The following guidelines can help you in calibrating your monitor:

• You can use a third-party calibration utility and an ICM 2.0- or ColorSync-compatible ICC profile generator instead of the Adobe Gamma utility. See the utility’s documentation for details.

• You don’t need to recalibrate your monitor if you have already done so with an ICC-aware calibration tool and you have not changed your monitor settings.

• Gamma settings saved by the Monitor Setup Utility (Windows) or the Gamma control panel (Mac OS) in PhotoShop 4.0 and earlier are not supported.

• You only need to set calibration and save it as an ICC profile once on your system, for all applications, unless you change any of the factors affecting calibration. For example, if you change the room lighting or readjust the monitor brightness and contrast controls, you must recalibrate the system. If you haven’t done so already, after calibrating the monitor consider taping down your monitor’s brightness and contrast controls and your room’s lighting controls.

To calibrate a monitor:

1. Make sure your monitor has been turned on for at least a half-hour, to stabilize the monitor display.
2. Set the room lighting at the level you plan to maintain.
3. Turn off any desktop patterns and change the background color on your monitor to a light gray. This prevents the background color from interfering with your color perception and helps you adjust the display to a neutral gray. (For more on how to do this, refer to the manual for your operating system.)
4. Start the Adobe Gamma utility located in the PhotoShop/Calibrate folder (Windows) or PhotoShop/Goodies/Calibration folder (Mac OS).
5. Select which version of the utility you want:

• Step by Step and click OK for a version of the utility that will guide you through each step of the process. If you choose this option, follow the instructions described in the utility.
• Control Panel and click OK for a version of the utility that is contained in a single dialog box. If you choose this option, follow the instructions in the rest of this section.

1. If desired, choose Load and select the monitor ICC profile that most closely matches your monitor. Use this as a starting point from which to calibrate your monitor.

Note: In Windows, the folder Windows/System/Color is displayed by default, and contains .icm files in 8.3 format. Select a file to display the type of monitor ICC profile at the bottom of the Open Monitor Profile dialog box.

2. Turn up the contrast and brightness controls on your monitor to their maximum settings. Leave the contrast control at maximum.
3. For Brightness and Contrast - adjust the brightness control on your monitor to make the alternating gray squares in the top bar as dark as possible (but not black), while keeping the bottom bar a bright white.
4. For Phosphors - choose a monitor type. If the correct type is not listed, choose Custom, and enter the red, green, and blue chromaticity coordinates as specified by the monitor manufacturer. This option accounts for the different red, green, and blue phosphors used by monitors to display color.
5. For Gamma - choose one of the following options to establish your current gamma settings:

• View Single Gamma - only to adjust the gamma based on a single combined grayscale reading. Drag the slider under the gamma preview until the center box fades into the patterned frame.
• Deselect View - Single Gamma only to adjust the gamma based on Red, Blue, and Green reading. Drag the slider under each box, until the center box matches the patterned frame.

1. For Desired - choose the target gamma you want. For example, the default target gamma in Windows is 2.2 and in Mac OS is 1.8.

Note: This option is not available on Windows systems that cannot control the monitor.

2. For Hardware - choose the white point of your monitor as described by your monitor’s manufacturer. This setting determines whether you are using a warm or cool white. To measure the hardware white point, choose Measure and follow the instruction on-screen.

13. For Adjusted, if you know the color temperature at which the finished image will be viewed, choose it here. Otherwise, choose Same As Hardware. Only choose a different setting to work at a different white point than your monitor’s factory-specified hardware setting.

Note: This option is not available on Windows systems that cannot control the monitor.

14. Click the close button on the window.
15. Save the settings.

To calibrate multiple monitors:

1. Drag the Adobe Gamma control panel onto the secondary monitor.

2. Repeat the calibration steps for that monitor.
3. Deselect Use As Default Monitor Profile in the Adobe Gamma control panel unless you want the secondary monitor’s profile to be used as the default monitor profile for all of your monitors.

Choosing Color mode

A color mode in PhotoShop determines the color model used to display and print PhotoShop documents. PhotoShop bases its color modes on established models for describing and reproducing color. Common models include HSB (for hue, saturation, brightness); RGB (for red, green, blue); CMYK (for cyan, magenta, yellow, black); and CIE L*a*b*. PhotoShop also includes modes for specialized color output such as indexed color and duotones.

Color mode and modes

In addition to determining the number of colors that can be displayed in an image, color modes affect the number of channels and the file size of an image.

• Bitmap mode: Bitmapped images are made up of 1 bit of color (black or white) per pixel, and require the least amount of disk space.
• Indexed color mode: Indexed color images are single-channel images (8 bits per pixel) that use a color lookup table containing 256 colors. Limited editing is available in this mode.
• Grayscale mode: Grayscale images are made up of 8 bits of information per pixel and use 256 shades of gray to simulate gradations in color.
• RGB color mode: RGB images use three colors to reproduce up to 16.7 million colors on-screen. RGB images are three-channel images, so they contain 24 (8 x 3) bits per pixel.
• Duotone mode: Duotone mode is used for monotones, duotones, tritones, and quadtones. These images are grayscale, single-channel images with 8 bits per pixel.
• CMYK color mode: CMYK images consist of the four colors used to print color separations. They are four-channel images, containing 32 (8 x 4) bits per pixel.
• Multichannel mode: Multichannel images have 8 bits per pixel, and are used for specialized printing purposes.
• Lab color 270K
• Lab color mode: Lab images use three components to represent color. They are three-channel images containing 24 (8 x 3) bits per pixel.

 You can import files created in Adobe Illustrator® and PDF and EPS files containing vector art using these commands:

• The Open command to open an Illustrator, PDF, or EPS files as a new PhotoShop image.
• The Place command to place an Illustrator, PDF, or EPS file as a new layer in an existing PhotoShop image.
• The Paste commands to paste copied Illustrator artwork into a PhotoShop image either as pixels or as a path. (See Using drag and drop to copy between applications.)

When an Illustrator, PDF, or EPS image is opened or placed in PhotoShop, it is rasterized—the mathematically defined lines and curves of the vector image are converted into the pixels or bits of a bitmap image. To convert a multiple-page PDF file to multiple images in PhotoShop format, choose File > Automate > Multi-Page PDF to PSD.

To open Adobe Illustrator, PDF, or EPS file as a new Adobe PhotoShop image:

1. Choose File > Open.
2. Select the file you want to open, and click Open. If the file does not appear, for Files of Type, choose All Formats (Windows) or select Show All Files (Mac OS).
3. If you are opening a PDF file that contains multiple pages, select the page you want to open, and click OK.
4. Indicate the desired dimensions, resolution, and mode. To maintain the same height-to-width ratio, select Constrain Proportions.
5. Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged appearance of the artwork’s edges, as it is rasterized. Click OK.

To place Adobe Illustrator, PDF, or EPS artwork into an Adobe PhotoShop image:

1. Open the Adobe PhotoShop image in which you want to place the artwork.
2. Choose File > Place, select the file you want to place, and click Open.
3. If you are placing a PDF file that contains multiple pages, select the page you want to place, and click OK. The placed artwork appears as a new layer inside a bounding box at the center of the Adobe PhotoShop image. The artwork maintains its original aspect ratio.
4. Adjust the placed artwork:

• To move, position the pointer inside the bounding box, and drag.
• To scale, drag one of the handles at the corners or sides of the bounding box. Hold down Shift as you drag to constrain the proportions.
• To rotate, position the pointer outside the bounding box (the pointer turns into a curved arrow), and drag. To adjust the point around which the marquee is rotated, drag the circle at the center of the bounding box.
• To skew, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and drag a side handle of the bounding box.

To confirm the placement of the artwork, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS). To cancel the placement, press Esc.