Printing Tutorials
Paper Whites on Screen Modes

A few years back my one request on a new feature in Photoshop CS4 was to enable the ability to customize the Screen Modes beyond the three that had been in Photoshop for some time, Standard Screen Mode, Full Screen with Menus and Full Screen. Although you had been able to customize the colors of those backgrounds with a key combination, my goal was to be able to also turn off the black border always surrounding the image, so that I could customize the surrounding color to my paper white and see the image whites in context.

I was rewarded with just such a feature in Photoshop CS4 Preferences under Interface and as an addition, the border option was customized to allow for a Line (as was always there), a Drop Shadow, and now also None. So I now normally work in Full Screen with Menus with a Custom color of my paper white. As I am normally using one of two papers, this has worked beautifully for me.

The papers I normally use are the rag paper I designed with Hahnemuhle, the Museum Etching, and what I think of as it’s gelatin-like companion, PhotoRag Pearl. Neither of these have the bluing agents of optical brighteners that will yellow over time.

Paper Whites
Hahnemuhle PhotoRag Pearl White
L: 97.9
a: .1
b: 1.6

As Photoshop will not take decimal points into their Custom colors, I enter L: 98, a: 0, b:2

Hahnemuhle Museum Etching White
L: 97.4
a: .2
b: 2.3

As Photoshop will not take decimal points into their Custom colors, I enter L: 97, a: 0, b:2

click image to enlarge

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