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chriso123
Participant
May 17, 2017
Answered

RGB/CMYK for print

  • May 17, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 10581 views

Hey everyone, I have some photos in an InDesign file for print that are in RGB mode. When I export to a cmyk pdf is it going to convert the photos or do I need to edit each photo that is still in rgb?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Derek Cross

Keep the documents in RGB. If you use an inkjet printer select from the InDesign Acrobat PDF Presets, High Quaity Print. For commercial litho/digital printing select PDF/X-4 (unless your Prnter had supplied a spec).

2 replies

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Steve K Walker
Inspiring
May 17, 2017

Exporting as PDF/X-4 is not enough to get good results.

If you pick the wrong colour profile you could end up with a very poor result. PDF/X-4 won't save you.

Much more importantly you need to know which colour profile will be best for the printer who will be handling the final file (it's always best to ask the printer but from my experience FOGRA39 gives the best conversion from RGB to CMYK under most circumstances).

InDesign will then convert from RGB to CMYK using the specified profile (just the same as converting from RGB to CMYK in Photoshop would do).

But be careful - in most instances leaving InDesign to do the conversion will suffice.

However if you had images that you wanted the absolute best results from, then I would suggest converting in Photoshop.

This would allow you to evaluate each conversion individually and apply further corrections once the conversion has happened (if required).

If you need more info I will be happy to provide.

rob day
Community Expert
rob dayCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2017

However if you had images that you wanted the absolute best results from, then I would suggest converting in Photoshop.

Photoshop and InDesign use the same color management, so assuming the intents and destination profiles are the same, the conversions would be identical.

For RGB images that have some out-of-gamut color you can set Photoshop’s Proof Setup to the CMYK output profile and turn on Proof Colors, which will show the soft proof appearance without making the conversion. If you want to make adjustments by the numbers, set one of the Info droppers to Proof Color and you will see the correct CMYK output numbers for the Proof Setup's profile.

If you want to assign different Rendering Intents within the same ID document, you can do that via Object>Image Color Settings...

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Steve K Walker
Inspiring
May 17, 2017

Rob, that was my point exactly. PS and ID use the same colour management - so converting in either will yield the same result.
I did say that in my reply. However just to be clear ...

The first point I'm making is that the answer accepted as correct here is not actually correct - saving something as PDF/X-4 isn't going to give you a good print result when it comes to RGB to CMYK conversion.

The second point is that unless you convert from RGB to CMYK using the correct work space profile you will end up with a less than satisfactory result. Coated FOGRA39 produces an excellent result for most Litho Print conditions - but it is better to ask the printer which profile they would like you to use.

My third point is that if the image is of critical importance then it is better to do the conversion in PS,  then re-evaluate it after the conversion and apply further colour correction if necessary. There are many occasions when I find this necessary - for example when a bright red loses detail after conversion - the only way to restore that is to do a further edit to the final CMYK image.

Granted (as per Danny) - this is only to be attempted by experienced retouchers in a fully colour managed workflow. And it would also only be a requirement for an art related coffee table book (for example). Hopefully no inexperienced PS users are asked to produce coffee table books with colour critical images !

For general use I agree (things like school yearbooks, etc) - do the conversion in ID - it's quicker and the result is the same as if you did it in PS.

BUT, choose the correct colour work space for the conversion, that is of critical importance.

And far more important than choosing PDF/X-4 - which was the original answer marked as correct - and not a good answer to Chriso's actual question which was about the conversion from RGB to CMYK.

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Derek CrossCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 17, 2017

Keep the documents in RGB. If you use an inkjet printer select from the InDesign Acrobat PDF Presets, High Quaity Print. For commercial litho/digital printing select PDF/X-4 (unless your Prnter had supplied a spec).

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chriso123Author
Participant
May 17, 2017

ok cool, so the pdf will still print properly?

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Derek CrossCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2017

These settings will give you the best chance, though there are things, such as colour management, which will contribute to you "printing properly".

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