RGB to CMYK
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- hilchev
Hi, I have these graphics from photoshop which I need to put on an Indesign print page.
When turning in to CMYK the colors look like shit!
What to do ?
- Horp0
Do you mean they look like shit on your screen, or in print...
- dyspl0
flatten you layer first (that certainly what makes you colors being messed up)
then edit, convert to profile, choose the right cmyk format (get the ECI 300 icc profile)
- hilchev0
@Horp - on my screen
@dyspl - I will try that ECI now
- hilchev0
How do I install this icc profile ?
- SoulFly0
hilchev - here's what you need to understand, in CMYK there is no brightness factor (paper has no gamma, as your display does). If you started up with 100% Cyan in some portions of the imate, the conversion of that into CMYK will look dull. The only solution is to do some color correction, by using the many tools in photoshop, e.g. Curves, Brightness, Levels.
- Eighty0
Installing profiles; are you mac or PC?
- dyspl0
I know 2 things about the rgb>cmyk issue :
1.layers blending don't react the same when rgb or cmyk, that's why if you convert a layered file, the image can be odd.
2.As Soulfly said.Using a profile to convert is important cause if you just do a basic convert, black part of your image will be more inked than most paper can tolerate. ECI has a max 300% inkage which ensure a correct quality in most case.
- monNom0
this might be kinda off, as I'm a little rusty:
open up your edit>color preferences.
step 1: set a CMYK working space that matches your output. This will vary based on the medium but US Sheetfed Coated/uncoated are pretty common.
step 2: under 'conversion options' pick an intent. This will determine how the colours are converted. For instance, picking 'saturation' will try to keep colours as bright as possible, but will shift hues to the the nearest bright colour in the gamut. Perceptual will dim the image and apply a colour-cast to affect how the other colours are percieved. etc. use google to find our the right one if you're still confused.
now in RGB mode, use the proof colours and gamut controls (proof colours: ctrl+y. gamut warning: ctrl+shift+y) to see how your image is converting before you turn it to CMYK. Your gamut waring will highlight areas of the image that will not convert well. Use color adjustments to work on those areas specifically, or on the broad image until there are minimal flagged pixels. This will give you the most control.
You'll need to make choices about how the colour should be interpretted. For instance If you have a pure red (FF0000) that is part of a fire, you might shift that colour toward orange to bring it into gamut. If that red is part of a red dress, you might choose to shift it toward a plum colour instead. the "wrong" colour can look right depending on the situation.
Once you've got the image looking how you like (in RGB) and with minimal gamut warning, convert to CMYK and you should see virtually the same image with very little change.
hope that helps.
- __TM0
At my first job we did a lot of hexachrome printing. Solves this problem but costs more and requires some technical skills. Result are totally worth it though. See previous comments for cheaper solutions, they pretty much sum it up.
- mirrorball0
use AdobeRGB too when working in RGB, the conversion is better for CMYK instead of sRGB.
- formed0
Make a duplicate document, then tile the two RGB on left, CMYK preview on right. Play with settings or profiles as above to try to get them to match.
It is a pain in the ass and never looks nearly as good (much of our work has deep blue skies, CMYK just kills the images)
- stewart0
give the RGB to your printshop and let them do the lithography.
if they're craftsmen.- I was waiting to hear this. A good practice for sure.monospaced
- miesvan0
Have a talk with your printer.