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Agni7
Agni7
Known Participant
October 5, 2018
Question

What should be the color profile for coloring comics for print?

  • October 5, 2018
  • 12 replies
  • 10045 views

Hello!

I am working on a comic book. I am digitally coloring the comic in Photoshop CC 2014.

My color profile is sRGB. I finish coloring in the RGB settings and then change that to CMYK before print. But even then, the colors that get printed are very bland and darker than the ones I chose on screen.

I saw on another forum that working in Adobe RGB helps. Is that true?
How do I get the exact colors which I choose on screen, in print? Maybe  I am missing something pretty simple. I would request some advice and help regarding this issue!

Thanks in advance!

Regards

Agni

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12 replies

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Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 5, 2018

Who is doing the printing?

What have they asked for?

I prefer to work in sRGB and let the printer handle the CMYK conversion.  He makes a test print for me, and if we are happy, he goes ahead with the main job.  The irony is that my printer is someone I know, and I have taught Photoshop, but he is the expert when it comes to doing his job.

Agni7
Agni7Author
Known Participant
October 5, 2018

Who is doing the printing?

The publisher who gave me the job.

What have they asked for?

The problem is, they haven't asked for any particular color profile. They do have the raw files, but a few JPGs which I had changed to CMYK were also printed a bit darker than I had painted in my version.

I prefer to work in sRGB and let the printer handle the CMYK conversion.  He makes a test print for me, and if we are happy, he goes ahead with the main job.  The irony is that my printer is someone I know, and I have taught Photoshop, but he is the expert when it comes to doing his job.

Yeah the publisher too works in Photoshop. The raw PSD files I gave were supposed to be converted into the printer's printable format. This publishing house has been in the business for several years, so they are not novice!

I am going to have a talk with them later this week. I will surely mention this issue. I thought it was very simple, work in RGB for Web purposes, and work in CMYK before sending to print. I don't know how it got so complicated. Maybe I am missing something in the range of colors required for printing. Some colors may turn out darker in print than others. Do you know of anything like that? Can you help me with that?

Thanks for your reply!
Regards

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 5, 2018

You can see for yourself on screen. Just proof to the CMYK profile you'll be using, and you can see any desaturation directly. There's nothing to "do" with it assuming it's the right profile. It's just the limitations of this ink on that paper on that particular press.

Off the top of my head this looks pretty normal to me, considering that this is a photographed page that is obviously not directly comparable.

Agni7  wrote

The problem is, they haven't asked for any particular color profile.

That's usually not a good sign. There are still printers out there who don't run a properly color managed process, and they should just be avoided.

But it could also be that you have talked to the sales/customer relations people, and they usually don't know anything about this. You need to get the technical staff, the people who will actually print it.

If you're in North or South America, US Web Coated (SWOP) is a fairly safe bet, but no guarantees. If you're anywhere else, it's plain wrong. The SWOP standard doesn't apply anywhere else in the world.

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 5, 2018

    then change that to CMYK before print.

    Which CMYK?

    How do I get the exact colors which I choose on screen, in print?

    Is your Color Management set up properly?

    Unless the screen profile is accurate Photoshop cannot really properly preview any image.

    Could you post an example of the kind of illustration you do?

    Agni7
    Agni7Author
    Known Participant
    October 5, 2018

    Which CMYK?

    The US Web Coated (SWOP) v2, from Edit> Convert to Profile or Image>Mode>CMYK.

    Is your Color Management set up properly?

    Unless the screen profile is accurate Photoshop cannot really properly preview any image.

    Could you post an example of the kind of illustration you do?

    Well, I am guessing the Color Management is set up properly, because I don't really have any problems while working on any web media.

    Yes, here is an example -
    Here is my RGB illustration which is bright.

    And here is the printed version which is darker. I clicked the photo below on my phone, so it isn't perfect, but the darker shades are visible on the character's skin, the rocks and the wooden elements in the last panel.

    Is this normal? If so then how can I solve this issue? Because this is an issue for me if the colors I am working on get changed in the final print!

    Thanks for your reply!

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