CMYK to Printer

The monitors are calibrated using Pantone Calibration.
When I open the image file I see on both computers/ on both monitors
(two Hp graphic computers) the portrait photo. The skin tones are
normal in every respect. Everything viewable on the the monitors is
perfect. Ready for printing.
The company sends out the images to a professional print service. We
print out our images for catalogs and posters. The printed image that
is returned from the printers is way off. Nothing like what we have
viewing on our calibrated monitors. The flesh tones are either too
brownish in one example; in another example, flesh tint slightly
green. This is very unexpected.
How can I produce a final Photoshop image - so that what I am viewing
will print exactly as I see it. What I get back from the professional
print service is completely different than what is viewable in the
Adobe application.
To test the images in house I printed out on three different printers
the CMYK images. From three differnt printers the sets of images from
those printers were all different.
How can I achieve consistancy?

And? Do you use their print target profiles? Sounds like exactly that is not happening and you are working off some generic default profile. Especially flexo printing is hyper sensitive in that regard, as the machines do not leave much room for adjusting ink flow and densities on teh fly. Talk to your printer about their requirements, there is nothing we can do here for you!
Mylenium

Similar Messages

Converting Images to CMYK for Print Publication

When in my workflow should I be converting images to CMYK for print publication?
Currently, I shoot RAW photographs with my DSLR in Adobe RGB, import the images into Photoshop for manipulation and then convert the final, sized image to CMYK before placing it in my Indesign document. Before going to print, I convert my files to PDF using the [PDF/X-1a:2001] preset. I use a calibrated system with a profile set for my monitor.
Since many of my pictures have shades of green, I'm often disappointed with the conversion to CMYK because I lose saturation and brightness. Am I doing anything wrong? Is there a better way of preserving the quality of colour in my images when going to a commercial printer?

To see in InDesign what color shifts will occur, use View=>Proof Colors.
I would also recommend View=>Overprint Preview.
Yes there are color shifts when converting RGB to CMYK, but those are due to the fact that the gamut of CMYK is significantly less than AdobeRGB or even sRGB. The same color shifts going to CMYK will occur whether you convert the image in Photoshop or in InDesign during PDF export or at the RIP.
Keeping the color in ICC color managed RGB has the advantage that last minute changes can be made as to what CMYK printing conditions are used, i.e. all CMYK is not the same. Furthermore, if you convert RGB to CMYK early in the workflow, you lose the ability to maintain the color gamut for display of the PDF as well as for printing to high fidelity color devices, i.e., offset or digital (especially inkjet) devices that have extra colorants such as light cyan, light magenta, orange, and/or green to dramatically expand the gamut. Once you lose the gamut in your imagery via conversion to CMYK, you can't go back.
- Dov

I have to save as CMYK for print, but the colours are out of whack..

hey all,
I am designing something for a CD cover that is going to be printed at a print shop, They say they want their images in CMYK and prefer it in a PDF or highest quality JPEG....
So I have been working in CMYK, everything looks fine in photoshop, but when I save out to a JPG the whole thing gets dark and colours get horribly over saturated.
here you can see the image on the left is what happens when I save out directly from my CMYK file in photoshop. there is a big loss in detail in the darker areas and colours are over saturated. the image on the right is what I get if I convert to mode>RGB and then save the JPG. .. . .this is what I want it to look like....
my problem is the print shop requests the image in CMYK, but I want them to print like it looks in the RGB version
any help would be greatfully appreciated! Thankyou!
also here are the actual .jpegs as saved from photoshop
the CMYK version:
and the RGB version:
edit: I don't know too much about colour profiles, and the print shop hasn't provided one on their site, so I picked the default one - Working CMYK, U.S WebCoated (SWOP v2)
edit: these are the file formats the printers say they take on their site:
PDF - 300 dpi - (preferred), Tiff, Highest resolution JPG, EPS
I don't really have any experience with the other formats but I presume I would get the same colour results

Thanks all for the replies.
Just to be clear the file is already in CMYK (U.S web coated SWOPv2), I understand now its probably smarter to work in RGB and then convert at the end but hadn't done so in this case.
If I change image mode to RGB (or vice versa) i notice a tiny shift in the colours on my monitor but nothing as dramatic as what im seeing in those CMYK Jpeg/TIFF's.
John Danek -
there are probably more than 20 layers in there, my colour settings should all be default because ive never even looked in there before, but here is a screenshot of the dialogue box
and the bit depth is 8-bits per channel
If I save it out as a CMYK .pdf then it looks fine, presumably because im opening it in Adobe acrobat reader so it can see the embedded profile. So I think this is the problem after all, thanks Chris Cox and gator soup for clearing that up!
I have emailed the printers and asked if they can read my embedded profiles correctly with their software (presumably they can) and asked for them to recommend an ICC colour profile but have yet to hear back from them.

ILLU CS3 CMYK Colors print wrong from placed layered psd, flattened ok. Why?

Hi all,
I searched the help, faq, kb and forum. No success, so I hope someone out there has some advice for me.
Environment:
Illustrator 13.0.2 (CS3), Photoshop 10.0.1 (CS3) on WinXP SP2, color management enabled (same settings in each CS3 app), printing on calibrated Xerox DC250 (PS-RIP), ISO Coated simulation profile.
The problem:
When placing a cmyk-psd with layers and embedded color-profile in AI 13 (cmyk-document) and printig, the colors do not look like they should. When I flatten the psd in Photoshop, place it again in AI, everything's fine. But why?
On screen, every psd looks the same.
When I place the same PSD with layers in AI 12.0.0 (CS2), there's no problem with the colors.
Is there a need to flatten PSDs in AI13?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Ralf

> I've always thought that EPS is a paths-only format. It seems it can also contain raster graphics?
Nope, if you put a raster image into something, it stays raster in the EPS.
Try to save the file as a PDF and see if that works better. That is the preferred format for newspaper ads, and many places still refer to it as an EPS.

Color Settings CS3 Mac for CMYK Commercial Print

Can somebody advise me as too what I should be setting my color settings to so they will be the same across the suite and when I send my files to commercial print that prints CMYK sheet fed coated.
I've read so much I'm confused. I'm new to CS3 and the Mac ... In the past my work has come back perfect in color and matched to my monitor. Now on CS3 on the Mac I'm not sure what to do.
If anyone can help it would be most appreciated.

Charlene wrote:
> Marco ... I read your post on rGB / CMYK conversion
Which one was that, if you could remind me?
>I work through a print broker that prints CMYK and the only thing he can tell me is that they print CMYK and on sheet fed coated.
Well, yes, print is always CMYK. As for "sheetfed coated", I would assume that they intend a color space like the one described by the U.S. Sheetfed Coated v2 profile (though it could possibly be the GRACoL2006_Coated1v2 profile). You may want to ask them to confirm one or the other, to be safer.
>So my question is di turn everything to CMYK on my monitor and change to sheet fed coated in the settings?
To make sure I understand your question, I think you are asking me whether you should turn your image file(s) to a chosen CMYK output profile. Yes and no. You should do your color and tonal correction work
b in RGB
, and convert to the intended CMYK output profile
b only as a last step
, just before you deliver the files to the print provider or the prepress specialists.
Do
b not
convert your files to the intended CMYK output profile in the beginning and correct them in CMYK. Do not do that. That is not the most desirable way to work.
The default working spaces in Photoshop's Color Settings are important, but not essential. Yes, you should set the default RGB profile to AdobeRGB (if not ProPhoto RGB, though you may wish to hold off on that one until you have more experience with the application), and the CMYK default profile to U.S. Sheetfed Coated v2.
But, as long as your chosen color management policies are to "Preserve Embedded Profiles", and as long as the image files you work on are tagged with the appropriate profile, then the default profile in Color Settings is no longer relevant.

Proper color workflow with CMYK inkjet printer

Hi, I work in an academic science group that has a networked HP DesignJet 800ps printer (postscript RIP). Unlike many inkjets, it appears to be a true CMYK printer - that is, our i1 Match software recognizes it as a CMYK device. We do all our printing in house - we don't have to worry about commercial printing or publishing, and our color management needs are basically confined to trying to have the printer's output match what we see on our monitors when we print photos in Photoshop or posters in Illustrator.
Having previously worked only with RGB printers and in Photoshop, I am pretty much lost now as to how to set up our color management workflow. (And don't even ask about my colleagues. :-)) I've never had to worry about either CMYK workspaces or printers before. I want to keep things as simple as possible for the staff here, given that none, including myself, are graphics specialists.
I've looked at the "Color Workflows for Adobe Creative Suite 3" document published by Adobe, and although it is very meticulous, none of the examples seem to match our situation. Specifically, all the info regarding CMYK printing involves working with commercial presses, which is not relevant to us.
I would like to avoid making my colleagues work in different color spaces depending on whether they are working in Illustrator or Photoshop - ideally, I would like it if we could stay in RGB at all times. First question: Is this unrealistic given that we have a CMYK printer?
No doubt I will have more questions, but I want to start simple for now. Thanks for helping me out - this is not my area of expertise.

> profile them as RGB devices" (to quote the book). The printers that I've profiled in the past with i1 worked this way.
As Peter points out in his post, it is most likely that your RIP is a CMYK RIP (most RIP's are.) If that is the case, you'll be profiling a CMYK device, not an RGB device (as you have in the past.) It is a totally different exercise to profile a CMYK device - ink limits and Kgen are variables that must be dealt with.
> Yes, details would be very helpful. Thanks.
Color management is all about moving from one device/color space to another device/color space while maintaining color appearance as closely as possible.
1) Based on the description of your workflow, step one is to create your original art in a well-behaved RGB color space (like Adobe98) while viewing it on a well-calibrated monitor.
2) If your final output is to be on the HP 800ps, step two would be to preview that art on your monitor as it would look on the HP. This is called soft-proofing - a process by which the art is viewed through the HP profile on-screeen so you can see what happens to all those beautiful, rich RGB colors when they're squeezed into the smaller gamut of the HP profile.
To do this, you go to View > Proof Set-Up > Custom, and choose the HP 800ps profile from the pop-up of all the profiles on your system. You can also choose from among 4 rendering intents - Relative Colorimetric, Perceptual, Absolute Colorimetric, and Saturation. Choosing the correct rendering intent is key - this willl determine how Photoshop deals with the out-of-gamut colors. Without getting into an explanation of what each RI does, the important thing is to choose the one that LOOKS the best on screen. There's no magic to it. In general, for photographic images, you'll be choosing from Relative or Perceptual. For vector graphics (which it sounds like you're doing), throw Saturation into the mix as well. Just try them and see which looks best.
Additionally, be sure to check "Black Point Compensation."
This will give you a good idea of what the final printed version will look like. While you're in soft-proof mode, you can edit the RGB file to alter the way out-of-gamut colors appear. In fact, there's no reason why you couldn't create your art from the beginning while in soft-proof mode. Using a well-built profile and a good calibrated monitor, you should be able to get an extremely close match between monitor and print.
3) When you print, be sure to choose the same profile/rendering intent that you used in Proof Setup.
Again, it all starts with a good profile. Good luck.

Need CMYK for printer... but msg "document is using CMYK blend space..." concerning

Hello all,
I need to create an output PDF that is CMYK for the printer.
I thought I was doing everything correctly until I got this message that was generated when I selected Export (to PDF), "The document is using CMYK space. Colors are converted to RGB in interactive PDF files. To avoid color changes, click Cancel and choose Document RGB from the Edit > Transparency Blend Space menu. Click OK to continue."
So, I think this means that the PDF export is being saved in an RGB color space. Is that a correct interpretation? If so, how do I preserve the CMYK color space because that is what the commercial printer requires? Is that even possible or relevant?
Thank you

You are a lifesaver!
I was wondering what that "interactive PDF" thing was all about. I didn't release that it was simply an Export As... error. I must have inadvertently selected it at some point.
Thanks a million!

RGB Logo uses Overlay transparency... need in CMYK for print but color changes in overlay

I am working with a logo someone else created in RGB using the Overlay transparency. When I convert it to CMYK just one area seems to "change color".
I tried inserting both versions here - but it isn't working too well. Basically, in the image below the outline of the "scales" appears darker in the CMYK version for printing. Any ideas on how I can adjust it to print in the same vibrant color the RGB is showing?

fill in info RGB is light (like on your screen) and adds more light when mixed, CMYK are pigments and adds more color or multiplies, when mixed

When (if ever) to convert to CMYK for printing?

Hi, I've been doing a ton of Googling and forum searching for an answer to this question, but all of the answers I've been reading are very different and I have no idea which to follow. Essentially, I'm using PS and creating a 10'x10' backdrop for a trade show booth and am trying to figure out if I should start in RGB and convert to CMYK, or stay in RGB and let the printer convert to CMYK. The final deliverable will be in PDF format.
Generally the two answers I've found online have been:
1) If you're making something for print ALWAYS create the document in CMYK color before beginning, or convert to CMYK.
2) NEVER work in CMYK, but instead work in RGB and then let the printer convert to CMYK at the end of the process.
A third answer that has come up less often as been:
1) Create all photos, gradients, etc. in Photoshop. Do all vectors in Illustrator. Bring them together in InDesign and export PDF from there.
I'm sure on some level the answer to the question is situational, but the two primary answers people seem to give are complete opposites and I could use some guidance as to when to follow which one, or if one is a common misconception.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to that yet. I've been trying to get all of the more detailed information from the printer, but they have been really slow with the responses despite them needing the design sometime tomorrow (the process was starter over a week ago ) and they have no further detail on their website regarding document setup.
So from the sounds of it, assuming it's using an inkjet process it would probably remain in RGB, and if it's an offset process begin in CMYK?
Also, the design is utilizing several adjustment layers in Photoshop and some of the layers have varying opacities, will those be affected by whatever the final printing method is?
Thanks for you help. I don't have a lot of print experience as you can tell.

HELP! Convert JPG to CMYK for print on Epson Stylus Pro 4880 problems

Hello all!
I need to print a JPG file to an Epson Stylus Pro 4880 printer and keep the original colors. The JPG file is of a company logo containging text/graphic. I use CS5 to convert the file to CMYK and save it as an Adobe PDF. When I print it everything looks good but there is a reddish outline around everything. Anyone have an idea how I can get rid of the outline? I am using the US Coated (SWOP) v2 for the CMYK scheme.
Help! I need to print out some logo tags for the customer.
Thanks in advance, Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

wish I could help but I am Mac and Essentials is not in my work flow!

RGB to CMYK (For Print)

How can i convert the RGB Color poroperly convert to CMYK.
I have a color RGB - R-0, G-5, B-55, how can i get the CMYK color for the same.
Please help

DOn't bither with CMYK for any form if " home printing". Their printers don't work any different from your own inkjet and exoect images to directly come from digital cameras etc. And are calibrated accordingly. Otherwise you have a lot of reading to do on color management, color calibration, gamut etc.
Mylenium

Converting RGB to CMYK for printing.

So I went in to the Apple Store yesterday and told the guy that I'd like to design my own DVD cover for a presentation reel. I was about to spring for the teacher's edition of Photoshop, but he convinced me to buy the cheaper one with a Bamboo tablet...which was the same price as buying the program but included the tablet.
Hours later after designing my DVD cover, I find out that elements doesn't use CMYK mode. Ridiculous! This is my first time doing something like this so I wasn't entirely sure how to proceed... I thought.. oh well maybe I just switch modes later and I'm good. I guess this program was designed for less intense designers that print from a desktop at home, but I had other plans from the start. Anyways, what would you do? Here are my questions:
Should I take back the program/tablet and exchange it for one with CMYK capabilities? If I do this, will the document that I've used in elements be able to work in CMYK mode so I can send it to a printer? ...or do I make a really good print to a desktop printer and then just duplicate those for my cover?
Thanks for the help.

I came across a great web site where you can perform free RGB to CMYK conversions on your image files (up to 5mb). They offer a choice of numerous CMYK profiles. For U.S. commercial offset printing of your DVD cover, I'd recommend choosing GRACoL2006_Coated1v2.icc
http://www.rgb2cmyk.org/

Converting RGB to CMYK for print causes darkening and loss of detail on page.

I work in CS5 to create illustrations in a very broad range of colors. I use filters and adjustment layers to achieve the desired effects, so my images feature gradients and high contrast design. I usually would work only for the web, so I never had a need to convert my images into a CMYK workspace. I have started making prints of some of my work, and I have noticed that I am losing not only detail, but vibrancy as well. A lot of the darker areas are smudging together, and some of the areas with light contrasted against dark look less intelligible than when I created it on screen.
My first attempt at printing was at a Staples, which could be part of the problem. I had TIFF and JPEG files saved as CMYK. The TIFF files looked awful, but the JPEG had slightly more clarity in the print. One of my TIFF files displayed on the Staples computer as being completely stretched out and grayscale, though it looked fine on my own device.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I am attempting to learn all that I can about this subject. Thanks!

DOn't bither with CMYK for any form if " home printing". Their printers don't work any different from your own inkjet and exoect images to directly come from digital cameras etc. And are calibrated accordingly. Otherwise you have a lot of reading to do on color management, color calibration, gamut etc.
Mylenium

CMYK/Pantone printed guide suggestions

I recently did some business cards, and despite using a Spyder4 to calibrate my monitor, and using the "view proof" CMYK setting, the printed cards came back very differently than the monitor colors.
To avoid this in the future, I want a pre-printed color guide book or swatches with corresponding CMYK values. Even better, would be a printed book or swatch collection with CMYK and Pantone spot colors.
With print media declining, I see more 4-color process (CMYK) options than Pantone spot printers available.
Can anyone suggest a CMYK color guide book that I can literally hold swatches up to the monitor and compare the colors?

This forum is actually about the Cloud, not about using individual programs
Once your program downloads and installs with no errors, you need the program forum
If you start at the Forums Index http://forums.adobe.com/index.jspa
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says ALL FORUMS) to open the drop down list and scroll

RGB to CMYK to commercial printer

We are using CS2 InDesign and Photoshop 7 on a PC. I am putting together two
large books. One insert section of the first book has color photos. I have
to prepare these color photos for a printer located in China. They want all
images to be CMYK .tiff.
I have an assortment of about 100 images from various sources around the
world, there are .tif, .jpg. .bmp, and .psd. All of them appear to be RGB.
There are images with: 1) no color profile, 2) sRGB IE60966-2.1, and Adobe
RGB 1998. Do all images need to have the same RGB color profile before
converting to CMYK?
I have been converting all of these to .tif (and using a single dpi/pixel
resolution for
all images).
Do I just select/save as color mode CMYK? Or are there special
settings/profiles I need to know about. Is there anything special for China?
The printer's English is not that clear . I was hoping that someone in this
group would be familiar with RGB to CMYK conversion.
Also, it appears that the final PDF pages (with embedded Tiff images) will
be very large. The first complete book for this project (there are two
books) looks like it will be about 20GB. The second book looks like it could
be 12GB. Both books together equal about 1,000 pages and have about 1,000
images. 90% of the images are grayscale. What are the current technologies
for sending large projects like this to a printer?
Thanks
ps, the Photoshop group suggested that I write to this group.

Tech....
In the conversions, are you referring to conversions of B&W or color images? I'll assume color for the moment.
Assuming your monitor is properly calibrated, and assuming you are viewing your color images on your monitor, your conversions should keep "in gamut" colors the same. You will, however, probably see some loss of dynamic range, color, and saturation as you enter CMYK. If the color and dynamic range of the original is all within the destination CMYK gamut, you should see very little, if any, shift. The sad fact is that CMYK on press has limited dynamic range and color, especially compared to a bright monitor. This is generally true, though CMYK can print some colors that lie outside the typical monitor's gamut.
If you have a brightly colored original in RGB mode, then you should experiment with both perceptual and relative colorimetric rendering to see which one looks best. This is an image by image thing. Relative colorimetric will reproduce all "in gamut colors" as accurately as possible, then will take out of gamut colors and bring them to the closest printable color. This can cause loss of detail and 'piling up of colors' as you near the boundaries of the image's color gamut in the destination CMYK space. Perceptual scales ALL colors and preserves the relationships between colors, which sacrifices color accuracy and saturation, but sometimes looks more natural, especially if there are a LOT of out of gamut colors. Pick whichever ones looks best overall.
Then, once in CMYK, make minor curves adjustments to tweak if for CMYK. Just be careful not to push it too far, especially in the deep shadows, since you may push beyond the ink limit of the press. For example, if you convert to US Web Coated SWOP v2, the ink limits are set at 300 total. If you drastically darken the shadow areas, you could end up with an ink limit of 320, 330, 350, etc. Knowing the ink limit of the press will help you stay within those limits. Final tweaking in CMYK is usually a good thing.
How did you determine that the images were dull with too much magenta? Did you print a proof on a calibrated printer, or is this just your screen display? Or is this from a printed image off the press? I have a well calibrated monitor and accurate custom profiles for my inkjet. If I am sending a job to a press that supposedly prints to US Web Coated SWOP, I can proof that file on my inkjet and get a very good match. We need more information to know exactly what you are doing and how you are assessing your images.
Normally, I do the conversion in Photoshop, using the rendering intent that looks best. Then I tweak the image in CMYK to get it looking its best. I usually have the press profile, but sometimes work with a standard profile if no custom profile is available. I leave the image tagged with my conversion profile. Then, I usually place these images into InDesign, with the profile intact (color management turned on in InDesign). I right click on the placed image to be sure that the profile and rendering intent are set to what I want. Then, I can either supply the InDesign file to the printer, or convert to PDF (leave color unchanged) and make sure that all profiles are included. InDesign should export each image to the PDF properly, along with profile and intent. I have never sent to job to press using Photoshop...only InDesign or Illustrator.
BTW, rendering intent is only used when getting an image from one color space to another, such as a conversion from RGB to CMYK. You do that, choosing the one that looks the best. Once it is in the destination CMYK space, rendering intent is no longer needed, since all the colors and tones have already been remapped into the final space. Rendering intent is just used to help us handle those out of gamut colors.
Hope this helps.
Lou

CMYK to Printer

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for