OK Ron, I'm here to shake things up again, because I don't think you have it quite right yet. Printers ( at least inkjet printers) deal with only one color profile. It's called CMYK, and is so named after the four colors the printer uses: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (K). This is the basic setup, and there ARE variations. Some printers use a grey ink, some have the capability to use special inks, but let's stick with basics for now.

What this means is that sometime between the image leaving the computer, and it appearing on paper, the file is going to get converted- again. Bob, this is where that Spyder3pro becomes very handy. When you download the printer profiles for a printer, what you're downloading is a very specific CMYK profile, tailored to a specific printer, paper type, and ink type. Change any one of the three, and you change the printer profile. That's why Costco (for example) offers TWO profiles for downloading: One for glossy prints, and one for matte prints. Different paper types need different profiles. So I open my image, go to Edit> Convert to Profile, and choose Costco-OR-Hillsboro-Gls: 17July2008 from my drop-down menu, and click OK. Viola! I've just converted the image to the colors that the printer I'll be using is capable of reproducing. But how do I know that I'm seeing those colors accurately? Because I've profiled my monitor with the Spyder, that's how. Now I've got the closest color match possible between my computer and the actual print, because my computer, Photoshop, and the printer are all using the same definitions for each color. Welcome to the wonderful world of color management.

So anyway, if the image is going to get converted to yet another color space before being printed, doesn't it make sense to ALWAYS take your pictures in aRGB, to give the truest colors possible? The only time I wouldn't shoot in aRGB is if I was doing something that I KNEW wasn't going to get printed (product shots for a website, for example). Then sRGB makes sense.

That said, if an editor asks for images in sRGB format, give them to him in sRGB format. Maybe the conversion is easier for him if he uses sRGB images. I have very little experience with half-tone or dye sublimination printers; perhaps it's best to start from sRGB if using those printer types. But for inkjet prints, use aRGB. Every time.

That's my understanding anyway.

- Joe U.