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Karen_Fung4767
Participant
Jun 8, 2026 9:58 AM UTC
Answered

photoshop and illustrator showing the wrong color of cmyk value

 

in the photoshop and illustrator, when i follow the suggestion and type CMYK value, the result is totally different to the correct color.

how can i fix this? 

    D Fosse
    D FosseCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    Jun 8, 2026 3:30 PM UTC

    There is no such thing as a generic CMYK.  Any "conversion table" that claims there is, is based on misunderstanding and ignorance.

     

    Numbers refer to specific color spaces, and different color spaces yield different numbers for the same visual color. US Web Coated (SWOP) will give you different numbers than ISO Coated 300% (ECI), and so on. Without specifying the color space, numbers are undefined and meaningless.

     

    A CMYK profile characterizes a certain offset print process, using certain inks on certain paper stock, on an offset press calibrated to a certain standard. These standards vary around the world.

     

    In short - not "CMYK", but which specific CMYK profile. You need to know which profile applies in your case.

     

     

    4 replies

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Jun 8, 2026 9:42 PM UTC

    Also in this duplicate topic:

     

     

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    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    Jun 8, 2026 3:30 PM UTC

    There is no such thing as a generic CMYK.  Any "conversion table" that claims there is, is based on misunderstanding and ignorance.

     

    Numbers refer to specific color spaces, and different color spaces yield different numbers for the same visual color. US Web Coated (SWOP) will give you different numbers than ISO Coated 300% (ECI), and so on. Without specifying the color space, numbers are undefined and meaningless.

     

    A CMYK profile characterizes a certain offset print process, using certain inks on certain paper stock, on an offset press calibrated to a certain standard. These standards vary around the world.

     

    In short - not "CMYK", but which specific CMYK profile. You need to know which profile applies in your case.

     

     

    Translate
    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Jun 8, 2026 1:58 PM UTC

    Start here https://community.adobe.com/community and find the correct forum for your question

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    kglad
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Jun 8, 2026 1:08 PM UTC

    post this in the ps forum, https://community.adobe.com/p/photoshop

     

    p.s. change your title to avoid a duplicate message problem.

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