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J
jughead77a
Participating Frequently
April 13, 2020
Question

Unable to save as PNG image in CMYK

  • April 13, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 3836 views

I upload my work to Redbubble and for that I need a high resolution png file. I've heard you're not supposed to save in RGB mode if it's for printing. I can save as jpeg and pdf but I cannot upload these to Redbubble. Jpeg adds a white background I need it to be transparent. I tried to export as png but it's saving it at 72dpi instead of 300dpi which it was originally at and there is no option to change it.

 

any ideas?

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

E
Eko379276416mnt
Participant
June 9, 2024

You must save it in psd format that supports printing in CMYK colour mode.

T
Test Screen Name
Legend
April 13, 2020

No matter what they recommend, a PNG cannot be CMYK. The page is certainly a bit confusing, but the facts are there. I agree that it is not useful for them to say "work in CMYK" either unless they give you a CMYK profile. Overall, work in RGB but be aware that printing will mute the colours. A lot.

    Mylenium
    Mylenium
    Legend
    April 13, 2020

    PNGs can't be CMYK and in order to get predictable results with CMYK you'd need to work fully calibrated, anyway. That and of course it doesn't really make that much sense for an online printing service that is likely letting the conversion happen via the printer driver based on RGB, anyway. It seems you have some fundamental misunderstandings and I'm sure this is even explained on their website. That only leaves the DPI issue, so the pertinent question becomes how you actualyl save. You should have not any issues with  that using Save File/ Save File as Copy, but who knows...

     

    Mylenium

      J
      jughead77aAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      April 13, 2020

      Hello thank you for your response. I've been using Photoshop a while but yes the color modes confuse me. It does state on their website that they recommend to upload a PNG file but at the same time they also recommend CMYK which I don't understand if pngs can't be CMYK: https://help.redbubble.com/hc/en-us/articles/202270719-Design-Basics

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