How do you remove the color profile of a file within Lightroom (if it can be done)?

[MMM]

Hello,

Is there some way to remove the color profile from a file using Lightroom? If so, how?

I searched the archives and it came up with a thread where the person was asked why they wanted to do that at all, and then had a link to a thread that doesn't seem open anymore:

http://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/showthread.php?1607-Removing-image-color-profiles


The reason I want to do this is I'm working on finishing up the design of a website which has some elements (buttons, etc.) that should blend with the CSS background color. In *most* browsers, this is working as intended. However, in *some* versions of Safari, these image elements are getting changed due to their color profile, lending them a richer, more saturated color that may look nice in and of itself, but sticks out like a sore thumb. From the research I've done so far, that seems to be due to the color profile in these images. It is NOT due to my monitor on any particular computer because I can bring up my pages in another browser (Firefox, etc.) and all will be fine. Here's some links to pages discussing this issue:

http://www.tisgoud.nl/blog/2009/09/10/safari-mismatches-color-in-css-and-background-image
http://blog.jiffle.net/post/99636502/png-jpg-color-matching


So, is it possible to strip the color profile of image files with Lightroom? If so, how? I've only given Lightroom very limited use so far, and its ways of doing things are not necessarily intuitive to me.

Thanks!

 

[Replytoken]

Welcome to the forum! Your links may need to be edited as they do not work at present. But, let me respond to your question in a roundabout manner. When you export a file from LR, you assign a color space to that file. Do you know what color space that you have been assigning on export? I would suggest starting with sRGB,as that is the most widely accepted color space, especially when you are talking about images being used on the web. If you can report back on this export setting, and correct your links, then it will be easier to help you solve your problem.

Thanks,

--Ken

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi MMM, welcome to the forum! I've fixed the links, so you can skip that bit.

Lightroom won't let you strip the profile, although the LR/Mogrify 2 plug-in might let you. I'd have to check on that. I'm guessing you probably used Photoshop to create the images in the first place? You can do it there.

 

[LouieSherwin]

Hi,

Jeffery Friedl's Metadata Wrangler will do this an more.

-louie

 

[MMM]

Thank you all!

As far as what I initially assigned to them in Lightroom, I didn't actually put any of these images through it before. They ended up getting whatever automatically got assigned though Paint or something like that (I'm guessing sRGB).

Let me try downloading the plugin Louie posted and I'll let you know if I have more questions/issues.

Thanks again.

 

[MMM]

Well, I got the Metadata Wrangler installed, but it didn't seem to help. While the file might be getting stripped of its existing color profile, it seems to be getting a new one from Lightroom. Is there any way I can verify what is/isn't on my "new" supposedly stripped file?

When I exported, I set every option on the wrangler plug-in to "Preserve" EXCEPT "Embedded ICC Color Profile", which was set to remove. I also ran it a second time with "Any metadata item not explicitly listed above" set to "Remove", and it made no difference. I would up with the same more saturated image in the problematic version of Safari almost as before, except this time it ended up with a slightly greenish cast.

In one of the links I provided in my original post discussing the problem I'm having, it notes with PNG files I also need to "Additionally strip both the sRGB and gAMA chunks from the file.". Is that possible with this "Wrangler" or within Lightroom itself? I don't know if not having done this is what's still causing the problem, or something else (or both/neither)?

Thanks...

 

[Mark Sirota]

The Metadata Wrangler should work; I just tested it and it does indeed strip embedded profiles from exported files. Can you post an example where you think it's not, so I can inspect it?

 

[MMM]

Would the file itself be OK, Mark?

 

[Mark Sirota]

That's a PNG, and it indeed has no embedded profile or color space tags. So it seems you've successfully stripped them (how did you export it from Lightroom? As format Original, then with Metadata Wrangler)?

 

[MMM]

Thanks Mark.

I had it in TIFF format while in Lightroom, and had converted it to a PNG in Paint to try back in my site. I wanted to put this here in the same form, given I was still having a problem with the color mismatch in a variant of Safari.

Given I'm still having problems, I guess I also need to "Additionally strip both the sRGB and gAMA chunks from the file." (as quoted from the 2nd article linked above)? How would I do that? Or do you suggest something else?