Working With Color CMYK Files (for Publication and Pre-Press Printers)
From dynamic to dull. Perhaps the most frustrating process in the imaging world is to go from RGB files—those files
that look good on a computer screen—to CMYK—those image files that immediately lose pizazz to become lifeless and
drab. Worse, contrast can decrease. And then, if these shifts weren’t bad enough, colors can shift once more from what
you see on your computer screen to what is seen on the screen at the publishing agency and then to what is published.
Saturated colors. In the former instance, the greatest contribution to this problem is the world of research itself: so
many colors in research are saturated. They are completely green, completely red, completely blue, and so on. Research
colors tend to be more primary versus colors in the real world which are more pastel and less concentrated. That phe-
nomenon is especially true when coming from the world of Silicon Graphics® computers and their screens, in which deep
and saturated colors display richly, but the colors translate to no other output.
From your monitor to publication. In the latter instance—regarding computer screens and how poorly one a computer
screen matches the output at the publisher—the best advice is to use a high end hardware calibrated monitor (such as the
Barco® line of monitors). On the more affordable level, Macintosh® computers with Apple’s® self-calibrating computer
screens (these monitors adjust color as the cathode ray tubes age and lose capacity) are recommended by many print
shops. The printing and graphic arts industry was built upon technologies developed by Apple.
Other solutions. Having said that, the next best solution is to make your best print from your RGB file (if possible), or
make your best print on a CMYK printer. Send the print with the digital file and ask the publisher to match the colors.
When viewing your own print, you might consider buying a viewing booth, or setting aside an area you can light with
5500 degree Kelvin fluorescent lights (available at professional photography retailers or graphic arts suppliers). These
lights provide a “standard” color temperature for evaluating prints. If prints are evaluated under other lighting conditions,
colors can shift to green (most fluorescent lighting), to red or yellow (under incandescent lighting), to blue (in shadows
near window light), or a mixture of two or all three.
Adjusting colors. You can adjust colors that have faded or lost contrast after changing from RGB to CMYK. Three
methods are suggested, depending on the degree to which colors are “out of gamut.” In all situations, color changes are
made using Hue & Saturation. Remember that each image has its own peculiarities, and the RGB to CMYK process
requires trial, error and experimentation.
Check To See How Much Color Shifts
1. Under View, select New View. A second image will appear. Arrange image windows so that both, or important
parts of both, can be viewed (image can also be duplicated).
2. Under View, select Preview then CMYK. Evaluate whether significant color shifts have occurred.
3. If colors look okay, select one of the two images. Under Image, select Mode then CMYK.
If colors are unacceptable, start with the following steps:
1. Close New View image window.
2. Duplicate RGB image (under Image, select Duplicate).
3. Convert duplicate image to CMYK (under Image, select Mode then CMYK). Flatten the image. Align so that
important parts of both images are visible.
In general, if the color shift is small, work with the CMYK image
In general, if the color shift is great, work with the RGB image.
Method 1. Color and Contrast Restoration on CMYK Images with Small Color Shifts
1. Select CMYK image.
2. In Actions window, click on Color- hue & saturation (or, under Image, select Adjust then Hue & Saturation).
Work on colors one by one.
3. In dialogue box, click drop down box next to Edit. Choose a color that has shifted. Or... Use Eyedropper tool
to select offending color.
4. Slide Saturation slider to the right to increase saturation, to the left to decrease. You may also want to lighten or
darken with the Lightness slider.
These tools, by themselves, may bring color into acceptable range. If these do not solve the problem with color shift,
restore color and contrast with Method 2.
Remember that blues and purple-blues will print as dark blobs. Move Hue slider to left to add green.
Hue & Saturation Dialogue Box
Click on arrowhead to select color, or use Eyedropper tool.
You can edit your selection further
Most problems by using the Eyedropper tool to
with CMYK have click on the features in your
to do with image that contain the colors
saturation of hue. you’re interested in changing.
Move slider to Click on the first feature with the
right to brighten, unmarked Eyedropper tool, and
to left to affect then on additional features with
contrast. Subtle the plus (+) Eyedropper tool. If
adjustments in you accidently choose an un-
Hue and Light- wanted color, use the minus (-)
ness may also Eyedropper tool to click on the
help. same point, or start over again.
Note: When using Eyedropper
tool, be sure to select numerous
Or... expand or contract range of colors by adjusting sliders (available points, including bright to dark
when a color is selected). values within each hue.
Method 2. Color and Contrast Restoration on RGB Images with Large or Problematic Color
Shifts
1. Select RGB image. Duplicate RGB image and align on screen so that important areas are visible.
2. Under View, select Gamut Warning (or, better yet, use Control+Shift key + y).
3. In Actions window, click on Color- Hue & Saturation (or, under Image, select Adjust then Hue & Saturation).
Work on colors one by one. Select colors by using eyedropper tools as described in the previous method.
Keep gamut warning overlay on, especially when selecting bright objects against a dark background (as in darkfield
microscopy). Be sure to use plus (+) Eyedropper tool to select to edges of objects, much easier seen when gamut
warning is active.
4. Adjust the Saturation slider first. Keep in mind that all colors will print if saturation is set low enough (to the
left). Adjust slider until a fair amount of the gray overlay disappears.
5. Adjust Lightness slider by increasing (moving to right) shy of eliminating too much contrast. Now increase
Saturation as much as possible (move slider toward center) without increasing gray overlay. The idea is to work
between the two, lightening as much as possible without losing contrast, and keeping saturation as close to the
center as possible. Don’t be surprised if the color you are working on needs dramatic desaturation.
6. Adjust Hue carefully to determine if a shift in one direction or the other might increase chances of eliminating
gray overlay. Play with all three to get close to your desired color and contrast.
You may need to turn gamut warning off and on. That is best done with the keyboard command while the Hue &
Saturation dialogue box is open (Control/Command + Shift + y).
You need not remove all the gray overlay, just 90 percent or so.
7. Make image CMYK: in menu under Image choose Mode, then CMYK Color.
Use the gamut warning indicator to decide which colors need to be altered. The gray overlay dissapears when colors are
adjusted correctly. That may not happen with the saturated colors used in research. Expect to remove 90 - 95% of gray
overlay for any hue: the remaining unbalanced color will be at edges of bright or dark samples. These small areas of
unbalanced color are imperceivable when printed.
Use Gamut Warning to Preview Out-of Gamut Colors
Everything covered in gray repre-
sents what will not transfer well to
CMYK.
Gray overlay shows edges where
too dark to be seen by eye. After
clicking on the first point with the
Eyedropper tool in the Hue &
Saturation dialogue box, be sure to
use the plus (+) Eyedropper tool to
click on multiple points, including
dark peripheries.
Image on left is how
RGB image appears
as uncorrected
CMYK; on right is
the corrected CMYK
image in green hue
only.
Desaturation using the Satura-
tion slider eliminates most of
the gray overlay.
CMYK Correction for Blue
Shades of blue appear bright on a computer display, but tend to print dark and without contrast, especially after being
changed to CMYK mode. This means for correcting blue tends to print close to what is seen on the screen, but, for exact
matches of hue, you’ll need to use the method on the following page.
1. Move the Hue slider to the left to add green (make more cyan). Move to about -30.
2. Adjust Saturation and Lightness by eye. Evaluate the color after printing to a hard copy, as opposed to evaluat-
ing by looking at the display on the computer screen.
3. When satisfied with the result, in menu under Image choose Mode, then CMYK Color.
Example of RGB Image (on left) Corrected for CMYK in the Blue Hue (on right)
Only in certain colors, such as cyan-blue, does an increase in saturation help.
Steps to Follow When Color Matching is Near-Impossible
If Method 1 or Method 2 do not give you good color matching from RGB to CMYK color space, then use the steps that
follow. These use Pantone Inks® as color guides. Because colors contain a range of hues from dark to light, and because
only one particular ink color is chosen, color changes may have to take place in stages. In that manner, a bright green
may be selected using Color Range, and then a mid-green, and so on. These steps require trial and error, and fiddling is a
requirement.
1. In menu under Window, select Show Color. Click on arrowhead at top right and select CMYK Sliders. Leave this
window open.
2. Click on representative area of image with eyedropper tool containing the color you’d like to match.
3. Double click on foreground image at bottom of toolbar icon. In Color Picker dialogue box, click on Custom.
Click Book drop down list and choose Pantone Coated (journals are typically printed on what’s called coated stock:
the shiny paper found in magazines).
4. Choose ink color that best represents color you’d like to match.
5. Write down the CMYK values.
Show Color Window
Click on arrowhead
to select CMYK
Color.
Color Picking to Obtain Pantone Ink Colors
Choose brightest
hue with Eyedrop- Click on Custom
per tool. button.
Pantone color
selection is at
top, eyedropped
color at bottom.
Write down
CMYK values.
Double click on
foreground box.
Make Selections Around Desired Colors Using Color Range
6. In Actions window, click on Color Range button (or in menu under Select, choose Color Range).
7. In dialogue box, use eyedropper tools to select color you wish to work on. Use the leftmost eyedropper tool to
select the first color, then use the plus (+) Eyedropper tool to add more shades of the same color. Set Fuzziness
high (50 -100). For bright objects against a dark background, keep gamut warning overlay on to be sure you are
selecting to the edge of your objects.
You may wish to hide the moving outline (selection) while making changes. To do so, press Command/Control key
+ h. It’s a lot easier to see your corrections, but the downside is that you can forget that you’ve hid the selection
later.
Color Range Dialogue Box
Set to Sampled Colors.
Fuzziness should be set
50-100 or so.
Use leftmost Eyedropper tool to
click on first point in desired
color. Use plus (+) Eyedropper to
select additional shades of the
same color.
White areas indicate what has
Check
been selected.
Selection.
Adjust Colors Using Curves
8. In Actions window, click on Contrast Adjust- Curves (or in menu under Image, select Adjust then Curves).
9. Click on representative color in image with Eyedropper tool (identical or close to the position chosen when
determining ink color).
By clicking and pulling line in Curves dialogue box to the left across the top, or down along the right, adjust Red
and/or Green and/or Blue Channels individually while looking at the Show Color Dialogue box to match
CMYK values to those you have written down (see table on the following page). Turn View Gamut off and on using
Command/Control + Shift + y keys to test the efficacy of your changes. If the hue doesn’t look right, use
Curves line across and down to fine tune by eye while ignoring CMYK values in Show Color.
For example, if representative value reads 65% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 100% Yellow and 0% K (black) on the closest
match of a Pantone ink value, adjust Red channel and Blue channel to achieve a similar reading. Values will
change on the Color palette as adjustments are made in the Curves dialogue box. Readjust by eye.
Do not expect to see a perfect match of hues! Some colors are outside the gamut (breadth of color available) of
what can be printed by a printing press. Do expect, however, to improve upon the RGB image with a slightly
different hue.
Curves Dialogue Box
The Curves dialogue box shows a sloped
line in a grid. Black values lie at the bottom
and white values at the top (as long as the
“black” side of the gradient along the
bottom shows black at the bottom-left).
Click on left triangle to place dark gradient on left.
In that way, any adjustment made by pulling the top of the curve would then affect
whites more than any other values, and pulling along the bottom would affect
mostly black values. By clicking at the center of the line, you can create an
adjustment point. By moving that point the line becomes curved and thus affects
mostly midtones either by brightening or by darkening.
Adjusting Curves While Looking at Color Values Click drop down box
and choose color
channel.
Move top of line to left
or down to increase
or decrease percent-
age of that color.
View values here interactively
while adjusting the top of the
line in Curves dialogue box
Click on shade of ink-matching color on
image while Curves dialogue box is
open (in this case, in green range).
Final Steps
11. Once satisfied with adjustments while in RGB color space, change Mode to CMYK Color: in menu under
Image choose Mode, then CMYK Color. Flatten image if prompted to do so (in menu under Layers choose Flatten
Image). Be sure to have saved the RGB image before doing so.
12. For final adjustments and fine tuning, use Hue & Saturation or Curves to adjust colors and contrast.
RGB Channels to Use for CMYK Colors
Violet Blue and Red
Use the appropriate Red, Indigo Blue and Red
Green or Blue channels in
Curves dialogue box to Blue Blue and Green or Red
adjust for CMYK colors Cyan Blue and Green
shown in color bar.
Green Green and Blue or Red
Yellow Red and Green
Orange Red and Green
Red Red and Green
Reviving Contrast in the CMYK File
Once you’ve made the CMYK file using methods outlined in previous pages, and once you have corrected the color in
CMYK color space so that it matches the RGB hues fairly well, the image may yet be devoid of contrast Often contrast
can be revived by simply moving the bottom of the line in the Curves dialogue box to the right, thus introducing more
black in the darker parts of the image. Less frequently, more dramatic steps must be taken. These concern ways in which
contrast can be introduced into ranges of tones, whether these are shadow areas, mid-tones or highlights.
Overall Contrast
1. Use Color Range to select areas of interest according to procedures oultined earlier.
2. In Curves dialogue box, click Channel drop down box. Select Black. Drag line across bottom to increase black
values (and contrast).
Adjustments Within Tonal Ranges (Shadows, Midtones, Highlights)
1. Use Color Range to select areas of interest according to procedures oultined earlier.
2. In Curves dialogue box, determine where values of interest lie along line. To do that, click and hold with
eyedropper tool on areas of interest. A circle should appear along the line.
3. Make 3 points at that location along the line. Bend line so that hills and valleys create shadows and highlights
within narrow color range.
Reviving Contrast In Highlights Using Curves
Original RGB
CMYK image after
Image
color corrections
Application of curves Green and purple
to green areas. after Curves
Extra points added adjustments
to bend line.
