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Photoshop CS3 Color Channels Palette

Color Channels for the RGB, CMYK, & Lab Color Space

Photoshop's "Channels" palette window allows you to edit, save, and copy individual channels data in either the RGB, CMYK, or Lab color space.

The default setting for the Channels palette shows individual channels in grayscale, but you can view each channel in its unique color by checking the "Color Channels in Color" box in "Display & Cursors" preferences.

RGB & CMYK Color

Individual channels can be toggled on and off using the "eye" buttons, and you can view all of the channels while editing only one by clicking the RGB, CMYK, or Lab eye while only one channel is selected (CMYK sample below). This method allows you to subtly airbrush, burn, or dodge individual colors without disturbing the data contained in other channels.

Lab Color Space

The Lab color space uses three channels with the "L" dimension representing luminance, "a" representing the Red/Green," and "b" representing the "Yellow/Blue" color-opponent dimensions.

Lab color channel editing is helpful when you want to make subtle adjustments to the tone and contrast levels while leaving all of the color information unchanged.

Alpha Channel Masks

Selection masks can be permanently stored as Alpha Channels, which use significantly less disk space than other mask types To create an Alpha Channel option-click (Mac OS) or Alt-click (Windows) on the "New Channel button at the bottom of the Channels Palette window.