What are the proper Photoshop settings for the most consistent color on screen?

Question

There are some in-depth answers on the topic of color profiles including this one by jrista, but it all makes my head spin, and I suspect I'm not alone. I'd like to ask a question that will hopefully relieve new digital photographers who are looking to share some of their work on the web:

What settings should we use in Photoshop so that our colors will be satisfyingly consistent across multiple devices?

A web search has suggested that we do the following:

1. Edit > Color Settings... > Working Spaces > RGB > sRGB
2. Edit > Color Settings... > Working Spaces > Color Management Policies > set all three to Preserve
3. View > Proof Setup > Monitor RGB
4. View > Proof Colors > On

It would save a lot of frustration if someone could confirm that this will get us newbies on the right track for showcasing our work on screen or tell us if there is something else we should be concerned about.

Answer 1

Yes, for working on the web, those settings will generally make what appears in Photoshop match what will show up in a web browser.

Of course, this does not account for differences in how monitors are calibrated, so on a different screen all bets are off.

The other thing to worry about is not attaching a color profile if you use File > Save For Web & Devices. Web browsers do not do anything with color profiles attached to images. In CS4 or later you can also convert the image to sRGB, but that won't make a difference if you've already been working in the Monitor RGB (with the workspace set to sRGB) proof setup with Proof Colors on.

You'll find an overview of all this in this blog post and in much more detail here.

Answer 2

I still recommend calibrating your own monitor. It at least makes your monitor be around the middle of the pack, instead of accidentally being in some far end of it.