RGB vs. sRGB

[danting]

Has anyone printed both and seen what the difference is?
I printed RGB and my photo book looks too desaturated.
If I send the same files saved to sRGB should they print more correctly as they appear on my monitor?

[Cruiser]

I've used both and prefer the colors of sRGB. That's my own personal preference. I know many of the professionals use RGB and encourage others to use it. Its just what you like that is important.

Make sure your monitor is calibrated before you make your book and your pictures should look as good in the book as they do on your monitor. I find that if I lighten the pictures too much, they appear too light in the book. So, I've been darkening all my pictures slightly. They appear almost too dark on my calibrated monitor but they print beautifully.

[danting]

The reason I ask is because I printed a book with Shutterfly in sRGB (since they want that) and printed one with My Publisher in RGB (they said either one). I used the same pictures saved in the different color spaces. It looks like Shutterfly and My publisher are using the same or similar papers and printers. But the Shutterfly book came out great and the My Publisher book came out desaturated and dotted by the print pattern. I like My Publisher's software and book sizes better and was wondering if the RGB colorspace messed up my book and if I had used sRGB it would have turned out as good as Shutterfly's.

[mypublisher]

This is a nuance of sorts, but the sRGB should give the most accurate rendition. It's also important to note that all of the images are post-processed prior to printing -- so some of these fine tuning adjustments may be undone by this process.

[moneypenny]

Which of these is adobe RGB? I was told that it was best to shoot in AdobeRGB instead of sRGB using my XTi. I don't know if I will be doing much post-processing on any of these pictures, so some might just get uploaded as they are--I just want to make sure I am shooting in the best format.

Thanks!

[danting]

Well, against my better judgment I gave mypublisher another shot and printed an sRGB book. Although the colors are more saturated and accurate than the RGB book that I made with mypublisher, the shutterfly book is still better. The print quality that mypublisher uses is slightly lower making the compression artifacts more visible in my pictures. Mypublisher also appears to be doing some auto adjusting to lighten my pictures too much because the pics are pretty dark on my adjusted monitor. I really hate this because like I said before, I like mypublisher's options and book making software better, but the final product's print quality is what matters most to me. Good luck to you all, I really hope mypublisher works out for you.

[danting]

moneypenney,

Adobe RGB is RGB. If you already have pictures shot in this format just open in photoshop and then convert to profile sRGB - as mypublisher says this will give you better results. Otherwise if your camera has the option choose sRGB.