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Convert RGB to CYMK for printing without color loss (Help!)

T

Teddersg

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 24, 2014
2
0
Hey everyone! I'm going to be ordering a big poster print job this week. These posters will be sold and some given away at certain events. The site requires me to have a PDF CYMK file of the image. I'm an amateur pixelmator guy and discovered there's no CYMK, so I used photoshop. I ordered a test print at Office Depot after the CYMK conversion before making the order to see if the image lost quality. The image looks great (I sharpened the image a bit), but the colors aren't vibrant...

I've printed this image before without manipulation, and the colors have always looked great.

Does anyone know how to keep the vibrancy of the image? Or at the very least not so bland? Maybe I can hire someone here who can do it for me?

The attachment shows the original image on the right and the left image is the poster print out.

Greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 

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Teddersg said:
Does anyone know how to keep the vibrancy of the image? Or at the very least not so bland? Maybe I can hire someone here who can do it for me?
Click to expand...

First off you need to know that CMYK is a limited color space.
colorspace.jpg

See that small area in the middle of the graphic?
That's what you have available to reproduce your poster.

:(

But it's also possible that particular printer isn't very good. I think you should expect better results than what you're showing.

I would take the file to other printers—consider a local offset printer who does quality work. They are more likely to have a device that accurately reproduces CMYK.

Find the printer that works best for both the color and the per unit cost.

They are out there ... but you might need to dig a bit.
 
Did they request cmyk? If they aren't using a four color press they would probably actually prefer the rgb. I've run into this in the past with photo printing companies.

Edit we'll I can't read. But if Office Depot is not where your final print is being made, my input still stands. Office Depot equipment would obviously be completely different from a real press. Expect some dulling though as many rgb colors are outside cmyk gamut.
 
You could see if their website recommends any specific input (RGB) and output (CMYK) ICC profiles and use them as your source and destination color spaces when converting your image to CMYK to see if that gives you a better result.

It is absolutely true that CMYK is a smaller color gamut than RGB, and with that being said, there will be some color loss regardless. It's unavoidable because that's the nature of it.
 
macuser453787 said:
You could see if their website recommends any specific input (RGB) and output (CMYK) ICC profiles and use them as your source and destination color spaces when converting your image to CMYK to see if that gives you a better result.
Click to expand...

Some of our vendors just say to convert to CMYK ... and I'm like, "CMYK ... what?"
 
citizenzen said:
Some of our vendors just say to convert to CMYK ... and I'm like, "CMYK ... what?"
Click to expand...
It's easy to say that, but there is no one "cmyk". Ask them which "cmyk" profile they prefer, or they may even have a custom profile for their press.

That being said, vibrant oranges, greens and purples are problematic in the best of situations with cmyk.
 
Larry-K said:
The average person doesn't even know cmyk exists.
Click to expand...

True enough, though I'm not sure I understand why you're saying that.

Let's backtrack for a moment. I was simply offering this explanation to you:
macuser453787 said:
I think that's what he meant when he said "CMYK ... what?" That is to say, which CMYK profile to use.
Click to expand...


...because you said:
Larry-K said:
It's easy to say that, but there is no one "cmyk". Ask them which "cmyk" profile they prefer, or they may even have a custom profile for their press.
Click to expand...


...in response to this post:
citizenzen said:
Some of our vendors just say to convert to CMYK ... and I'm like, "CMYK ... what?"
Click to expand...


...because when you said:
Larry-K said:
It's easy to say that, but there is no one "cmyk". Ask them which "cmyk" profile they prefer, or they may even have a custom profile for their press.
Click to expand...


...it seemed that you didn't quite understand what the other poster said when he posted this:
citizenzen said:
Some of our vendors just say to convert to CMYK ... and I'm like, "CMYK ... what?"
Click to expand...


...so I was trying to clarify for you by saying:
macuser453787 said:
I think that's what he meant when he said "CMYK ... what?" That is to say, which CMYK profile to use.
Click to expand...


Makes sense? :)
 
macuser453787 said:
True enough, though I'm not sure I understand why you're saying that.

Let's backtrack for a moment. I was simply offering this explanation to you:
Makes sense? :)
Click to expand...
I don't think the OP had ever hear of cmyk, is that clear? Perhaps he'll enlighten us.
 
macuser453787 said:
Oh, now I see - your initial response was for the benefit of the OP, not the poster you quoted in your response who said "CMYK... what?".

Yeah, not sure if the OP knew about CMYK or not.
Click to expand...
That's it, is the question "cmyk...what?" or "What cmyk?"?
 
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