Adobe Photoshop Plug-Ins Page

The ColorPerfect (formerly ColorNeg) Photoshop/Photoline plug-ins are available for both PC and Mac and the PC version is available in 64-bit.

ColorPerfect 2.00 has finally arrived. Version 2.00 introduces PerfectRAW and with it the color purity that we all have been searching for from digital camera RAW. In our extensive research we found that there were critical errors made at the very start in the way that digital camera RAW data is analysed. We are the first to recognize and correct these errors and the result is the color clarity and consistency of The PerfectRAW System with calibrations for over 150 designations of digital cameras from Canon, Casio, Fujifilm, Kodak, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony. The importance of this new technology to digital photography can hardly be overstated. Of course ColorPerfect still has the ColorNeg answer to working with color negatives with built-in calibration data for over 250 types of color negative film from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, AgfaColor, Konica, China Lucky, Rollei, and Ferrania. There also have been several important advances to the ColorPerfect system as a whole. There is a new control for called BP Tails for BPoint (blackpoint) that can improve shadow detail particularly for color negative users and a new, better tracking and control of color balance through systematic internal analysis of image grays. The unique ColorPerfect Alpha Channel Feature has been restricted to the later versions of Photoshop that supported Alpha Channel, but now that tool has been extended to be able to use a selection mask in place of the Alpha Channel, providing this important capability to earlier Photoshop versions and Photoline. ColorPerfect is based on Complete Color Integrity and gives results we and our users think are amazing. (See ColorPerfect dialog and how it works.)

The ColorPerfect PC plug-ins work with Photoshop 6 and 7, Photoshop CS through CS5, Photoshop Elements 3 through 8. ColorPerfect is also available in a 64-bit version for PC that works with the both the Photoshop 64-bit version and Photoline 64-bit version 16 or later. The Mac versions of ColorPerfect work natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs, with Photoshop 7, Photoshop CS through CS4 on PowerPC and versions CS3 and CS4 on Intel. The Mac version also works on CS5, but only when Photoshop is called up in 32 bit mode. See comments and instructions on how to do this. Operation on CS5 in the Mac 64-bit mode will require about a 40% re-write of our code and we considered our groundbreaking work on PerfectRAW to have priority. At this point we plan to address preparing a 64-bit Mac version. For those of us who think Photoshop is too expensive and Elements is too hobbled, ColorPerfect also works well with 32-bit Photoline in both the PC and the Mac versions and 64-bit Photoline on the PC. Our German colleague has an English-language page giving the complete story. We do not list Corel Paintshop in the above because these plug-ins do not work in Paintshop. Corel Paintshop has recently introduced the ability to use 16-bit Photoshop plug-ins, but their implementation is only partial and many features of our plug-ins will not work including Key validation. At this point we do not support Paintshop and our plug-in Keys are not accepted in Paintshop.

Photoshop CS6: We have had a report from a user that to install ColorPerfect on the PC version of CS6, locate the Plug-Ins folder as for other versions. If there is not already a Filters folder inside the Plug-Ins folder, create one. Copy the ColorPerfect.8bf file to the Filters folder. For Mac Photoshop CS6 Adobe has discontinued the 32-bit version, so ColorPerfect will not work on Mac CS6 until we have completed the 64-bit Mac ColorPerfect.

The downloadable ColorPerfect demo version imposes a fine gridwork pattern on the images it produces, unobtrusive enough to allow evaluation and in fact we expect there will be some people for whom the trial version is sufficient, gridwork and all. Please try the demo before you buy. When you get a paid registration Key, the same Key is valid for ColorPerfect and also for the previous set of plug-ins, removing the gridwork of the trial version. Different paid registration Keys are required for the Mac and PC packages, however, and for the English and German language versions.

The current download version is 2.00a (updated 4/28/12), which fixes a few problems dealing with GammaC In and now allows the use of the Camera-Basic-Best-Working button while scrolling CC values.

Download the ColorPerfect for PC zip file -- this includes the 64-bit version of ColorPerfect -- View ColorPerfect for PC ReadMe -- See ColorPerfect and how it works. ColorPerfect replaces ColorNeg and the earlier C F Systems plug-ins.
Download MakeTiff for Windows (Updated 4/19/12) - ColorPerfect's new PerfectRAW System requires MakeTiff.

Download the ColorPerfect for Mac zip archive file -- View ColorPerfect for Mac ReadMe -- See ColorPerfect and how it works.
ColorPerfect replaces ColorNeg and the earlier C F Systems plug-ins.
Download MakeTiff for Mac (Updated 4/19/12) - ColorPerfect's new PerfectRAW System requires MakeTiff.

After you have installed and tried the download package you may (probably will) find that you would like the ColorPerfect dialog to have a larger preview, more in keeping with the size of your display. We have a selection of different dialog sizes to select from. To avoid confusion, please download and install the complete ColorPerfect package, just above, and look at the contained ReadMe before you try to install a larger dialog.

Who uses ColorPerfect? There are users of our plug-ins in 46 states and the District of Columbia in the USA, eight provinces in Canada, six states and the ACT in Australia, and in more than 50 other countries around the world. A very informal estimate based on user e-mail and our visits to user websites is that many of our users - approaching half of them - are active professional photographers, quite a few of them large format photographers. But we have at least as many amateurs from beginners to advanced, quite a few who have found themselves with a large or important stack of film negatives or positives to deal with in the digital world. Other users are students, college professors, libraries, digital camera users trying to get better results, and a few people who have developed quite unique applications. We do not advertise at all beyond having these web pages, so most of the users arrive here from word of mouth (or blog) from other users while the rest simply chance upon our spot.

Purchase ColorPerfect for PC from a secure website. When purchasing "ColorNeg family for PC" from our site which provides secure data entry, you will receive a Key via e-mail which will remove the gridwork from demo versions downloaded from this site. This same registration Key is valid for the PC versions of ColorPerfect, including the 64-bit version, and will work with the previous generation of plug-ins as well. This key is valid only for the English language PC versions.

Purchase ColorPerfect for Mac from a secure website. When purchasing "ColorNeg family for Mac" from our site which provides secure data entry, you will receive a Key via e-mail which will remove the gridwork from demo versions downloaded from this site. This registration Key is valid for the Mac version of ColorPerfect, and will work with the previous generation of plug-ins as well. This key is valid only for the English language Mac versions.

ColorPerfect has effectively replaced our earlier plug-ins, the original ColorNeg, ColorPos, and GamSat, but for those few people who really want or need these earlier plug-ins they are available on another page. Keys purchased for the older plug-ins remain valid for ColorPerfect and ColorPerfect Keys are valid for these older plug-ins.

ColorPerfect History: Version 1.05 introduced the Alpha Channel Feature. The primary intent of this feature is to allow the user to "Photoshop" the image, using masks, adjustment layers, curves, levels, all things which destroy color integrity. When this is completed, the tonal (light/dark) values in the image are then entered into ColorPerfect along with the original image and the color is applied to these desired tonal values in a way that preserves the color integrity of the image. Of course this feature opens the door to many innovative possibilities as well. Mac version 1.05C finally made the adjustment scrollbar "Live," that is, the preview image will change as you move the scrollbar instead of waiting until you release the thumb button. This version also allowed the user to copy and paste the Key when registering the plug-in. Version 1.04 added the ability to operate directly on 8-bit/channel images, even from jpeg files, producing 8-bit/channel results. We still definitely encourage the use of 16-bit/channel images when at all possible, but we recognize that this can be an obstacle for some people. But be aware that in the case of negatives, 8-bit/channel scans will always produce noticably inferior results even with ColorPerfect. Some users were disappointed that ColorPerfect would not work directly with B&W negatives (monochrome) like the older ColorNeg plug-in did. The ability to work directly on monochrome images and produce monochrome results was added in Version 1.04. The ColorPerfect engine is very colorcentric, so internally the monochrome image is treated as RGB with color controls intact and even though the final result will be monochrome, the user is able to see in the preview if any beneficial toning would be obtained from completely treating the image as color. Version 1.04 also introduced a new algorithm for setting highlight detail and compression which was a definite improvement over the original. For a very informative treatment of how highlights work, see the Highlights page prepared by our German colleague (in English). We get questions about the best way of dealing with working spaces (like AdobeRGB) and our plug-ins, so in cooperation with our German colleague we have put together an explanation and analysis of Working Spaces that should be very helpful. With ColorPerfect 2.00 and PerfectRAW, however, some of these answers have changed and we advise looking at Help for GammaC and for PerfectRAW for the latest information.

Users confirm that ColorPerfect works very well indeed when given a properly scanned negative or positive but that figuring out how to make a scanner deliver a good, clean 16-bit linear scan as required for best results with color negatives can be quite tricky to do. It appears that scanner software writers often feel it necessary to gild the lily, intentionally distorting color in hopes of impressing the user. Others misleadingly label settings or controls for reasons known only to themselves. Our German colleague maintains a very good page on linear scanning in an English language version. Anyone having difficulty getting ColorPerfect, ColorNeg and ColorPos to perform well should visit these pages. In earlier times users volunteered helpful instructions on how to deal with this for various scanners and systems and those instructions are also available Getting a Good Linear 16-bit Scan.

ColorPerfect's approach to color is simple but it is also new in digital photography and we ask that users at least look over the short ReadMe file included with the plug-in to learn the essential basics and so to get off to a good start. Rather than a manual, ColorPerfect has a built-in help system that will let you build on those basics and learn to use as many of its comprehensive features as you want, at your own pace. In addition to the new color engine, the ability to deal with both negative and positive image sources, and the Help system, ColorPerfect has other important features including preview zoom, the ability to work on different image layers, a color balance ring-around that, unlike the one in Photoshop, actually works, control over the underlying tonal curve, a superior handling of highlight and shadow, the ability to save and return to specific points in the progress of working on an image, a selection of different dialog/preview sizes to match your display, the unique Alpha Channel and PerfectRAW features, and more.

We have worked with a colleague in Germany to produce German language versions of our plug-ins and manuals: Wir sind eine Kooperation mit einem deutschen Kollegen eingegangen, um eine deutsche Version unserer Plug-ins und Handbücher zu veröffentlichen. Diese sind von nun an auf der Webseite http://www.colorneg.de verfügbar. Dort finden Sie außerdem einige der Materialen dieser Webseite auf deutsch sowie interessante neue Artikel.

ColorPerfect is the result of a surprising new discovery for handling an old problem: Several years ago in these web pages I began to explore the matter of color integrity in digital imaging. This came about because like most people, when I started into digital photography I was hypnotized by the marvelous things that are possible – even easy. Then the marvel began to wear off when I started to realize that something was wrong with the color in many digital images. Not all digital images, but in so many of them; not only in snapshots, but in professional photographs, even in the highest quality magazines. Worst of all, I found this disturbing color effect in some of my own photos.

I did have success in finding the main cause of this lack of color integrity but there was a serious problem in that my early work was mathematical and difficult for most people to appreciate. Very recently I have had a real breakthrough that has so greatly expanded my understanding of color integrity that now I can explain it in simple terms and without using mathematics. In fact, after seeing this explanation you may find it difficult to believe that it is not already a core element of digital imaging. Yet, clearly it is not. The tools for maintaining color integrity prove to be very basic and very simple indeed, yet you will not readily find them in Photoshop. As this is being written popular tutorials and common practice both emphasize tools that actually destroy color integrity instead. That is why the problem is so pervasive even in professional work.

I feel very fortunate to have made this breakthrough. It is a real rarity to have several lines of study of a complex topic converge so beautifully into such a simple explanation. Join us on our Complete Color Integrity page to learn the full story − also available as a PDF document (1.25 MB PDF).

For serious users ColorPerfect has advanced features for dealing with color balance, dealing with problem negatives, dealing with rolls of similar negatives and there are several ways to calibrate your system for the ultimate results. See our Color Negative FAQ for more information about digitizing color negative images.

The ColorPos Mode of ColorPerfect extends these same techniques for use in dealing with positive scans and now RAW images from digital cameras through the PerfectRAW System. ColorPos is intended to maintain color integrity while making the initial, largest corrections to a positive image. The concept of FilmType as a means of estimating calibration data for unknown films is a breakthough that makes dealing with old films and problem images very much easier. Our colleague in Germany has prepared a nice illustration of this, available in English. ColorPerfect deals with color balance in several different ways directly involving CC (Color Compensation) filter values, including the CC "ring around" that has been a mainstay of color photograph printers for decades. The CC concept is central to understanding and working with three-primary color photography systems, which, after all, is what you are working with whether you use film or a digital camera. Your images may contain "millions of colors" but every single one of those millions of colors is a mixture of just red, green, and blue. PerfectRAW is an exciting new extension into similar capabilities for properly dealing with digital camera RAW images.

The road to ColorPerfect started with our tips Color Balancing Color Negatives (now obsolete) and Color Integrity in Digital Images, and the more recent Complete Color Integrity page, using the physics and mathematics discussed in our CFS-243 Color Integrity, CFS-244 Negative to Positive, and CFS-276 Complete Color Integrity PDF documents. The earlier ColorNeg plug-in and the ColorNeg Mode in ColorPerfect invert color negatives correctly (Photoshop and many scanner software packages do this completely incorrectly) and the ColorPos plug-in and the ColorPos Mode of ColorPerfect operate on photographic images from positive sources such as scanned slides and prints providing for calibration and making the initial, often large image adjustments while preserving color integrity, which can be very difficult to do using standard Photoshop approaches. The new PerfectRAW System is based on a thorough and independent study of the methods used to deal with digital camera RAW images. We have not released the results of that study, but we found that fundamental and important errors had been made in the early development of RAW image analysis, Those errors have obviously been a continuing headache for those dealing with RAW analysis, leading to the use of remarkable and even bizarre patches to work around their effects. Apparently we are the first to recognize these problems and figure out how to deal with RAW analysis correctly. This should be interesting.

Dialog Size: The preview image for ColorPerfect is designed to fit within the constraints of Photoshop running on a system with a 1024 x 768 display. Users running higher resolutions need a larger dialog box so the preview image will be larger. Photoshop prohibits resizing third-party plug-ins so to meet this need we have a Plug-In Sizes page where users can download a zip archive of the ColorPerfect plug in in sixteen dialog sizes including wide screen versions. New users need to install and try the standard downloads above before trying to install one of larger dialog versions.

Photoshop Elements: ColorPerfect will work with Photoshop Elements and has been used with PC versions 3 through 8. It may work with other versions and with Mac versions but we have not tried them, nor have we had reliable reports. Since Photoshop Elements is often sold as part of a package with a scanner, a digital camera, or a digitizer, this can be an inexpensive alternative for persons who do not already own a copy of Photoshop. On the downside, users should be aware that setting up to work with selections is not as convenient in Photoshop Elements as in full Photoshop. On the upside, the plug-ins provide Photoshop Elements with a lot of 16-bit/channel functionality that it does not have otherwise.

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