Why does the same Lightroom catalog export different color tones on two Macs?

Question

I moved a Lightroom catalog backup from a Mac Pro to a Mac mini so a second editor can work on it. The catalog is local on the Mac mini, while the RAW files are accessed over a gigabit network from the Mac Pro’s drive. The catalog relinked correctly and everything appears to work, except exported images from the two machines have noticeably different tones—especially black-and-white images, where blacks look softer and less contrasty.

To rule out display-only differences, I exported the same photo from both computers with the same settings and compared both JPEGs on the Mac Pro. The files still looked different. I also copied over editing presets, but that didn’t help.

What could cause the same Lightroom catalog to render/export differently on two Macs, and what should I check?

user4262 · Answer

I don't use Lightroom, so I'm not an expert, but I wonder if perhaps it includes color profile information in the exported image? If the machines have two different color profiles, then your Mac Pro may be doing its best to display the image exported from the Mac Mini as it was displayed on that machine.

Try the following on each machine:

Open System Preferences and click on Displays.
Click the Color tab and look at the color profile in use.
Try setting both machines to use the same color profile.

Repeat your export test and see if the images don't end up looking the same.

Why does the same Lightroom catalog export different color tones on two Macs?

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