Sequence of edits for RGB to CMYK

[jaimeg5425619]

Hello!

I am preparing some images for a magazine print, currently in RGB mode. I plan to convert these to CMYK prior to sending to the magazine. I think I know the answer to my question but want to make sure.

When I convert the image to CMYK it changes the colors and appearance on my monitor. Do I need to make additional edits to my image after converting to CMYK to make it look like the RGB pre-conversion version? Or am I suppose to leave it alone and when it prints it will look more like the RGB version? Hope that makes sense.

[postrophe · Accepted solution]

Hi

Or am I suppose to leave it alone ..

Right, the magazine know how to adjust your file to their "environnement" (rip pre-press settings)

Pierre

[Derek Cross]

As Postrophe states you always work (and supply) in RGB mode. You can proof onscreen in CMYK mode in Photoshop to see changes which occur in changing from one color space to another, which will be particularly noticeable with bright greens and orange colors.

[D Fosse]

As the others said. Standard procedure these days is to supply Adobe RGB.

CMYK conversion for press is done as the final step, usually from InDesign at the Export to PDF stage. The point is that the CMYK profile needs to be the correct one for the actual printing process. The Photoshop default (Web Coated SWOP) is likely not the right one.

If you ask them what that profile is, you can soft proof to it. This wll show you what colors are unreproducible in print, and you can compensate for it if you feel it's worthwhile. Note that this may not be entirely reliable unless you have a wide gamut monitor.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

It will generally look more like the CMYK version than the RGB, with or without editing. Even with edits to the CMYK, you may never get it looking like the original RGB for the “out of gamut regions”, however it may look better than doing nothing if you have the skill to make it subjectively better. If an RGB image has areas that are “out of gamut” for CMYK, by definition there is no accurate conversion – it then comes down to subjective art/craft as to what is “best”. You can make edits in RGB with a CMYK softproof, trying to minimise or make the changes “more acceptable”… Or you can convert to CMYK and make the edits in final device space (or use both approaches). The question is of course “what RGB” and “what CMYK” as these are all device dependent colour modes.

Two things to keep in mind:

1. End viewers may never see the original RGB, so they don’t know what they are missing, as long as the end result is fit for purpose then it will be on par with other similar images in the same print medium.
2. Somebody that knows how to edit CMYK can often create a more visually compelling end result, even if this departs from the original, so when comparing a “default RGB to CMYK conversion” vs. a “hand crafted conversion”, the CMYK edited image may be considered to be “better”, particularly so if the original RGB image is predominantly “out of gamut” for the final print space.