Is there difference between printing with CMYK settings and just printing in RGB?

[zeze88zeze]

My document setting is RGB right now. And I know that If I print it without changing anything, it will be printed a bit darker than the screen.

And I also know that If I press ctrl+y at my document, the document will turn into cmyk and my colors will turn dull.

If I turn my document into cmyk and then print it, will it become more darker and dull then just printing RGB document?

[Test Screen Name]

It depends on what your printer is and your system. Is it a PostScript printer with a PostScript driver? If you don't know, what kind of printer is it, and what is the exact full name of the printer shown (with all the bracketed junk) when you choose to print?

[zeze88zeze]

So you mean some printers DO make cmyk images look more dull than rgb images?

I guess I'll just have to keep on using RGB document settings since closer to what I see in the screen, better it is.

[Test Screen Name]

Please tell us about your printer as I asked.

[D Fosse]

Pressing ctrl+Y turns on soft proof, which has no place here. By default that soft proofs to your working CMYK, but it has no effect on the image data. In short, forget ctrl+Y.

Most inkjet printers are RGB devices that expect RGB data.

To get a good print you need to print with proper color management, setting the correct printer/paper profile in the Photoshop print dialog.

[Eugenio.NYC]

Hi There

If you use a desktop printer, even if the printer has CMYK inks, the printer driver will change the colors of your image from RGB to CMYK as soon you print, that means you don't have to change the image to CMYK. The use of CNTR "Y" is to preview on the screen what it would look like if you change to CMYK mode but before using this function you have to configure Photoshop, in this case, it is not necessary to use it.

The reason why it prints darker is that your monitor will render the colors in one way and your printer in another, and each monitor has different abilities to render colors, so if you want to see exactly what you print on the screen (or similar) you would have to do a color management system process. If you tell us your printer model, the paper you use and monitor model, we can give you some tips.

Regards

[chanaart]

Yes there is a difference.

Are you printing at home with a home based printer? most of them are RGB printers.

Are you sending it to a printer that asking for a special profile? and going to offset?  They might change it to CMYK.

My workflow is usually RGB. I let the printer change it and  I go to check it before printing.

Some of the new printers for small edition s are RGB now days. Best is to consult with a good printer before starting a project

!

Chana

[JohanElzenga]

zeze88zeze  wrote

My document setting is RGB right now. And I know that If I print it without changing anything, it will be printed a bit darker than the screen.

And I also know that If I press ctrl+y at my document, the document will turn into cmyk and my colors will turn dull.

If I turn my document into cmyk and then print it, will it become more darker and dull then just printing RGB document?

There is no such thing as an RGB inkjet printer, but home printers have a printer driver that expects RGB input. If you send CMYK data to such a printer driver, your data will be converted twice. First the CMYK data will be converted to RGB, and then these RGB data will be converted to the instructions for the printer. As you can imagine, that can only be worse than sending RGB data in the first place.

[chanaart]

Also are you printing at home to a home device?

What paper are you using you need to think about the dot gain.

Every paper will give you a different result. So take that into consideration!

[Bob_Hallam]

It is essentially impossible to print in RGB.   Much to the dismay of many designers and anyone who likes "those Blues" ( yea you know who you are!) So converting to CMYK must happen.  How that happens and where is very dependent on what your "Printer" is and what software drives it.   Some software converts RGB images to CMYK and some can not.   But in reality it's a pay me now or pay me later process, because RGB is a color space made to describe Light not print.   

[D Fosse]

The point isn't whether printers can print RGB. We all know they can't. They obviously use varieties of C, M, Y and K inks.

The point is that print profiles (for inkjets) are RGB profiles. That's all the printing application sees, and for that reason it is correct to say that inkjet printers are "RGB devices".

The final conversion into whatever inks are used, is performed in the driver and is completely invisible to the application. It is just expected to send RGB data.

Of course you can send CMYK, but it will just be converted into the RGB print profile.

[Test Screen Name]

Here's a common scenario.

1. Designer designs in RGB. Looks fine.

2. Designer wants to print, and hears they must print using CMYK. Converts to CMYK with a random profile because they don't understand CMYK profiles.

3. Designer prints the CMYK data.

4. But the printer driver isn't PostScript, so it requires RGB data. So the app converts the CMYK back to RGB as for screen display.

5. The printer driver converts to CMYK or the ink mix needed. It gets on paper.

6. Designer wonders why the colour is a little iffy.

[chanaart]

I usually tell my students the following:

If you are a control Freak (not really using that..) But a person that likes to control the design: you become a print designer. You can control the colors and the Color profiles to achieve the correct color.

If you do not cre so much: you become a web designer since you cannot control the device color...

And I go from there.

Yes. Using Color profiles is the most difficult chore as a designer.

Check this out:

Learning Print Production - Welcome   (she is the best)

Learning Color Management - Welcome

Books:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321970322/ref=rdr_ext_tmb