Color shift when pasting from CMYK document to RGB document

Hello,
We're creating an image for a client that will eventually be printed 4c process, and we have to use some very specific CMYK values. However, since we need to use certain layer effects, we need to work in RGB. I assumed that since the CMYK values we use are within the RGB gamut, there would be no color shift when copying from a CMYK doc and pasting into an RGB doc, but I'm apprently mistaken.
I'm not very familiar with color management, since we don't do any heavy duty color work in house, so this is likely a very rudimentary question: how do I keep colors from shifting when pasting from a CMYK document into an RGB document (which will eventually be converted back to CMYK for print)?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

x
x
x
you have two possible issues at work that would explain a change
"out of gamut" color between color modes (the RGB colors don't translate well to CMYK)
you are discarding profile information information when pasting (and not Converting to the destination)...

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Color changes when pasting from Illustrator to Photoshop

I have set both PS and Illustrator (both latest versions) to "North America Web/Internet".
Both documents are RGB and have the sRGB IEC61966-1 profile.
When I copy a square in Illustrator and paste it into PS
RGB 19,78,110 (the color in Illustrator) changes to RGB 18,78,109.
It doesn't matter whether I paste it as pixel, smart object or shape layer. The sampled color differs from that in Illustrator.
Doesn't anyone have a solution to this?
It's really unnerving when you do web mockups in Illustrator and then copy/paste to PS for image creation.

This topic is similar to a post today in Mac Photoshop forum. When you copy+paste an Illustrator object with 3D effect from a RGB Illustrator file into an RGB Photoshop document, you get a quite an extreme color de-saturation (looked like a bright blue going dull from RGB to CMYK). Only occurs with active 3D effect. If you Expand Appearance, Flatten Transparency or Rasterize, then the original color is maintained.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/863273?tstart=0

[FIX] Darker prints and color shifts when printing from Lightroom 2

Hi,
The problem :
When printing RAW or TIFF files from LR2, you get a printer output that
is much darker than it should be and that presents various color shifts.
I'm using an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 with the latest Windows driver
(6.50 - which is rather old by the way). The workaround described below
works for me under Windows XP SP3. It should also probably work with
other systems/printers/drivers. Use at your own (minor) risk.
The "official" procedure for printing from LR is as follows:
1. Do not let the printer manage colors and select "Other..." from the
profile dropdown list and select the ICC/ICM paper/printer profile that
you want to use.
2. Click on Print... in LR which opens the Print Settings dialog.
3. Select the options you need and the paper you're using.
4. **Disable the color management from the driver's side** (in Epson's
drivers, "Mode | Custom | No Color Adjustments").
5. Print
Unfortunately, **this doesn't work** for many of us and this produces a
print that is dark and has color shifts as mentioned above. Note that
the same image prints correctly from QImage or Photoshop CS3 (that is,
the printer output corresponds to what you see on your calibrated
display).
Apparently, although color management has been (allegedly) disabled in
the driver, there's something wrong between LR and the driver which
makes that *both* LR and the driver are still trying to manage colors.
In other words, the "No Color Adjustements" option of the driver doesn't
seem to work with LR.
The workaround (found after hours of hair pulling and paper and
expensive ink wasting):
In step #4,
1. Instead of selecting "No Color Adjustments", set Mode to "Custom |
ICM
2. Click Advanced...
3. Check "Show all profiles".
4. Select Driver ICM (Advanced)"
5. Set **both** the "Input profile" and the "Printer profile" fields to
the very same profile that you specified in LR.
That is, if you specified Pro38 PGPP (Premium Glossy Photo Paper) in LR,
then also select Pro38 PGPP in both "Input Profile" and "Printer
Profile". This has actually the same effect has disabling color
management in the driver (what "No Color Adjustements" should normally
take care of).
That's it. When printing, you'll get exactly the same color results as
when printing from QImage or Photoshop. No more dark prints. No more
color shifts.
One might think that the bug is in the Epson driver but in that case,
QImage would have the very same problem. So I tend to think that the bug
is on the Lightroom side.
Note: Although Photoshop CS3 produces a correct printer output, it
demonstrates the same problem as LR when using the "Match Print Color"
option for soft proofing. But in that case, only the preview colors are
wrong. The printer output is ok. Which also tends to demonstrate that
Adobe has the problem, not Epson. Or maybe both... :-) .
Don't ask me why some users have the problem and other don't.
Hope this helps.
Patrick Philippot
MainSoft Consulting Services
www.mainsoft.fr

A sincere thank you for your reply, Michael. Sorry about the "it just doesn't make sense" shortcut. I have been trying to solve this issue since LR 1.1, spending dozens of hours on different trials and digesting everything written on this forum and the B9180 forum about color management and double profiling. My shortcut was a summation of my experience (and my frustration) but doesn't really advance the conversation. Here are some data that should be more useful in diagnosing the problem.
I am running Windows XP SP2. I calibrate my monitor monthly with the Spyder. The reason I suspect this may be an issue of double profiling is because the results (moderately strong magenta overlay plus an increase in contrast) match what more knowledgeable people than I on this forum describe when double profiling occurs. Perhaps I shouldn't presume it is double profiling, and follow Patrick Philippot's lead in naming the problem "color shifts." Patrick does refer in post #2 of this thread, however, to obvious double profiling.
I certainly do have a successful and consistent print method. With PS CS3, and either my Epson 1280 or my HP B9180, the output is almost always dead on. Here is how I do it. In PS from the print dialog box, under color handling I always choose "Photoshop manages colors." Then under printer profile I select the profile designated by the manufacturer for a particular paper/printer combination. Then in the printer driver I disable printer control of color. With the Epson I check the box "Off (No Color Adjustment)." With the B9180 I choose the option "Application Managed Colors." While I sometimes may tweak the final output, these procedures have served me well with PS for several years.
Contrasted with my positive PS experience, my experience with LR printing has been inconsistent. I regret having to be so imprecise but truly sometimes LR produces accurate results that match the calibrated monitor, but most of the time it does not. I use standard procedures with LR that parallel the PS ones described above. In LR's printing panel, under color management, I specify the correct profile, just as I did for PS. Then in the printer driver I use the same procedures I use with PS. Most of the time the prints have the magenta overlay and too much contrast.
BTW, the inconsistent LR printing only takes place with my HP B9180. I have never had any problem with off-color LR prints with my Epson 1280. Again, I emphasize that I have standard procedures that always work with PS (no matter which printer) and LR (but only with the Epson).
Unfortunately the LR printing problems are intermittent. Some of the time (perhaps 20%) LR produces fine prints in the B9180, indistinguishable from PS prints. When LR is printing well, it will continue to print fine until "something happens" and the output shows the color shift. This means I do not get a random sequence of good-bad-good-bad prints, but rather good-good-x factor-bad-bad-bad. Ths problem is that I do not know what this "x factor" is. Once, when LR was giving me accurate output, I simply changed the default printer (Control Panel-Printers and Faxes) from the B9180 to my Samsung 1430 laser; immediately afterwards the LR output colors shifted. Did LR react to this change in default printers? Another time I had good LR printing success with version 1.2 but ran into the problems described above when I upgraded to version 1.3.
Sorry for the long post. I am hoping that someone will see something that I am missing and provide a hint. I think, though, that Patrick is correct when he states, "I tend to think that the problem is with LR. After all, similar issues (obvious double profiling) are observed only in LR but with various printers."

Color shift when using save for web

Hello,
I am converting my psd files to jpegs using "save for web". I am noticing that the colors are shifting from the original after saving for web. The color shift does not happen if I just convert the psd files to jpegs by using "save as". The psds have a profile of RGB1998. I am using CS3 and my monitor is color calibrated.
Do I need to convert the psd documents to sRGB first before I go to "save for web"?
The preview doesn't look any different if I check ICC profile in the save for web window. I have been told that you are not supposed to embed the ICC profile in the document when saving for web because most monitors are untagged.
Anyway I am wondering if I have to accept a color shift when saving for web or is there something I can do to get the saved for web jpegs to more closely match the original psd?
Thanks a lot for your help.

I think the reason why this question is asked often is because the FAQ entry is pretty lame and incomplete, especially for Mac users that by default have a color managed browser and by default have a screwed up rendering mechanism for untagged images.
Depending on your version of Photoshop, you can convert to sRGB before or during the Save for Web operation.
cesspool13 wrote:
...I have been told that you are not supposed to embed the ICC profile in the document when saving for web because most monitors are untagged.
You convert to sRGB for the systems that do not fully support color management.
and...
You include the sRGB ICC profile for the systems that do support color management.
Doing both covers your bum in most situations. You may choose to omit the ICC profile if you are working on common interface graphics that do not require strict color management. The ICC profile adds a few kilobytes to the file size that are not necessary on lesser graphic elements on a web page.

Color shift when printing

We have a Xerox workcenter 7655 at work and since I upgraded to Snow Leopard I get bad color shifts when printing. It's mostly too much magenta. I converted a cmyk file to a high quality pdf and the color was accurate when printing from a Windows machine but the light blue was badly shifted to lavender from my Mac. I tried different cmyk profiles when creating the pdf and printed the native file out of InDesign with the same results.
The print I get from the Windows machine has the same colors as what I see on my Mac's monitor. I do mostly web design now and have been out of the print end for some time. Until I moved to Snow Leopard, I didn't have this problem.
Can I get some ideas on how I can address this?
thanks

You answered your own question: CS5. There have been a slew of reports of workflows spun upside down when upgrading to CS5. It may require updating your system software and/or Adobe applications, along with any printer driver updates that may be lurking out there somewhere. The twist to your situation is ( and is very common ) that everything was working before and now it does not. Or there is a certain print disorder of some sort. Very troubling. I wish I had a smoking gun answer for you, but I don't. It sounds like you have a very viable workflow in place that worked before and damn well should perform for you now. I'd stick with what works and dump what doesn't ( if you can ).

Color shift when uploading

I have been trolling other sites to learn what might cause this.
I recently got a Huey device to callibrate my monitor. (I send out digital images of artwork and they need to be acurate color.)
After taking some images and loading them onto iPhoto, they seem to look very much like what I saw on the camera lcd screen. I can make subtle color and tone adjustments while capturing on the Panasonic Lumix camera. Usually, they are so close to what I want, all I do is crop in iPhoto.
But I am experiencing color shifts when I upload to make webpages so I can burn discs, or today when I uploaded to a local photo printer. They seem to move a bit towards more orange/pink tones, but when I drag them to the desk top, and open in Preview, they look identical to the iPhoto stored images.
I have read some ideas about RGB and there being bugs in iPhoto that alter your files even as you are loading them from the camera!
Does anyone know how I could fix this?
I can write scripts if it takes it. Thanks

Nanci
The pics look correct in iPhoto and Preview, right?
But not on the Web or at your local printer?
iPhoto and Preview are both Color Managed - that is (along with Safari) they read and respect the color profile of the pic.
Do the apps your Printer is using, or that you are using to view online, respect the color profile?
Regards
TD

Color Shift when copying original photo to new canvas

Using PSE2, I am processing photos of children, printing desired sizes, but have a puzzle when trying to make a wallet sheet or other multiple images moved to one print-ready sheet. (My printer is carefully calibrated with ICM profiles for each photo paper I use.) My enhanced, clean, perfect-when-printed color works fine for the 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10 or other sizes. For example, I resize the flattened image and print a single wallet size to recheck color or paper selection. BUT, to make a wallet sheet using multiple copies of my good image (not using the print package because I want custom sizing), I copy the small image 3 times onto the new canvas with white background layer. Using the grid, I place the 3 images perfectly, flatten that strip, repeat until I have 9 wallets per sheet. However, the puzzle is, every time I print this sheet which printed perfectly as a single image previously, the new sheet of photos has a definite color shift, quite noticeable from my originally printed, both on the screen and on the photo paper. Why would the image file change somehow between the first test print of the single picture and the copied-to-a-new-canvas multiple image sheet? Can't understand why this would happen, but it does every time. Also, when printing 2 5x7 images on one 8.5x11 sheet, I have to print the image in two distinct print jobs, turning the paper between jobs so I get the original color as expected. Strange. Can you help?

Robin,
I also have PSE2 and I tried duplicating your problem but the colors are same (thank goodness!) whether printed single or multiple. Did this just start or have you always had the problem? How did you create the blank file that you placed the pictures on?
This is a long shot, but you might try resetting the preferences file; this cures many PSE problems which pop up for no apparent reason. To do this, press and hold Alt-Ctrl-Shift (Option-Command-Shift on Mac) immediately while starting PSE (the timing is critical, you may have to try this several times). A dialog box will pop up with the question "Delete the Adobe Photoshop Elements Settings file?". Click YES.

How to fix color shift when converting ProPhoto rgb to srgb IE61966-2.1

How do I fix the color shift when converting my photos in photoshop to srgb for the web. I work in lightroom color space prophoto rgb and after editing in photoshop I convert it over but I get a shift in the colors. Thanks

are you working in 16-bit (ProPhotoRGB, you probably should be)
exactly how are you doing the Conversion
MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT CONVERTING ANY ADJUSTMENT LAYERS (flatten or merge them before convert)
AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE VIEWING THE PROBLEM AREA AT 100% ACTUAL PIXELS when you do the convert

Microsoft Word and Excel Hang When Pasting From Apple Applications

I have had a problem ever since upgrading to Snow Leopard. Word and Excel hang when pasting from Apple applications like Safari and Pages. Pasting to OpenOffice does not show the problem. Pasting from Firefox does not show the problem. I have resolved font duplicates, got rid of input managers, reinstalled Office removing plist files and normal templates but the problem persists. Microsoft is saying it is not their software after looking at the crash dump created from force quit. Besides, sticking to open source software , I am at a loss for what to try next besides reinstalling Mac OS X 10.6 (I am on 10.6.2 now). Any help appreciated. I have crash dumps and snapshots of the hung process if anyone can read them. Word is using close to 100% of the CPU when hung.

Microsoft is saying it is not their software after looking at the crash dump created from force quit.
If their software is freezing up, it's certainly nobody else's fault. If those Apple apps are for some reason creating bad clipboard data, Microsoft's apps should be able to gracefully recover and report the problem. Error handling is probably one of the most important, and most difficult, aspects of programming, but you can't blame poor error handling on anyone but the developer. I suspect that, rather than bad clipboard data, it's more likely to be a case of Microsoft's apps simply not understanding something about perfectly valid clipboard data, because they haven't properly followed Apple developer guidelines.
Of course, that's not a solution. I can't really provide you a solution, other than to ask what version of Office you're using. If you're using too old a version of Word, you should update. You should also let us know what kinds of stuff you're copying. More info always helps to get better answers.

Photos color shift when placed in Pages document

I'm used to working with a color managed workflow in Aperture; my monitor and printer are both calibrated. I'm having trouble getting accurate color when those photos are placed in a Pages document - whether they're imported directly from Aperture using the Media function in Pages, or exported as a JPEG and drag-dropped over the Pages placeholder image.
The pictures take on a slight magenta-blue cast when dropped into Pages, a cast which is not present when viewed natively in Aperture, soft proofed in Aperture, or when printed from Aperture. When I export them as JPEGs, I assign an sRGB colorspace to them; Aperture, of course, treats everything as AdobeRGB until exported. Both colorspaces present the same shift.
A known good (third party) color-managed test JPEG shows the same effect, regardless of whether it's AdobeRGB or sRGB. Aperture and Pages are both the lastest versions.
I can, of course, use the image sliders to compensate somewhat, but that is extra work I shouldn't need to do!
Any help would be appreciated.

Well, it looks as though I found my own answer. Turns out the template I was using had a color correction already added to the stock photo it used. What I didn't know is that those color corrections belong to the placeholder, not the image - when a new image is dropped in, it takes on the adjustments of the slider. I think that's kind of silly, but that's the way it works.
I set the sliders to zero, dropped in a managed sRGB print, and it's perfect.
Problem solved.

Wrong color in Photoshop when pasting from Illustrator

Hey!!
I have what seems to be an issue with Illustrator CC 2014 edition (have tried CS6 as well). The problem occurs in InDesign as well.
The problem is that a color shift occurs when I Copy something to Photoshop from Illustrator. The color profiles are all synced across all Adobe apps and I'm using sRGB as RGB and Coated FOGRA39 as CMYK. The RGB values are identical but the colors are different even though the profiles are synchronized, and double and triple checked! No proofing is activated.
See the images for the color shift that occurs. The same shift also occurs when I save something from illustrator as a jpeg for example. This leads me to believe that there is something in Illustrator and Indesign that's not working as intended and that Photoshop is the correct one.
More info:
Windows 7 x64 w/ Geforce GTX 970
A Spyder 4Pro-calibrated Asus P246 (when I use the Windows default profile this doesn't occur. I have even tried the default profile from ASUS and the same thing as with my own profile occurs)
Reinstalled the complete CC suite twice.
Tried with a different graphics card and the current calibrated profile - same thing
I have 3 screens and the problem occur on all three with three different monitor icc profiles. But the color shift is more apparent om the ASUS since it's a wide gamut monitor perhaps?
In Photoshop layer panel, color picker etc. the colors reflect the ones in Illustrator but the image in itself is a different color. Perhaps the PS layer panel isn't color managed?
The RGB colors used in the screenshots are 0 255 0.
Would be very grateful if someone could help me in the right direction so that I can enjoy synced colours. =)
Thanks!

I solved the problem.
Seems that for some reason the synchronized settings from Bridge CC did not stick! So I changed all the settings to North American General Purpose 2, applied and opened the applications, and then back again to my modified Europe Prepress 3 and - voila! Now all the colors are correct across the Adobe applications!
Note to self: always try the easiest possible solutions first...

Color profile when changing from RGB to CMYK

I prefer to work on images in RGB then change to cmyk once I'm sure i won't need to run any more effects or filters on them. When I save an image the first time, I have the option to embed my color profile with the image. It embeds the RGB profile... the only option as long as I'm working in RGB. What I've noticed though, is that after converting to cmyk, I don't get any warnings or other indication that it needs me to embed the color profile. I need to do a save-as in order to get back to that option.
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Save your original RGB file.
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This creates your first CMYK file.
Then, back to original RGB file > Edit > Convert to Profile (with CMYK#2) > Save As...
This creates your second CMYK file.
Then, back to original RGB file > Edit > Convert to Profile (with CMYK#3) > Save As...
This creates your third CMYK file.
In all cases, be sure you have "Embed Color Profile" checked at the bottom of the Save As dialog. When naming a file, it's handy to include some sort of indication as to the color space.
In the end, you have four files: 1 RGB file, 3 CMYK files.

Color shift when converting .mov file exported from Macromedia Flash

I'm trying to convert quicktime file exported from Flash into any other format using Quicktime Pro 7.0.4 and I get substantial color shift. Here's the picture:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1518/screen3ov.jpg
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I am in the midst of trying to figure out the opposite : Flash to After Effects. I am betting that this is an issue of 'color profile' attached to the images and the gamma settings in that profile. RGBA is only part of the story - color profile is all the rest of it. Eye Dropper doesn't tell you the color profile attached to the image.

Color Shifts when adding/removing transparency

I may have used the wrong search terms, so my apologies if this question exists somewhere else
Using Indd CS2: Assuming that "Overprint Preview" is off I notice a color shift on a layout when transparency is introduced or removed.
For example: a transparent object or placed image, is either added or taken away from a document that is inherently flat or non-transparent.
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Turning on Overprint Preview gives you the most accurate view of how objects on the page will print. It's the preferred way to view the page (though it's normally off to speed up page display).
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Hello!
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Hello, in your screenshot, the first tab in the background has no profile that's what (#) means in the title of the tab, untitled one and two have the same profile as the working space (which tab is visible?), while the one in the foreground as a different profile than the working space that's what (*) means in the title bar.
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Also, is there noise or very small textures in the circles? You might want to look at them all with the same magnification.
Finally, a smart object can be of a different color space than the document that holds it.

Color shift when pasting from CMYK document to RGB document

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