Can you soft proof in Photoshop Elements 7?

jnrpotography · June 17, 2009

Hello all! I am going crazy trying to soft proof my images with the Bay Photo Icc profile. I am using Photoshop Elements 7. I have downloaded and installed the profile, but I cannot find how to open it once in elements to see how my image will print. Please direct me on where I can find the soft proof tool in photoshop elements 7. Thanks!

Mike J · June 17, 2009

jnrpotography wrote:

Hello all! I am going crazy trying to soft proof my images with the Bay Photo Icc profile. I am using Photoshop Elements 7. I have downloaded and installed the profile, but I cannot find how to open it once in elements to see how my image will print. Please direct me on where I can find the soft proof tool in photoshop elements 7. Thanks!

You can't soft-proof in PSE7 to my knowledge. The feature is not there. You need to full-blown Photoshop to softproof.

I would love to hear that I'm wrong in this.

jnrpotography · June 18, 2009

This is a tutorial I found on how to do it. But I can't seem to find the icon they are speaking of. http://simplephotoshop.com/elementsplus/en_US/soft_proof.htm

Other searches I did said that you can't soft proof in PSE. So I am very confused. There is this tutorial on how to do it so it must be able to be done? Anyone know where the tool in the tutorial is?

JustPlainMe · June 18, 2009

jnrpotography wrote:

This is a tutorial I found on how to do it. But I can't seem to find the icon they are speaking of. http://simplephotoshop.com/elementsplus/en_US/soft_proof.htm

Other searches I did said that you can't soft proof in PSE. So I am very confused. There is this tutorial on how to do it so it must be able to be done? Anyone know where the tool in the tutorial is?

That "tool" is the color quadrant effects icon from the Effects palette. All it does is break your photo into four different quadrants with different colors. I have no idea how the writer of the tutorial accessed the dialog boxes that are shown on that page. The home page of that tut claims all versions of PSE have had soft proof capability.

If anyone else figures this out, I'd love to see that tutorial demystified!

rwmj · June 18, 2009

JustPlainMe wrote:

That "tool" is the color quadrant effects icon from the Effects palette. All it does is break your photo into four different quadrants with different colors. I have no idea how the writer of the tutorial accessed the dialog boxes that are shown on that page. The home page of that tut claims all versions of PSE have had soft proof capability.

If anyone else figures this out, I'd love to see that tutorial demystified!

That tutorial is for use with Elements+
http://simplephotoshop.com/elementsplus/
an add-on that ostensibly releases many PS functions not otherwise avaialable in PSE.
I purchased the software last year because it seemed like a good way to augment the Elements feature set but I have not made much use of the added functionality. In particular I have not used the soft proofing feature yet as my current printer is very limited in quality and I don't use it for the kind of finished work that I would otherwise use soft proofing for. I have used Bay Photo for that and have been very impressed with the quality of the results.

Good luck.

Roy

jnrpotography · June 18, 2009

You have used Bay Photo for your printing if I am correct. So you have had success with them without soft proofing using their ICC profile? What other features come with elements plus? How much des it cost? Is it worth it or should I just upgrade to full photoshop?

rwmj · June 18, 2009

jnrpotography wrote:

You have used Bay Photo for your printing if I am correct. So you have had success with them without soft proofing using their ICC profile? What other features come with elements plus? How much des it cost? Is it worth it or should I just upgrade to full photoshop?

Hi Jen

Re Elements
Check the feature set and see if there are things you wnat or need in Elements+. I think it is $18 downloaded.
http://simplephotoshop.com/elementsplus/
I am relatively new to digital photography and just learning the ropes of this technology. I have not moved on to CS4 yet because I have always taken the approach of trying to do as much as I can with only what I need. I will probably fork out the cash for Photoshop at some point but for now I am more interested in spending my money on a new lens and then a fine art quality printer. If I had more money on hand I might spend more on equiptment sooner. I am quite happy with what I am able to do with Elements 6. The principal limitation I have run up against so far is that for working with layers you have to covert to the 8 bit mode. Technically that is a sacrifice but practically for me it has not risen to the level of a need to purchase CS4. The quality of a finished image is certainly improved by the quality of equiptment used and the skill with which you use it but the technology is only there to serve your vision.

Re Bay Photo
I calibrated my monitor and was not actually able to install the Bay Photo profile with Elements 6.
Choose their print option that includes manual printing or inspection - I forget what their desriptor is - and send them a few images. You can also include a note about the image such as 'only whites are in the snow...' to guide their printing results. If you go this route they will reprint for free if you are not satisfied. I have used them for a dozen or so images that I framed because my printer is not adequte for this image quality and it is limited to 8x10 paper. I had them do one reprint.

I have been very pleased with their prints and the speedy delivery as well.

Roy

Can you soft proof in Photoshop Elements 7?

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