Colors...

[Prism1]

Newbie to Photoshop...I am having problems picking what I consider "true, rich colors" for my drawings. I want to pick a nice "Coke" red, and I get some muddy red on the screen, and it prints Pink...UGH!!!! ( and the tech made it look SO easy...) What am I doing wrong??

 

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

You are not doing anything wrong.

This is a common problem. The calibration is off - somewhere. How long have you had you printer? Did you ever get the monitor calibrated? Do you know how to set the "proof setup" in Photoshop?

Whatever you do, do not try and fool with any of the actual icc profiles, until you are sure of the colors that you are seeing. There are many websites that can assist you in doing that.

Other than that, a good pantone swatchbook will tell you what color you are actually looking at and should expect, regardless of what is on the screen.

With a little more clarification, it is an easy fix.

 

[iSign]

find a file with hundreds of cmyk swatches that are all lined up with identification of their cmyk values. The print that file. This is a poor mans way of at least having hundreds of small swatches on one large print that were printed by your printer & can be reproduced by your printer.. today... with no tweaking, just by using the same profile & media you used when you print the chart. It doesn;t matter if it prints differently at your shop then mine... at least you can pick a color off the chart (or your client can) & you can match it by setting up the same cmyk values. (you may also want to switch to all files, including the chart, to RGB before printing though... it seems a number of folks suggest this, so that is what I do too)

I think you can download a chart like this at Corey & Barry's forum printingdigital.net


I love your van graphics by the way!

 

[Prism1]

Pro...
Been in biz 10 years, but all of this Digital stuff ( and software to go with it ) is brand new ( 3 weeks old ), and today is really one of the first days I have been able to start playing/using it a 100%. With the fear of being called a "NooB", I will say that I even bought the "EyeOne" software...just going thru a HUGE learning curve here ( did I mention HUGE ) trying to learn all of this stuff. I do NOT know how to to "proof setup" Photoshop.

Doug...
You sparked my memory that the Tech left me a Pantone file, and I just printed it ( man this machine is cool ). Again, being a NooB, I am unsure of how to check/change files to RGB. I am trying to wrap my tired brain around why to change files to RGB, when I thought I was printing in CMYK?? Now I am really confused...:Big Laugh

Thanks for the reply's...

Doug...thanks for the words on my van. Vehicle advertising works AWESOME!

 

[Prism1]

So I printed the Pantone color chart, some colors are not looking like my "Real" pantone color book in my hand ( Hmmm...imagine that...lol ). ALSO, the Black is not printing very dark, it looks more dark grey, or faded black ( of course I have a job to do that is 85% black ). I will say that the profiles I am printing on are NOT for the vinyl I am using...BUT I went back and looked at the samples we printed a couple of weeks ago ( on the same vinyl I am using now ), and the blacks, blues, reds looked good ( the tech even made the comment about how close the colors were, using the different vinyl ).

:

I know....damn NooBs...

 

[iSign]

...I am unsure of how to check/change files to RGB. I am trying to wrap my tired brain around why to change files to RGB, when I thought I was printing in CMYK?? Now I am really confused...:Big Laugh

I gave up wrapping my brain after asking here & finding that others heard the same advice & follow it... but can't explain it. RGB is a wider gamut... but once you print in cmyk... thats advantage is gone... but maybe it's a situation of being subject to that limitation once instead of twice?

anyway... in photoshop, you go to the image menu, choose "mode" then select rgb... in illustrator... I'm not sure... there is the "filter" menu that you can choose "color" & then "convert to rgb" is sometimes an option but sometimes it is greyed out. You can select a color & switch the pallette.. but to change an entire file, I'm not sure of the best way.

Although I do vector design work in illustrator, I print from Flexi... & I've got in the habit of just exporting my files as .tif files so I have less risk of something getting skewed in Flexi. So in that case I can just choose rgb when I export.

On your blacks, with vector art, try changing the cmyk values. If it was c-0 m-0 y-0 k-100... you want at least 40 or 50 on the c,m, & y values plus 100 on the black. Or just 100 on everything

 

[mark in tx]

What RIP are you using?

First, you have to make sure that all of your applications are using the same color working space,
For adobe, should be -edit-color settings- then your choice of settings, a good start would be "North American General Purpose"
If you have used the EyeOne to make a custom profile, then use that.

But you have to make sure that all of your apps, including the RIP are using the same profile.
After you make sure everything is working together, then you have to use that EyeOne to do your custom profile.

I hope that made sense, no coffee yet.

 

[Derf]

After spending several years developing a color profile for a Flexo press with a gamut the size of a pea! I realized the most important thing any one can do is TAG their files, I chose sRGB because it is the most accepted in centric desktop monitors and printers for soft proofs.

Every one should TAG their files in order to have the software interpolate the LAB color that is close to what you intend it to be. once the file has a LAB interpolation your RIP with the print profile you chose will be able to produce a color of 95% accuracy. However in order to achieve 100% you must finger print you printer and have you peripherals calibrated.

I just tag everything sRGB and save as a Photoshop PDF, I get perfect color that matches my cinema display every time. Just be sure your default Input Profile settings in the RIP match up with the file you're running.

 

[Rod]

Take a look at your SignLab documentation

Prism1
Newbie to Photoshop...I am having problems picking what I consider "true, rich colors" for my drawings. I want to pick a nice "Coke" red, and I get some muddy red on the screen, and it prints Pink...UGH!!!! ( and the tech made it look SO easy...) What am I doing wrong??
Pro Signs & Graphics
Other than that, a good pantone swatchbook will tell you what color you are actually looking at and should expect, regardless of what is on the screen.

Doug Allan
find a file with hundreds of cmyk swatches that are all lined up with identification of their cmyk values. The print that file. This is a poor mans way of at least having hundreds of small swatches on one large print that were printed by your printer & can be reproduced by your printer.. today... with no tweaking, just by using the same profile & media you used when you print the chart.

Prism1
Been in biz 10 years, but all of this Digital stuff ( and software to go with it ) is brand new ( 3 weeks old ), and today is really one of the first days I have been able to start playing/using it a 100%. With the fear of being called a "NooB", I will say that I even bought the "EyeOne" software

That is a bold decision to obtain some good quality equipment. May I ask what model of EyeOne scanner you purchased? The thing to understand about these high-end scanners is the precision that they afford. Though the SignLab Novice Calibration Wizard will allow you to use a desktop scanner, there is greater quality to be had with the X-Rite and GretagMacbeth instruments.

For your SignLab package, please note that there is a Pantone Support Module that is of value to you. Would I be correct to presume that you have the Inkjet Spot Color Printing module as well?

With respect to printing swatches, you have this functionality in SignLab. Please refer to the following tools:

• File menu >> Color Swatches (for CMYK swatches)
• File menu >> Spot Swatches (for your Pantones, etc.)
• Shop Palette >> context menu >> Create Palette Swatch (for your current palette)

You want to collect these swatches in a binder, so that you can quickly reference them to find a specific color.

I am trying to wrap my tired brain around why to change files to RGB, when I thought I was printing in CMYK??

Long story short, the industry uses common color models to help describe a particular color value, and RGB and CMYK are just two such models. There are other models, which you use based on what is useful to you. As a general rule, the RGB color model is used with your computer monitor, so that is why you often see design colors expressed as an RGB value. But when you need to print the design, the software needs to translate to the CMYK color space used by the printer. There are ways to deal with this, which is why people use LAB colors or color matching systems.

Available color gamuts vary between devices, which is why the software needs to be effective at identifying the best possible match depending on the colors, gradients, and overall design elements.

Take a look in your SignLab documentation:

1. Go Help menu >> Index.
2. Click the Index tab.
3. Look up Color Space.
4. Look up Color Types.
5. Look up Color Matching Systems.

Hope that helps,

Rod at CADlink