The Process Recipes.
Capture One Pro has unique output system. We can create multiple output formats, proof each of them and process all simultaneously ! These are called Process Recipes. For instance, we can create an export in a TIFF 16-bit ProPhoto Size Original, JPEG 8-bit sRGB Size Original and JPEG 8-bit sRGB Size 600px Long Edge formats. For each of them, we can ask Capture One Pro to specify a destination and to organize the exported files in a folder named by the process recipe name. Then select these 3 Process Recipes, press Cmd+D and all is done automatically.
But what makes the Process Recipes so unique is that we can proof the quality output before to process and so adjust the parameters in a precise way, like the ICC profile, the size, the output sharpening and the compression quality.
The Recipe Proofing.
Shift+Cmd+ (by default but I edited my Keyboard Shortcuts for an easier one) and Capture One Pro switches the viewer in proofing mode. As on the images above, we have an output size preview of the different Process Recipes, 1400px, 1000px and 600px Long Edge. Useful when choosing the size of vignettes we send to our client for selection.
Working with a large gamut monitor, we can then proof too the colors in different color space. As we saw on the previous article “Workspace”, I choose to select permanently a Profoto RGB color space, or the more advanced ProStar RGB and eciRGBv2 color spaces, by View > Proof Profile and Relative Colorimetric for the rendering intent, by Preferences > Color (we must not forget I can’t see all these colors, because I am limited by my monitor which can only reproduces 99% of the Adobe RGB Color Space). So by selecting the JPEG 8-bit sRGB Process Recipes and switching in proofing view, Capture One Pro allows me to see the conversion into the sRGB color space. And in my experience, red hues are often a problem.
We are now able to edit our development to control this conversion and I use for this task again the Color Editor tool. And just by pressing the Recipe Proofing keyboard shortcut back and forth, I am able to see clearly where are the problems.
The JPEG Compression Quality.
An additional benefit of the Proofing is that we can see in real time the effect of the JPEG compression quality. As the images above, the left one represents a quality of 85 (approximately equivalent to 11 in Photoshop) and the right one, a quality of 0. Moreover, in the Process Summary tool, we can have an estimate of the final file size.
The Output Sharpening.
Even if I consider the resize algorithm in Capture One Pro one of the best I know, when we resize for instance an image from 6000px to 600px Long Edge, we loose some sharpness.
So here comes the output sharpening inside of the Process Recipe tool, under Adjustments. We can control and add a sharpening after the resize, only applied on the export. Between 1200px and 400px, a sharpening with an amount value between 20 and 80 at a radius of 0.4 is a good starting point.
Happy Capture One Pro 12 to all of you !
