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THE NEW HOME OF COLORPERFECT IS AT: https://www.colorperfect.com
This page last changed 02-05-24 but not revised since 2019, ColorPerfect, ColorNeg, MakeTiff and PerfectRAW are under active development in 2024 and the years to come.
All download links found below will auto-update to current versions, the text on versions is outdated.
ColorPerfect Version 2.22 is now available
Go to ColorPerfect downloads.
The ColorPerfect Photoshop/Photoline plug-in is available for both PC and Mac in both 64-bit and 32-bit versions. ColorNeg and PerfectRAW are built into the ColorPerfect plug-in.
This is the original web page that has been continuously updated here since the beginning of ColorPerfect. There is also a web page in a more modern style. The pages are not duplicates, so you may wish to look over both. Please be sure that you See the ColorPerfect dialog and how it works.
ColorPerfect is currently in version 2.22, which adds some more cameras to 2.21 and 2.20 - including some iPhones - and fixes a couple of minor bugs. When Photoshop CC users update it is a good idea to get the latest version of ColorPerfect. The principal change in version 2.20 was that PerfectRAW was made a separate Mode. Users should find this less confusing and it provides a more solid base for future developments in ColorPerfect. Version 2.17 completely revised FilmType into a more cohesive implementation. Versions 2.15 and 2.16 enhanced performance and added selectivity by hue to the color Saturation control, a new Graded White control giving the user more control over image contrast, Half Zones between the current Zones, giving the user more detailed control over the image intensity currve, and the ability to scroll highlight and shadow controls. PerfectRAW's SmartClip has been improved, the overall behaviour of the plug-in has been improved and tuned up as well and Mac 32-bit users will finally be able to load and save User film and camera calibration files using standard system dialog boxes. Of great importance to many users is the fact that version 2.15 and later have built-in PerfectRAW calibrations for well over 100 Canon cameras that run the CHDK system - involving nearly 200 different camera names. Version 2 introduced 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 PerfectRAW. The PerfectRAW System automatically recognizes most digital cameras and has calibrations for around 300 designations of digital cameras from Apple, Blackmagic, Canon, Casio, Fujifilm, Kodak, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony as well as the nearly 200 newly added Canon cameras running under the CHDK system. (See a listing of specific camera models included.) 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 about 300 types of color negative film from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, AgfaColor, Konica, China Lucky, Rollei, and Ferrania. (See a listing of specific film types included.) There also were several important advances to the ColorPerfect system as a whole. The unique ColorPerfect Alpha Channel Feature applies accurate image colors to a grayscale of the image which may have been created by any available means and the Alpha Channel controls have been greatly improved. This feature can use a selection mask in place of the Alpha Channel so it will work in earlier Photoshop versions and Photoline. There is a control called BP Tails for BPoint (blackpoint) that can improve shadow detail particularly for color negative users and better tracking and control of color balance through systematic internal analysis of image grays. Version 2.12 looks much the same as version 2.0 but many changes have been made "under the hood" so that ColorPerfect operates more smoothly and consistently. The ability to transfer settings from one image to the next and the tracking of settings in general has been greatly improved. ColorPerfect is based on Complete Color Integrity and gives results we and our users think are amazing. (See ColorPerfect dialog and how it works.)
ColorPerfect Introductory Videos
The ColorPerfect plug-in is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for the both PC and Intel Mac and in the 32-bit versions required for the older PowerPC Macs. ColorPerfect works with Photoshop 7 and above, that includes all CS and CC versions (like CS2, CS6, CC 2024), Photoshop Elements 3 and above (like 13, 15, 2018, 2024) and Photoline version 15 and above. There is more detailed information on this on a modern web page or in the ReadMe files for PC,
Intel Mac, and
PowerPC Mac.
Photoline version 18 and later is able to directly import camera RAW files into ColorPerfect! Macs running recent versions of Photoshop CC or CS6 on Retina displays may encounter a four-way split or other distortions in the ColorPerfect preview. The current download includes a special ColorPerfect version which you should install if you see this problem. The problem does not occur in Retina-ready Photoline and appears to be due to an odd implementation of Retina in Photoshop.
Adobe has taken a remarkable action, releasing for download Creative Suite 2 and Photoshop CS2 in particular. Adobe has changed its story several times on how this came to be and what it means. You will have to judge for yourself exactly how this stands: Details of the Adobe CS2 action. Photoshop CS2 is an excellent base for running ColorPerfect. In particular the ColorPerfect-PerfectRAW-MakeTiff system brings RAW capability for most of the new digital cameras missing from CS2 and gives superior results as well.
For those of us who think Photoshop is too expensive and Elements is too hobbled, ColorPerfect also works well with 32-bit and 64-bit Photoline in both the PC and the Mac versions. Our German colleague has an English-language page giving the complete story. We do not list Corel Paintshop or Gimp in the above because these plug-ins do not work in Paintshop or in Gimp. Both Corel Paintshop and Gimp have 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 or Gimp and our plug-in Keys are not accepted in Paintshop or Gimp.
With Photoshop CS6 Adobe made some curious changes in the way Photoshop lays out its application folders. Our current recomendation is to locate the Plug-Ins folder as for earlier versions. If there is not already a Filters folder inside the Plug-Ins folder, create one. Copy the appropriate ColorPerfect.8bf, ColorPerfect.plugin or ColorPerfect64.plugin file to the Filters folder.
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 - we do not give refunds. When you get a paid registration Key it will remove 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 2.22 (updated 2/8/17). Note that Mac Photoshop CC 2014 and later need ColorPerfect 2.20 or later for proper operation. Version 2.20 completed a series of performance improvements and fixes. We recommend that all Version 2.15 users - particularly Mac users - and all users of FilmType update to 2.22. Besides adding over 200 Canon CHDK cameras and other cameras, the 2.15 revision has added selectivity by hue to the color Saturation control, a new Graded White control giving the user more control over image contrast, Half Zones between the current Zones, giving the user more detailed control over the image intensity currve, and the ability to scroll highlight and shadow controls. PerfectRAW's SmartClip has been improved, the overall behaviour of the plug-in has been improved and tuned up as well and Mac 32-bit users will finally be able to load and save User film and camera calibration files using standard system dialog boxes. The current MakeTiff download is version 1.16 (updated 3/5/15). MakeTiff is an important part of using PerfectRAW, particularly facilitating camera white balance, ColorSpace selection and automatic camera recognition for digital camera RAW and for managing Color Space or Gamma C for scanned negatives. Version 1.14 or higher is required to work best with Photoline 18 and 1.16 is recommended for best compatibility with recent Mac OSes.
The downloaded ColorPerfect Demos are complete, but place a very light grid on the image for Demo mode. When you enter a purchased Key code the grid no longer appears. The video just below these ColorPerfect and MakeTiff downloads shows the basics of using them effectively.
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 - ColorPerfect's PerfectRAW System requires MakeTiff.
Download the ColorPerfect for Intel Mac zip archive
View ColorPerfect for Intel Mac ReadMe -- See ColorPerfect and how it works.
Download the ColorPerfect for PowerPC Mac Software versions zip archive file.
View ColorPerfect for PowerPC Mac ReadMe
Download MakeTiff for Mac - ColorPerfect's 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. Note that this is not necessary for the 64-bit Mac version, which has a resizable dialog.
Who uses ColorPerfect? There are users of our plug-ins in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the USA, eleven provinces in Canada, seven states and the ACT in Australia - more than 80 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. Most of the users have arrived here from word of mouth (or blog) from other users.
Purchase ColorPerfect for PC from a secure website. When purchasing "ColorPerfect 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. NOTE: If you are not in the USA, Canada, China, or Japan, please leave the State entry blank. This same registration Key is valid for the PC versions of ColorPerfect, including the 64-bit version. This Key is valid only for English language PC versions of the plug-ins. (Photoshop itself does not need to be the English language version.)
Purchase ColorPerfect for Mac from a secure website. When purchasing "ColorPerfect 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. NOTE: If you are not in the USA, Canada, China, or Japan, please leave the State entry blank. This registration Key is valid for the Mac version of ColorPerfect, including the 64-bit version\. This key is valid only for the English language Mac versions of the plug-ins. (Photoshop itself does not need to be the English language version.)
Mac-PC Extended Key Offer
With ColorPerfect the Mac and PC Keys are separate purchases and are not interchangeable or exchangeable. We are testing this Extended Key offer for users who want to purchase both Mac and PC Keys or who have purchased one Key and need to purchase the other. Currently this test offer applies only to the English language version of ColorPerfect. This initial test will determine whether we continue this offer and extend it to the German version.
To do an Extended Key purchase you must first have purchased either a Mac Key or a PC Key so that we have a record of the purchase and the e-mail address to which the Key was sent. Then you Purchase an Extended Key just below being sure to use the same e-mail address as in your original order. We will match the e-mail with our records and send you the other Key so you will have both PC and Mac Keys. At present we will do this for older Key purchases as well but the e-mail must match the one in our records, as this is the only way we can be sure that the new Key is going to the original purchaser.
Purchase Mac-PC Extended Key from a secure website.
Please be aware that the Extended Key purchase will require manual attention on our part and while we expect most Extended Key deliveries to be carried out within a day or two the delay may be longer at times. Please be patient.
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. For instructions and suggestions concerning linear scanning see our page on getting a good linear 16-bit scan. Anyone having difficulty getting ColorPerfect ColorNeg or regular ColorPos Modes to perform well should visit this page.
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 https://www.colorperfect.com verfügbar. Dort finden Sie außerdem einige der Materialen dieser Webseite auf deutsch sowie interessante neue Artikel.
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 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 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. The 64-bit Mac ColorPerfect has a resizable dialog and so is not represented on the Plug-In Sizes page.
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