Help with how to convert from RGB to CMYK

[Angelina31720456drj0]

I am a photographer i am trying to print a brochure with examples of my work however when the printer sent the file over for a proof check I could see the colours were off. I provided the file to them in PDF format (the file was made in canva which naturally is an RGB file and you can't covert). I understand the gamut is more limited with CMYK which is why my files are looking this way now.  They have advised me to convert the images to CMYK by comparing the brochure to my original RGB files and altering each one as needed.

How do i go about doing this? Is my best bet to get into Illustrator and manually tweak each of the images and then add them back into the PDF?

Many thanks 

[creative explorer · Accepted solution]

@Angelina31720456drj0 I would normally convert this in Photoshop, as Photoshop works predominately for images...while Illustrator is moreso on the illustration side of applications. Since you are a photographer, you may have used Lightroom, which is an easy program to work with if your a Photographer. There is a learning curve for Photoshop is more for the advanced users when they want to make complex edits, retouching capabilities, remove unwanted things...so I would think Lightroom would be more up your alley.

When you convert your vibrant RGB images into CMYK, they will always be duller. That's the way it is. Trust the process, in the end, it should work itself out. 

Since you made the brochure in Canva, the best method is to colour correct in either Lightroom or Photoshop. Normally I would re-link it back to the original document, but because you are using Canva, my gut feeling is telling ME the PDF export will still be RGB. You could ask the print shop to re-link the images with the supplied CMYK images (as they may have created the brochure in a different application, such as InDesign in CMYK profile too). Or you could outsource the job too! 

[creative explorer · Accepted solution]

@Angelina31720456drj0 I would normally convert this in Photoshop, as Photoshop works predominately for images...while Illustrator is moreso on the illustration side of applications. Since you are a photographer, you may have used Lightroom, which is an easy program to work with if your a Photographer. There is a learning curve for Photoshop is more for the advanced users when they want to make complex edits, retouching capabilities, remove unwanted things...so I would think Lightroom would be more up your alley.

When you convert your vibrant RGB images into CMYK, they will always be duller. That's the way it is. Trust the process, in the end, it should work itself out. 

Since you made the brochure in Canva, the best method is to colour correct in either Lightroom or Photoshop. Normally I would re-link it back to the original document, but because you are using Canva, my gut feeling is telling ME the PDF export will still be RGB. You could ask the print shop to re-link the images with the supplied CMYK images (as they may have created the brochure in a different application, such as InDesign in CMYK profile too). Or you could outsource the job too! 

[Tariq Ahmad · Accepted solution]

Hi @Angelina31720456drj0 

Over and above what @creative explorer suggested. You may follow the suggestions here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/color-conversion-ink-management-acrobat.html for color conversion. 


~Tariq