JPEG file. 20. Can I also use the profiles under Windows NT? Yes. Only the preview on the screen (softproof) is then not possible with colors being reproduced faithfully, since Windows NT does not support monitor profiles.