Out of Gamut Warning- Help!

[AmbrosiaSD]

Hey everyone,

      I use Photoshop and work in CMYK for design and printing, yet every time I export images out, it changes my whites to off white or grey, and when I even print them, the white comes out the same way, and doesn't utilize the white of the paper, thus making my white appear dingy.  I select a pure white in the color picker, it prompts me that its out of gamut, but I am finding there is no what to turn it off, or override it, as it always selects a different "white option" each time, and it is driving me nuts. Clicking the warning option only changes the color to the dingy looking ones, and I have even gone as far as to try to work in another color space (RGB) and that even yields the same results. I need to know how to turn off this warning, or at least how to override it so I can get the pure white, and not have it alter every color that I do, otherwise I am going to have to look into other options, because its becoming to much of an issue.  Thank you in advance!!!!!

[mglush]

Hi!

Let's see how we can help! Don't give up--there is an answer--and as you learn more about color in Photoshop it will start to make sense.

First, what version of Photoshop are you using? Are you working in CMYK exclusively? Have you assigned a color profile? And, have you calibrated your monitor? Have you tried turning of Gamut Warning under the View menu?

If you could post a screenshot of what your image looks like, it would also help!

Thanks,

Michelle

[AmbrosiaSD]

Hi Michelle!

OK, so I am using Photoshop CC 2019, I am working in CMYK for most of my work as it is all for print (the one website I post to needs them in CMYK so that they translate to the printers, and this current project is a set of business cards).  The Gamut Warning in the View menu is not on, this problem occurs when I select a color, in this case, white.  I select the purest form of white, and then Photoshop changes it to an off white/grey/cream, so the white is never pure, looks dingy, and when I print it out, there is always a greyed veil over the work. I did try to build the images again in RGB format, but even then the colors are even worse. Here are some screen shots to show you the issue, how I select the pure white, I get the notification that its out of gamut, and then Photoshop changes the color!  I know that the colors are close, but I'm afraid to send this out for print if its going to turn the whites to grey to whites and creams for my client.

[AmbrosiaSD]

Here is what happens when I open a new document in RGB, and create a shape with the color, it grays it out completely, and is no where near the color that I need, and makes working in this space extra difficult!

[D Fosse]

Something strange is going on here. As you can see, CMYK 1-0-0-0 actually produces this muddy gray color. (why it pins cyan to 1 and not 0 I don't know).

Is the example in #3 built in CMYK from the start? What actual CMYK profile are you using here? Did they give you a profile to use?

It's almost as if the paper color is built into the profile - which of course gives "double" paper color when the file actually hits the paper.

Set the info area like this and post a screenshot so we see the document CMYK profile:

[rob day]

Check your Color Settings Conversion Options Intent. Absolute Colorimetric would give you an out-of-gamut warning for 255|255|255 with most CMYK Working Spaces.

[D Fosse]

Ah - of course. Absolute colorimetric does not remap the white point. Good catch.

[mglush]

Would that also be the reason that some of the other colors are thrown off?

[rob day]

Yes. Use Relative Colorimetric or Perceptual. In general relative does the best job of maintaining the original colors. Also check Use Black Point Compensation

[mglush]

Thanks Rob!

[AmbrosiaSD]

THANK YOU! That appears to have solved the issue! I wonder if that is a default because this issue started occurring about 6 months ago! I will check this every time now when I start! Thank you Rob, and also thank you everyone for all of the help!!!!

[D Fosse]

Rendering intent sets rules for how one color space is remapped into another.

Relative Colorimetric is the default, and the one you should normally use. It remaps (translates) the white point, and hard clips everything outside the target gamut. Everything inside gamut is preserved.

In some cases you can use Perceptual, which also remaps the white point, but clips somewhat softer in that the colors are compressed near the gamut limit. This is at the expense of accuracy, and you may also lose some total saturation.

Absolute Colorimetric and Saturation are normally not used for images.

Note that standard RGB working color spaces (sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto) do not support other rendering intents than Relative Colorimetric. You can choose a different intent, but you still get RelCol.

Black Point Compensation should always be on. Otherwise you get abrupt black clipping at some arbitrary point and you lose shadow separation.

[Derek Cross]

You should work in RGB color mode, not CMYK color mode. There are various color spaces, the simplest to use when you begin is sRGB (Standard RGB space). With most inkjet printers, their software converts the image into CMYK or even CMYK Plus.

Read up about Color Management, which includes calibrating your monitor and understanding profiles. You can find online tutorials about this and more with LinkedIn Learning (you can get 30-days free access). This is a good tutorial, it covers Photoshop as well as InDesign: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/indesign-color

[AmbrosiaSD]

Hey Derek, thank you, unfortunately the services that I print with ask for the images to be built and done in CMYK for their printers, so im timid to try to change the format and have it not work, or fail to upload to their systems.

[Dilpreet2270796420yg]

Hi. I'm having a similar problem but with trying to select a bright turquoise shade but after I've selected the colour in the picker and press ok (the warning error appears next to the colour -out of gamut for prinitng. Do I need to check any of my settings?  

[D Fosse]

If the document is CMYK, the color is most likely just out of gamut.

That has nothing to do with Photoshop, it's just the limitations of offset printing processes. The color can't be reproduced in CMYK; the inks aren't saturated enough at that density.

CMYK is always tied to a specific printing process - an offset press calibrated to a certain standard, using specific inks on specific paper stock. It's where the rubber hits the road, so to speak. There's no such thing as a generic and ideal "CMYK".

CMYK is strictly for commercial offset print! For everything else you should be in RGB. Even desktop inkjet printers expect RGB data.

[NB, colourmanagement]

Preparing colour images etc for CMYK print can be pretty hard because a lot of screen colour is out of the gamut of CMYK processes. If you have a good CMYK profile (that truly represents the press to be used) then what tyou'll have to do is select colours a that are not out of gamut. If you were to disable gamut warning all you'd get is inaccurate colour when the job finally prints.

Ignoring gamut warning is like taping over a car's oil warning light because you don't like the red glow. Better to put in some oil to make the light go off.

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
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