I am having this issue with 2020.105, but updated version due to seeing issue on 2019.115.

On the latest version of Qimage Ultimate I am having issues where any psd files look very washed out both on the thumbnail list and when I print. I converted the same file to jpg and it is looks totally normal. I am using Photoshop CC on a Windows 8.1 laptop to create both the psd file and jpg. I can pull up exactly the same psd and jpg files on my old Windows 7 desktop that is still on Qimage Ultimate version 2018.121 and both thumbnails look exactly the same as I would expect. I am adding pictures of both Qimage versions thumbnail views.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ipwnxm29jhu379j/Old%20Qimage%202018_121.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cckt4mrcniw1kqz/New%20Qimage%202020_105.jpg?dl=0

Any assistance is appreciated.

Matt

Fred,

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see how this could be a caching issue. I created new versions of each of these files (that's why it has numbers after it.) And for the pictures I posted I copied the directory to my network drive so both versions of Qimage could see the exact same files. The directory was created moments before I pulled it up so there could be no cache. The image PRINTS washed out too, not just the thumbnail.

It seems to me that Qimage is having problems processing or recognizing the Levels layer - and possibly the Hue layer that are both part of the psd edits. I created the freshly numbered psd and then immediately made a jpg version of the same file in Photoshop. They SHOULD look exactly the same in Qimage, but don't.

Matt

Brian,

I have been using Qimage with psd files for many years, long before Ultimate, without a problem. I agree that we can't expect 100% compatibility with the proprietary format forever, but in this case the 2018 version of Qimage is getting it right, but the 2020 version is not. Something seems to have changed within Qimage in the last couple years.

Matt

So I have looked around and my PSD files DO have an embedded ICC profile - seems to be required by Photoshop for compatibility. I am puzzled why before the 2019.104 change was made my PSD files match between Photoshop and printing from Qimage, but now they don't. Was this change needed? Seems like double profiling is happening somewhere.

Matt

This is the most likely cause.  Over the years, I've updated the PSD reading capability of QU to support more incarnations of the PSD format.  But because the PSD format is proprietary to Photoshop only (even Lightroom can't read them unless you engage "maximize compatibility" mode), it isn't possible to read all formats, layers, image modes, etc. stored in PSD files.  Each update gets better overall but none can be 100% and may have issues in different areas due to the proprietary nature of the PSD format.  If I went back to the old PSD reader I was using in 2018, it would likely fix your problem but create 3 others.  That's the nature of the PSD format and why I recommend never using it outside of Photoshop.  Use an international standard like TIFF instead.

Regards,
Mike