Exporting photos for web vs print
Export web/delivery copies in sRGB with the profile embedded, and export print files in the colour space and resolution your lab specifies (often sRGB, sometimes Adobe RGB). The single biggest web mistake is shipping wide-gamut files that browsers render dull and desaturated. Get the colour space right per destination and most delivery colour problems never happen.
For the web (and client galleries)
- Colour space: sRGB. It’s what browsers, phones and apps assume. Convert on export.
- Embed the profile. Don’t strip it — an embedded sRGB profile tells viewers how to render.
- Format: JPEG (or HEIC). Full-resolution for downloads; the gallery generates web previews if it’s colour-managed.
- Sharpen for screen if your workflow separates screen vs print sharpening.
Deliver these through a colour-managed platform so the previews and downloads keep the colour you exported.
For print
- Colour space: what the lab asks for. Many consumer labs want sRGB; some pro labs accept or prefer Adobe RGB. Follow the lab’s spec — don’t guess.
- Resolution & size: the lab’s required DPI at the print dimensions (commonly 300 DPI).
- Soft-proof against the lab’s paper profile if they provide one, so you catch shifts before you order.
- Sharpen for print (output sharpening differs from screen).
Keep your masters separate
Edit and archive in a wide space if you like (Adobe RGB / ProPhoto) — just don’t deliver those to the web. Keep the wide-gamut master for print flexibility, and export sRGB copies for the gallery. One master, two export recipes.
The quick reference
- Web / gallery: sRGB, profile embedded, full-res JPEG/HEIC.
- Print: lab’s colour space, lab’s resolution, soft-proofed, print sharpening.
- Never: deliver a wide-gamut file to a client gallery and wonder why it looks flat. Why photos look different online →
CuratePics delivers your sRGB exports colour-true, with full-resolution downloads that match what you sent. See how it works →