300 dpi TIF appears "optimized"

In PS 7 on Win2000, I opened a stock photo image that was an RGB, JPG and 300dpi. I converted the image to CMYK and saved it as a TIF... I didn't change the resolution, though I did scale down slightly by changing the image size. Now the printed image appears "optimized" as if it is missing colors. This isn't a very obvious change on screen or on MY printer (though I have confirmed it IS the in the image, and not the printer), But is rather obvious in the final digitally printed brochure...what happened to the images? I have done this in the past - though some time ago - and the images didn't appear messed up!

My first guess, because it has happened to me once, is that the wrong color profile was used either in setup or in production. In my instance, the color profile I typically use (US Sheetfed Coated 2) was substituted for a custom generated profile using maximum black generation. The conversion from the one profile to the other took all the richess out of my blacks and resulted in a very muted, flat black color in the background and shadows of the image—not at all what I had intended.

If you are using a color managed setup, I'd check your base CMYK profile and see if the profile embedded in the file is the one that's best suited for the image upon output. Some discussions with your printer before printing can help you to choose the best profile for output.

Would the color profile cause the image to have "areas" of color such as would be created in over-optimization or maybe a vector-drawn image? Basically, the gradients are not smooth...

Oh, so you're getting a banding effect?

Hmmm... can't say as I have ever experienced that but I know others have. It could still be a color profile issue, it could also be a problem with the printer... maybe some out of gamut colors, perhaps?

I'd sure like to see the image. If you wouldn't mind sending it to me or posting a link to it that I could download, I (or others) might be able to either reproduce the problem or stand a better chance of diagnosing it as opposed to our doing it blind.