What are my CMYK options ?.

Question

I've recently received a small batch of calendars from a local commercial printers.  The colours are OK, but do not match the originals, especially the blue's.  I've had similar problems with greetings cards from a different printer.  The problem appears to be that I supply the original files in the RGB color space, but they print using CMYK.
I Raw process using Lightroom 4, with adjustments if necessary being made using Elements 10. To the best of my knowledge neither of these programs have the option of editing or saving in the CMYK color space.  For more accurate colours is my only option to purchase the full version of Photoshop (CS6 or CC), then convert and colour correct my images in CMYK mode before sending to the printers ?.
Any suggestions would be appreciated

Answer 1

web-weaver wrote:
I looked HP indigo up. It's a process that emulates traditional offset printing through electronic means. Wikipedia writes:
"The technology is based on HP ElectroInk, which uses small colour particles suspended in Imaging Oil (Isopar) that can be attracted or repelled by means of a voltage differential. The ink forms a very thin and smooth plastic layer on the paper surface. The fact that these particles are so small ensures that the printed image does not mask the underlying surface roughness/gloss of the paper, as can be possible with some toner-based processes, bringing Indigo printing closer in appearance to conventional offset lithography, whereby ink is actually absorbed into the paper."
This may explain why there isn't much difference in appearance of the actual printed image on different paper types. ERGO–Very little difference in the paper specific printer profiles–but it's still limited to the four inks CMYK gamut. Apparently HP Indigo printers have wide-gamut capability using six or more color inks similar to  wide-gamut inkjet printers, which none of the digital print houses seem to offer. Here's a paper that discusses this capability:
HP-Indigo Technology and its Application to Photo Printing
On page 3:
Beyond the four process colors
While HP indigo presses brings high quality with four process colors, spanning ISO 12647 color gamut and reaching the darkest colors, they can also utilize up to three additional colors.  Light Cyan and Light Magenta inks for photo-realistic imaging. The light inks reduce granularity, providing smoother images and tone transitions, and a true photo look and feel. The white ink can be used for special applications, such as printing on black papers. IndiChrome enable enhanced color gamut.