Color management broken in new Bridge (Bridge 2020, Nov 2019)?
I have just updated my Bridge and Photoshop to their latest versions (November 2019, see detailed version info below).
**** See also update below (Bridge may now use PNGs for thumbnail/preview files in the cache for certain layered PSD files!)
It seems that there are some problems with color management in the new Bridge.
The previous version which I have used until yesterday worked OK. Nothing changed in my system except new Adobe apps today. !!Except: Updated my graphics driver just before Adobe apps (see version info below).
I use Bridge/Photoshop for photography. In Bridge the previews and thumbnails Bridge looks OK for old photos (JPEG, PSD, Raw). However, when editing old PSD files or when creating new PSD documents, the preview for the new files will (often) be wrong. What I observe is about the same effect as I get when I view photos with an application that does not support color management. Since my monitor has a wide gamut LCD panel, the difference is quite pronounced, with oversaturated colors etc.
I have done some experiments and below is a description of a procedure that in my case is able to reproduce the problem with a few simple steps.
Also, when opening a Raw file with "Open Image" in ACR (yielding a flat image in the background layer), the preview in Bridge is OK.
When opening a Raw file with "Open Object" in ACR (yielding a smart object with no background layer), the preview in Bridge is wrong.
The problem can be demonstrated like this:
1) create a new document in Photoshop (try sRGB, color managed first)
2) fill the new document with a solid color (medium bright, medium saturation, I used green)
3) save the document
4) the preview in Bridge looks OK
5) create a new document in Photoshop (try sRGB, color managed first)
6) unlock the background layer
7) make a copy of the layer (yielding two identical layers with a solid color)
8) save the document
9) *** the preview in Bridge is now wrong (it is easy to see the oversaturated color) ***
Seems to have something to do with the use of layers?
**** UPDATE: I just found out that it seems that Bridge now erroneously
generates (non-color managed) PNG files for thumbnail and preview files in the cache for certain layered PSD files!!! More info in the posts below.
Have a look at the image files in the cache file location (Windows):
C:\Users\jjoha\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Bridge\Cache\v36
I tried turning on "Use Software Rendering" in Bridge Preferences, but it did not seem to have any effect on this problem (PNG files still made for files with wrong looking previews).
Version numbers for software/hardware used:
- Adobe Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 2020 Version: 21.0.0 20191018.r.37 2019/10/18 x64
- Bridge Version: Adobe Bridge 2020: 10.0.0.124 x64
- Adobe Camera Raw Version: 12.0.0.322
- Monitor: Eizo CG2730 (calibrated regularly with Xrite i1 Display)
- Windows 10 Pro x64 version: 1903 - Os build 18362.449
- Graphics driver: Driver version: 441.12 (GeForce GTX 1060 3GB)
Just double checked turning on/off "Use Software Rendering" (with Bridge restart/PC reboot). In my case this setting does not seem to have any effect on the problem. Turning on "Use Software Rendering" just makes 100% previews slower to show up.
Also, for the files in question, Bridge still generates PNG files in its cache (which are non-color managed and are shown with oversaturated colors etc. on a wide gamut monitor), for both thumbnails, standard previews and 100% previews. As far as I can see this is new (erroneous) behavior.
This is fixed in today’s release. Please install 10.0.1 of Bridge.
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Kukurykus commented
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João Bizarro commented
Bridge 2020 does not reproduce colors correctly. Enough time has passed to solve the problem but no solution has been found. I have no alternative but to use bridge 2019 and uninstall bridge 2020.
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Larry A Vogel commented
My 2020 updated Bridge vs 10.0 on a Windows 10 OS shows JPG and TIF files matching but the PSD version is greatly saturated. When all three versions are opened in Photoshop, they all match. See attached screenshot from Bridge Preview window. My older version of Bridge does not exhibit the same problem.
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Colin Nicolai commented
Not sure if it's the same issue or not, but In Bridge my CR2 raw thumbnails have clipped shadows that look super pixelated. When I open the same raws in ACR they look perfect. But when I open them in Photoshop, they're clipped again. Not sure what's going on.
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Anthony Lopetrone commented
I have the same bug. The colors in my psd files are displayed incorrectly in the new Bridge update. The same file will display correctly in Lightroom, Illustrator and of course photoshop.
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JØRGEN JOHANSON commented
Some additional info:
1) The new Bridge may show outdated previews
From the observation regarding that Bridge prefers the JPEG version over a PNG version of the thumbnail/preview file of the same PSD file in the cache, it follows that you may actually see the preview an old/earlier version of a PSD file in Bridge.
This seems indeed to be the case. I just made a new "plain" PSD file (see next item). Bridge shows a correct preview and has made proper JPEG versions of thumbnails/preview files in its cache.
I then made changes to the same PSD file to produce the preview problem of the new Bridge (see next item). Bridge now changes the preview to show oversaturated colors etc. It also made new PNG thumbnail/preview files in its cache. There are now both JPEG and PNG versions of the same PSD file in the cache.
I then made additional (large) changes to the PSD file to make easily distinguishable from the original. While Bridge is still running the preview now reflects the new changes. However, when exiting and restarting Bridge, it will revert back to using the (old) JPEG version of the preview! Now Bridge shows an old version of the PSD file not reflecting the new changes (which are only in the PNG version of the thumbnail/preview files)!2) What triggers the new erroneous behavior
After some experiments it seems that it is not the number of layers (more then 1) that creates bad previews (via PNG files in the cache). I have added several adjustment layers, image/raster/bitmap layers and still got no problems with previews. "Maximize Compatibility" on/off etc. What seems to trigger the problem seems to be an unlocked or no background layer. When I saw the problem for the first time, I was making a change to a PSD file with a single layer with a Smart Object (opening a Raw file with "Open Object" in ACR, yielding a single layer with a smart object with no background layer).
To recap: step 6) above, “unlock the background layer”, seem to be the trigger.
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JØRGEN JOHANSON commented
It seems that when the new Bridge creates thumbnails, standard previews or 100% previews for new or updated files, it makes PNG files in the cache for certain layered PSD files, like the ones you mention (should have been JPEG files as it used to be). Not good since the PNG files are both large and not color managed (PNG does not support embedded color profiles).
Since Bridge 2019 and 2020 shares the same cache location:
- currently on Windows: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Bridge\Cache\v36
updating thumbnails/previews using Bridge 2019 will repair the thumbnails/previews (by making proper JPEG files in the cache).
Under the "v36" folder in the cache:
folder "256": thumbnails / small previews
folder "1024": large previews (like "Monitor-Size Previews)
folder "full": 100% previews" (if "Keep 100% Previews in Cache")
I also observed that when the new Bridge makes the PNG thumbnails/preview cache files it will leave a possible existing JPEG version of the same file. When the new Bridge shows thumbnails/previews and there are both a PNG and a JPEG version of the same (PSD) file in the cache, it seems to use the (correct) JPEG version. Note however if a change is made to a (PSD) file while Bridge is running that the preview shown by Bridge will turn wrong. However, when restarting Bridge the correct preview will again show (since the OK JPEG version of the preview is still in the cache). Only after a cache clear and a cache rebuild (which generates only PNG files) will the new Bridge use the (incorrect) PNG version from the cache. -
JØRGEN JOHANSON commented
Some additional info further down in this thread: