CMYK QUESTION

Create, design, etc., in RGB then convert.

Dutch

Cindy,

A good little tip when designing in RGB (’cause basically you have to in order to use all the cool filters…) is to work with a CMYK preview.

To do this, open your RGB file, and then hit Ctrl + Y to toggle the CMYK preview. You’ll still be able to use all the filters, but all you’ll see is the CMYK results on screen. This will better allow you to see the color changes before you actually go to press.

Thank you BLUDVLZ! I’ll do that. I do need some filters for this. So when I go to save this as a jpeg, I just switch the mode to CMYK and save?

~Cindy

I just switch the mode to CMYK and save?

Yep, I would save as a copy though, incase you want to make changes to the card. Keep one for print in a flat cmyk, and one for updates or corrections as rgb with layers.

A silly query perhaps, but . . .

If I send a DTP file to a professional printer I need to convert all images to CMYK or there’ll be a colour disater.

If I print the same thing on an inkjet or colour laser — both of which use CMYK ink cartridges — my document’s images print fine as RGB, CMYK or a mixture on the same page.

Why can’t that work for professional print jobs?

if it is for offset printing (i.e. newsprint, magazine, etc) it is because….
someone, and in this instance the printing service,
needs to ‘separate’ the image into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black layers for a
four-color printing process (c,m,y,k) that runs on four separate plates, with
these four colors of ink.

your computer interpolates the rgb to cmyk data for you, same way it is able to show cmyk data on an rgb monitor.

some print shops prefer to do the "prepress" conversion themselves, apparently your guys want it print-ready.

on that note, you might ask them if there is any specific cmyk "profile" that you should be imbedding when you change modes and flatten the image

—
Michael Evangelista
Southern Utah Web Design
www.suwebs.com
—

"Livewire" wrote in message

A silly query perhaps, but . . .

If I send a DTP file to a professional printer I need to convert all images to CMYK or there’ll be a colour disater.

If I print the same thing on an inkjet or colour laser — both of which use CMYK ink cartridges — my document’s images print fine as RGB, CMYK or a mixture on the same page.

Why can’t that work for professional print jobs?

In article <0rxDd.3073$>,
says…

if it is for offset printing (i.e. newsprint, magazine, etc) it is because….
someone, and in this instance the printing service,
needs to ‘separate’ the image into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black layers for a
four-color printing process (c,m,y,k) that runs on four separate plates,

But surely an inkjet or laser’s separate CMYK inks each act as the separation "plates", being placed on the paper in the same way that ink would be placed plate-by-plate via an offset press?

yes, sort of, but…not really

you have a computer between you and the ink to tell the cartridge what to do.
on an offset press, it is strictly mechanical.

the cmyk pixels contain info that allows the separation process (our news print service uses quark) to slice out the layers, cmyk – what they end up with is actually 4 greyscale images that represent the 4 colors. when those colors of ink are layered during offset printing, it recreates the image.

—
Michael Evangelista
Southern Utah Web Design
www.suwebs.com
—

"Livewire" wrote in message

In article <0rxDd.3073$>,
says…

if it is for offset printing (i.e. newsprint, magazine, etc) it is because….
someone, and in this instance the printing service,
needs to ‘separate’ the image into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black layers
for a
four-color printing process (c,m,y,k) that runs on four separate plates,

But surely an inkjet or laser’s separate CMYK inks each act as the separation "plates", being placed on the paper in the same way that ink would be placed plate-by-plate via an offset press?

In article <P1yDd.3077$>,
says…

yes, sort of, but…not really

you have a computer between you and the ink to tell the cartridge what to do.
on an offset press, it is strictly mechanical.

the cmyk pixels contain info that allows the separation process (our news print service uses quark) to slice out the layers, cmyk – what they end up with is actually 4 greyscale images that represent the 4 colors. when those colors of ink are layered during offset printing, it recreates the image.

Thanks a lot

much clearer now.

Regards

"Livewire" wrote in message

In article <P1yDd.3077$>,
says…

yes, sort of, but…not really

you have a computer between you and the ink to tell the cartridge what

to

do.
on an offset press, it is strictly mechanical.

the cmyk pixels contain info that allows the separation process (our

news

print service uses quark) to slice out the layers, cmyk – what they end

up

with is actually 4 greyscale images that represent the 4 colors. when those colors of ink are layered during offset printing, it

recreates

the image.

Thanks a lot

much clearer now.

Regards

I see you already got some great explanation from Michael, but here’s a bit more.

The main difference is that monitors (RGB) emit light whereas printing (CMYK) absorbs certain spectrums and reflects other spectrums of visible light.

The main difference is that RGB is "additive" where when maximum levels of Red Green and Blue are mixed, you get pure white. CMYK is "subtractive", in that colors are displayed by subtracting varying amounts of Red, Green and Blue light. This subtraction occurs because Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are the secondary colors of Red Green and Blue respectively, or their opposites. In CMYK, White isn’t achieved by mixing all the colors, but by the complete absence of any color (and the presence of the mandatory white background to show through!)

For an easy-to-understand explanation:
http://tinyurl.com/5dg43

For more in depth discussion:
http://tinyurl.com/3l9wy

Peadge 🙂

nice – couldn’t find the simple words for a complex idea… well done, peadge.
—
Michael Evangelista
Southern Utah Web Design
www.suwebs.com
—

"Peadge" wrote in message

"Livewire" wrote in message

In article <P1yDd.3077$>,
says…

yes, sort of, but…not really

you have a computer between you and the ink to tell the cartridge what

to

do.
on an offset press, it is strictly mechanical.

the cmyk pixels contain info that allows the separation process (our

news

print service uses quark) to slice out the layers, cmyk – what they end

up

with is actually 4 greyscale images that represent the 4 colors. when those colors of ink are layered during offset printing, it

recreates

the image.

Thanks a lot

much clearer now.

Regards

I see you already got some great explanation from Michael, but here’s a bit
more.

The main difference is that monitors (RGB) emit light whereas printing (CMYK) absorbs certain spectrums and reflects other spectrums of visible light.

The main difference is that RGB is "additive" where when maximum levels of Red Green and Blue are mixed, you get pure white. CMYK is "subtractive", in
that colors are displayed by subtracting varying amounts of Red, Green and Blue light. This subtraction occurs because Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are the secondary colors of Red Green and Blue respectively, or their opposites.
In CMYK, White isn’t achieved by mixing all the colors, but by the complete
absence of any color (and the presence of the mandatory white background to
show through!)

For an easy-to-understand explanation:
http://tinyurl.com/5dg43

For more in depth discussion:
http://tinyurl.com/3l9wy

Peadge 🙂