Participating Frequently

P: Photoshop 27.8 & later Rendering Artifacts, Exposed Previews and Color Banding

Forum|Forum|2 months ago
June 30, 2026
172 replies
1135 views

Hello,

I have encountered what appears to be a GPU-related rendering bug when converting RGB images to CMYK in Photoshop.

System

Photoshop 27.8
macOS Tahoe 26.5.2
Mac Studio M2 Ultra
Apple Silicon GPU

Problem

Whenever GPU acceleration is enabled, converting an RGB image to CMYK produces severe black rendering artifacts across the image. The artifacts appear immediately after the color conversion and make the document unusable.

The issue occurs with multiple images and is fully reproducible on my system.

Steps to Reproduce

Open an RGB image.
Make sure Use Graphics Processor is enabled under Preferences > Performance.
Convert the document to CMYK (either Image > Mode > CMYK Color or Edit > Convert to Profile).
Large black artifacts appear throughout the image.

Expected Result

The RGB image should convert normally to CMYK without any visual corruption.

Actual Result

The converted image contains large black rendering artifacts that were not present in the original RGB document.

Workaround

Disabling Use Graphics Processor completely resolves the issue.

After restarting Photoshop with GPU acceleration disabled, the exact same RGB image converts to CMYK correctly with no artifacts.

Additional Information

The problem started recently. Earlier Photoshop versions on the same hardware did not show this behavior.
The issue does not appear to be related to a specific image.
Since disabling GPU acceleration immediately fixes the problem, this seems to be related to Photoshop's Metal GPU rendering pipeline rather than the color conversion itself.
I can provide the original RGB file, the corrupted CMYK result, screenshots, the GPU Compatibility Report, and the Photoshop System Information if needed.

Has anyone else experienced this issue on Apple Silicon Macs, particularly on an M2 Ultra?

Thank you.

Adobe PS Bug Report.txt

Pinned Reply By Erin26

An update on the two bugs mentioned in this thread:

Washed-out colors: The fix is included in the latest Photoshop release, PS 27.9.1.
Banding during RGB → CMYK conversion: The fix is available in the latest Photoshop Beta build 27.11.

Show previous replies

Rophoto4

Participant

My images views perfectly in LR and Bridge. When I open it in the new update for PS 26 it looks blown out. I have tried a variety of images and even ones I have already proofed. What is causing this? someone told me to hit command y - and then it does go back to original image. Something messed up with the latest update?? I tried opening in PS25 and the image views normal.

Ged_Traynor

Community Expert

@emmas85755064 try the suggestion in this thread

emmas85755064

Participant

I’m just using Photoshop 2026 for the first time and the image showing in the main panel is really washed out. The image in the Navigation panel on the right hand side is what it’s supposed to look like. Photoshop 2025 works fine. Any ideas?

D Fosse

Community Expert

Known bug in the Mac Photoshop version. The fix is to operate the “Precise color management for HDR display” checkbox and restart Photoshop. If unchecked, check it; if checked, uncheck it.

C

chloe24090206d9th

Participating Frequently

Thank you! I am trying this now. Thank you for giving actionable advice!

C

chloe24090206d9th

Participating Frequently

It worked!! Thank you so much, what a relief!

T

Tim Boole

Participant

Turned off “Use Graphics Processor” in Pshop Preferences : Performance”

This worked for me.

D Fosse

Community Expert

@Tim Boole

Known bug in the Mac Photoshop version. The fix is to operate the “Precise color management for HDR display” checkbox and restart Photoshop. If unchecked, check it; if checked, uncheck it.

Disabling the GPU turns off all display color management, so it’s not fixing the problem, just hiding it by breaking the whole chain.

johng44721896

Community Expert

If you are using Ps v27.9, this seems to be a widespread problem according to the slew of posts at Reddit. The problem had been in Ps beta 27.9 and it seems that it wasn’t fixed before releasing standard v27.9.

Jeff Arola

Community Expert

What version of Photoshop and operating system are you using?

If your desktop is a Mac have a look at this thread for possible temporary solutions:

C

cody_cuellar

Adobe Employee

Hi all — a quick clarification, since this thread appears to be covering two separate bugs.

The original report here (black rendering artifacts / banding during RGB→CMYK conversion with GPU acceleration enabled, on macOS Tahoe) is being tracked internally as its own issue, separate from the "washed out" color problem being discussed in this thread:

They're unrelated bugs, though both revolve around the GPU.

If your issue is RGB→CMYK conversion artifacts with GPU on: go to Photoshop 2026 > Settings... > Performance... and uncheck "Use Graphics Processor" as a workaround while we investigate.

If you're seeing washed-out/overexposed images in the canvas on 27.9.0 specifically: go to Photoshop 2026 > Settings... > Technology Previews... and check "Precise color management for HDR display" (yes the name is counterintuitive as HDR is irrelevant to this particular bug). This is a known regression and a fix has already landed for an upcoming patch release.

If you're hitting both, disabling "Use Graphics Processor" will work around either issue, at the cost of GPU performance.

I'll post updates here as we learn more on the original CMYK/banding issue, and separately once the 27.9.0 patch ships.

NOTE: Both bugs addressed here are display-only and do NOT affect the pixels in the document, so the document pixels are safe even if you see the issues described below.

selondon

Community Expert

Yep I assumed they were unrelated.
Artifacts were happening to me in 27.8 but apart from that the colour was fine.

The over exposure only happened in the 27.9 update. Therefore have rolled back to 27.8.

C

chloe24090206d9th

Participating Frequently

This morning, I transferred a Photoshop file that I was working on on the ipad onto my desktop computer. When I opened the file in the desktop Photoshop, the colors were completely whitewashed out. It’s displaying colors as very faded and nearly white, as if someone increased the exposure way too high. This has never happened before. I even tried opening a different file on the desktop photoshop, and the same thing happened again.

Please remember that we use your apps in the professional world, a world run by deadlines, and this sort of thing is untenable.

Srishti Bali

Community Manager

Hi @zachk

Thanks for reaching out, and I'm sorry you're experiencing this issue. Could you please try the following steps?

Go to Settings > Technology Previews.
Check "Precise Color Management for HDR Display."
Restart Photoshop.
If the option is already unchecked, toggle it on and off, restart Photoshop, and let us know if that makes any difference.

Let us know if that helps!

Thanks, Srishti Bali | Community & Engagement Strategist, Digital Imaging | Adobe

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