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Chris Gilcher
Chris Gilcher
Participating Frequently
June 30, 2026

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

  • 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

  1. Open an RGB image.
  2. Make sure Use Graphics Processor is enabled under Preferences > Performance.
  3. Convert the document to CMYK (either Image > Mode > CMYK Color or Edit > Convert to Profile).
  4. 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.

      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.

      172 replies

      Show previous replies
      Red+Inspira
      Red+Inspira
      Participant
      July 27, 2026

      Buen día, he tenido un problema con mi programa ultimamente. 

      Solo me habia pasado una vez anteriormente, pero con las ultimas 2 actualizaciones del Photoshop Beta, los archivos tienen bug en el color cada vez que lo abro. 

      En la imagen 1, los colores del archivo se ven transparentes y apagados. El modo de vista del ajuste de prueba está en “Monitor RGB”, y al cambiarlo a cualquier otro modo y regresarlo a ese, el color se ve normal (imagen 2). 

      Este es un proceso que tengo que repetir con todos los archivos, y todas las veces que los abro.

      Actualmente tengo la versión 27.10 

      Imagen 1. Bug en la vista del color
      Imagen 2. Vista normal del color en el mismo modo “Monitor RGB”

       

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 27, 2026

      Known bug with the Mac Photoshop version. The forum is full of similar posts.

       

      The fix is to check/uncheck “Precise color management for HDR display”. If checked, uncheck it; if unchecked, check it and uncheck again. Relaunch Photoshop when done.

        Mr+Hahn
        Mr+Hahn
        Participant
        July 30, 2026

        Initially I did as ​@TexMax did, went to Performance, and unchecked “Use Graphics Processor”. Now I tried turning it back on to use this fix ​@D Fosse posted and as expected the images I opened were washed out again after I enabled the GPU option.

        On my machine, “Precise color management for HDR display” was already unchecked. So I did as instructed above, (check/uncheck “Precise color management for HDR display”. If checked, uncheck it; if unchecked, check it and uncheck again. Relaunch Photoshop when done.) and that didn’t fix it for me. I still had washed out images with the “Use Graphics Processor” option enabled after doing this.

        So I checked the box for “Precise color management for HDR display”, left it checked on, hit ok, and restarted Photoshop again. This time I got normal images and it has remained normal after a few restarts of Photoshop with no issues. I can now send images from Lightroom to Photoshop, edit them normally, and save them back to Lightroom and they still look normal.

        So for me, checking the box for “Precise color management for HDR display” and leaving it on has fixed my problem with with “Use Graphics Processor” box also checked on.

        Weird that it’s kind of backwards for me. I’m on a Mac Studio with M4 Max and Photoshop 27.9.0

        Adobe Employee
        cody_cuellar
        Adobe Employee
        July 31, 2026

        This is the correct fix until the next patch release goes out to CC.

        Keep ‘precise color management for HDR display’ ENABLED when GPU is enabled.  Make sure to restart Photoshop at least once after ENABLING the checkbox.

        The name of this setting doesn’t really carry the meaning it once did when first introduced - it doesn’t really have anything to do with HDR, it’s more how we interact with the GPU on Apple devices, which now applies to all images, and not just HDR imagery like it once did. The next patch update released on CC will fix this though, so the bug won’t occur regardless of this setting.

        TexMax
        Participant
        July 27, 2026

        With GPU acceleration enabled ("Use Graphics Processor"), Photoshop's canvas displays images brighter than the actual pixel data. Confirmed by comparing the canvas to the layer thumbnail (which shows the correct, darker image) and to the same file opened in Preview.app and Camera Raw. Disabling GPU acceleration and restarting Photoshop fixes it — canvas then matches thumbnail/Preview.

        Steps to reproduce:

        1. Open a JPEG or ARW file (GPU acceleration on, default)
        2. Compare canvas to layer thumbnail — canvas is visibly brighter
        3. Photoshop > Settings > Performance > uncheck "Use Graphics Processor" > restart
        4. Reopen file — canvas now matches thumbnail

        Expected: canvas matches actual pixel data. Actual: GPU rendering over-brightens display only (underlying data is correct).

        Likely related to a broader shared GPU rendering issue — other users report the same artifact in Premiere Pro and After Effects. See related (closed) thread: community.adobe.com/topic/show?tid=1409325&fid=729

        System: MacBook Pro, M4 Max, 128GB RAM, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, Photoshop 2026

          D Fosse
          Community Expert
          D FosseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          July 25, 2026

          This is a known bug in the Photoshop Mac version.

           

          The fix is to check/uncheck the “Precise color management for HDR” box in Preferences > Technology Previews. If checked, uncheck it; if unchecked, check it and uncheck again. Then, important!, relaunch Photoshop.

            anmafremo
            Participant
            July 26, 2026

            War erfolgreich! Vielen Dank!

              Community Expert
              AxelMattCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              July 25, 2026

              ​@anmafremo Please be more specific and describe your issue more detailed.

              Do you use the same settings, like color space etc in both versions?

              Please post appropriate screenshot in which we can see the difference.

               

              Please provide also a copy of your 'System Info'. This can be get from the Photoshop menu item Help > System Info. There's a copy button in the System Info dialog. Press this button and paste the info into your next forum post.

              Here you’ll find a post with a similar issue:

               

              My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 9 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
              anmafremo
              Participant
              July 24, 2026

              In Photoshop Beta sind die Bilder viel heller als in Photoshop 26. Warum?

              jdpisani
              Participating Frequently
              July 24, 2026

              Ok, update.  I opened the same files in Photoshop non BETA release and everything looked fine. I noticed that in that version, it still had the preference checked for enabling precise color management for HDR displays.  I went ahead and turned it on again in the BETA version and to my surprise the colors are all back to normal.  I guess ADOBE fixed the bug with the precise display and created a mess with the people using the workaround.

                jdpisani
                Participating Frequently
                July 24, 2026

                I’ve got the same problem but it is far more extensive.  This is happening on every file I open in Photoshop. I tried updating to the latest beta and it is still happening.  I already had precise display for HDR turned off.  It happens to PSD’s, RAW Files, and JPG’s.  Here’s an Example.

                I tried changing my monitor profile and that only made it worse.  Everything is washed out.  also, it looks fine in Lightroom.

                  abloonajohn12
                  Participant
                  July 24, 2026

                  the same files open fine in 27.8, then your RAW files are not the problem. This is almost always a Camera Raw preference or color setting that changed with the update.

                  Plz check here is what I would check first.

                  Open one of the files in Camera Raw and look at the Profile at the top of the Basic panel. Make sure it is set to Adobe Color or your usual camera matching profile. If it switched to something like Adobe Neutral, the image will look flat and washed out.

                  Next go to Camera Raw Preferences and reset them. Updates sometimes corrupt or reset preferences and that alone can fix it.

                  Also check if HDR Display is turned on in Preferences. If your monitor is not properly calibrated for HDR, images can look faded. Turn it off and test again.

                  If it still looks wrong, temporarily disable Use Graphics Processor in Photoshop Preferences under Performance and restart Photoshop. GPU issues after updates are very common.

                  In most cases, resetting Camera Raw preferences solves this exact issue...

                  c.pfaffenbichler
                  Community Expert
                  c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
                  Community Expert
                  July 24, 2026

                  Please try unchecking

                  Photoshop > Settings > Technology Previews > Precise color management … 

                  Photoshop > Camera Raw > Performance > Use Graphics Processor 

                  and restarting Photoshop – does it make a difference? 

                   

                  PB26989202qzo7
                  PB26989202qzo7
                  Participant
                  August 3, 2026

                  I was having the same problems and this did work for me. Now, I am unable to use filters such as Liquify. Is there a way to fix the glitch?

                  c.pfaffenbichler
                  Community Expert
                  c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
                  Community Expert
                  August 3, 2026

                  Is 

                  Photoshop > Settings > Performance > Graphic Processor Settings

                  on? 

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