Researching the process of converting RGB files to CMYK for the print process, and the ways to achieve the most aesthetically comparative results using specific software.
Two examples of RGB to CMYK conversions- and showcasing the decreased saturation and difference between scrint and print outputs.
Useful information about the printing process in general and colour theory- how to prepare your designs for print production.
When you take a photograph with a digital camera or scan an image using a
digital scanner, the resulting file will use the RGB (Red Green Blue) colour
space. You can then view it on your computer monitor and print it out using
your desktop printer and get a good representation of the colour in the
original image; this is because your monitor and printer use the same RGB colour space.
If you need to have your photograph printed by a commercial printer using
'full colour process printing', you will have to covert RGB files to CMYK, as
a printing press uses the CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow blacK) colour space.
The problem is; the range of colours, referred to as gamut, that can be
produced using CMYK colour inks on paper, is a lot smaller than what can be
represented using RGB. This can result in a photograph printing with some of
the colours changing hue and looking dull. This often happens to the bright
rich blue found in sky areas of an image.
The image below left is the original RGB, to the right, the image has been
converted to CMYK. Notice the colour shift. The larger photo has been adjusted
slightly to bring out the colour.
We have a further problem. There is no standard fixed CMYK gamut; so the same
percentages of CMYK inks will not always produce the same colour. There are
variations in the inks, the absorbency of the paper, the printing conditions,
and different press setups which vary in different parts of the world.
The black ink in CMYK printing is used because the CMY inks do not produce a
pure black when added together: they produce a brown colour due to impurities
in the inks. The black ink when added gives more contrast to the image with darker shadow areas.
It is possible to replace any grey areas of an image (represented by equal
amounts of CMY inks) with an equivalent percentage of black ink, thus reducing
the amount of ink used. This is referred to as undercolour removal (UCR).
Therefore, there are many possible combinations of CMYK to achieve the same
image as in the original RGB file.
Converting RGB files to CMYK
Thankfully, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, are design programs
that provide CMYK Prepress presets recommended for press setups across the world.
In Photoshop, select 'Edit' then 'Color Setting...' and look at the dropdown
list under 'Settings'. Here you will see presets for Europe, North America and Japan.
Select a CMYK profile that best suites the final printing conditions, for
example, 'Europe ISO Coated FOGRA27', which is used for standard ISO printing
with a 350% total ink coverage, positive film and coated paper.
Clicking on the 'More Options' button will allow you to set the rendering
intent to use when converting from RGB values to CMYK. For continuous tone
images such as photographs, selecting 'Perceptual' will generally give the
best results while preserving the visual relationships of the source image.
Once you have setup the best colour settings above, you can open the RGB image you want to covert.
A photograph from a digital camera will probably have an embedded RGB colour
profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1). If Photoshop presents a window with 'Embedded
Profile Mismatch' then select 'Use the embedded profile'.
If you need to make any adjustments to the image or apply any filters etc., do
it now while the image is still in the RGB colour space.
To see which areas of the image that are 'out of gamut'; select 'View' -
'Gamut Warning'. Any colours that turn grey are colours that can not be
produced in the CMYK colour space and Photoshop will have to select the
nearest colour it can, depending on the rendering intent you selected earlier.
To covert from RGB to CMYK; select 'Image' - 'Mode' - 'CMYK Color'. You will
probably notice that some of the colours change and become much duller. As
shown in the images above. Here the colour of the sky has changed dramatically
from a bright saturated blue to a duller purplish blue.
It is possible to fine tune the CMYK image to improve the colour of the sky
and make it a brighter blue. To arrive at the larger image above, I used Photoshop's
'Replace Color' adjustment tool, selecting the sky colour and adjusting the
saturation, lightness and hue controls.
*SEE SOFTWARE TUTORIALS WITH MIKE FLOWERS ON DESIGN PRACTICE BLOG FOR ADJUSTING COLOURS FOR RGB TO CMYK CONVERSIONS*
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