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Aperture 3 book preview: Always WYSIWYG compared to the print?

I have found that the Aperture photo book previews of identical images differ significantly depending on the file type. This came to my attention when I compared .jpg images to RAW images on the same page. The reds and resulting skin tones were very different. So I tried converting the same image to several different file types and the differences in the reds among them was quite a problem. Meanwhile, in the Aperture viewer the different formats were almost indistinguishable. The worst shift between the preview and the viewer colors occurred for the Canon RAW format - major slide from red into orange. I also tried .jpg (quality 10) and .psd (8 and 16 bit). Their reds in the previews are also significantly different from the Aperture viewer in terms of saturation, brightness and contrast. It doesn't matter whether onscreen proofing is on or off. The 'red shift' also happens regardless of whether the monitor calibration is via Colormunki or the 'best fit' OS X eyeball calibration method.


So, what am I to believe? The Aperture viewer or the book preview? Or neither? I'm not ordering all these expensive books until this is resolved. FWIW, single prints from Apple based on the Canon RAW images are very far from the viewer appearance. Their reds are muted and skin tones are sickly...


Any and all comments much appreciated!


Frank in Minneapolis

Aperture 3, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 31, 2013 9:38 PM

Reply
3 replies

Jun 1, 2013 6:13 AM in response to FrankinMinneapolis

So, what am I to believe? The Aperture viewer or the book preview? Or neither? I'm not ordering all these expensive books until this is resolved.

Frank,

what counts, is the preview from the "Preview" button in the "Buy Book" dialog. That is the one that you are supposed to keep as a reference of your order.


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1040#


If you are not happy with the colors in the "Buy Book" preview, viewed on a calibrated monitor, I would not buy the book with the raw images in question.


Léonie

Jun 1, 2013 1:43 PM in response to léonie

I appreciate the information. Unfortunately, the coding from Aperture viewer to press-ready proof is variable depending on the file type. RAW images are the worst, but even images to which the recommended color space (sRGB) is surely attached appear different in the book preview vs. the Aperture viewer. How bad is this color shift? Certainly unacceptable in how it alters portrait skin tones. Here is an example made up of screen captures with two different monitor calibrations (TIFF captures converted to .jpgs by Photoshop for uploading):


http://opa.cig2.usa.canon.com/album/K0okMYdmKrCq0cac


The variability of this color shift among file types and the fact that we don't know the type of printer(s) being used to apply the best printer profile seem to make Apple's print services a bit of a crap-shoot. I should be able to interactively adjust my RAW images to preference without having to continually wait several minutes for the printer-proof to process a whole book!


I have a product support case started with Apple and will update this if a solution is made available.


Best,


Frank

Jun 5, 2013 4:26 PM in response to FrankinMinneapolis

Here is the 'not so happy' conclusion to this story. After working with an Aperture support engineer I learned the following:


1) The print preview is the result of the particular color profile for the specific printer that will be used on each order, after it is applied to the submitted images. So if one's monitor is calibrated then the preview image should be very representative of the printed image.


2) The hue shift that I see is particularly striking in pure reds that have an RGB green channel value of zero. The printing color in the preview will consistently add green. Blues in the same regions are variable, sometimes adding more blue and sometimes subtracting it, which worsens the hue shift.


3) This effect is independent of the computer submitting the image data - results were identical among 3 different macs.


4) Regarding the difference between image appearance in the Aperture viewer vs. the print preview - that DID vary among macs. The best WYSIWYG performance (least difference) was on a new iMac calibrated by eye with the Apple utility, the worst was on my Mac Pro with video card upgrade and Dell Ultrasharp monitors, calibrated using colormunki.


5) You are welcome to take a look at the before-after difference as displayed in an online album. It compares a .jpg made from the print preview to a .jpg made from a screen grab (using the Grab program). Files had to be converted to .jpg format to upload. On my rig they do show the issue. Note my comments and you are also welcome to leave comments there. The URL is: http://opa.cig2.usa.canon.com/s/m/BhVjzDMZypG

The password is: photoprint


6) In summary, the RAW image format is not as standardized as other more ubiquitous formats and each can be somewhat different. So it remains to be seen whether Apple has time to fine-tune the application to all of the standards. It may not make financial sense. But until this is fixed, they will not receive any print business from me.


FrankinMinneapolis

Aperture 3 book preview: Always WYSIWYG compared to the print?

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