Help me save my colors in printing . . .

LiveAwake

Hello all,

I'm designing a brochure/rack card that I am going to have printed through www.overnightprints.com. It is going to include some pictures of mine, and they require that the file is sent to them in the CMYK color space "GRACoL2006_Coated1v2" (which I'm assuming is the same as "Coated GRACoL 2006 (ISO 12647-2:2004)" since that's the closest thing that photoshop had in my color options).

When I convert the pictures to this color space, most of the colors translate ok - what I would call "good enough" for a rack card. However, my pinks and purples just get completely destroyed! Pictures with these colors are transformed into muddy disgusting blobs (fine, that's an exaggeration, but I have feelings about my colors!).

Is there any way to recover these colors in that color space? Is it even capable of producing something close??

I don't know if this will show up right, but here's an example:


PLEASE HELP ME!!!
Thanks in advance.

BinaryFx

The flower is mostly "Out of Gamut" for this CMYK space. The CMYK working space in question is only about half as intense as the original sRGB file for such saturation which does not exist in CMYK (and sRGB is not known for being "wide gamut" when compared to other RGB spaces).

As this macro shot of the flower is out of focus, with the focal point being on the bee and stamen of the flower - I would concentrate on making the bee look good.

If the flower was more important or in focus, then one could try to add more detail (if the detail was there to begin with), however it will never be as saturated as the original in standard CMYK press inks. Keep in mind that others will not see the original RGB so they can't compare, and also keep in mind that in printed material people are used to seeing something that falls short of reality, so that will cut
you some slack.


Sincerely,

Stephen Marsh

http://binaryfx.customer.netspace.net.au/ (coming soon!)
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/ <!-- / message -->

arodney

Open the RGB document and duplicate it (its a temporary copy you’ll not save).
On the original, load a soft proof with the CMYK profile so you see the ugly image. Now you have a before and after. The original is still in RGB. At this point, you can try adjusting the ugly, original closer to the “before“ temp image (Vibrance or saturation, some curves etc, ALL on adjustment layers). You’ll never get back to that original, but you can often improve it a bit. Since you are still in RGB, and because you have all these adjustments on layers (which I’d put into a Layer Set with the name of the CMYK profile there to remind you of what the tweaks are for), you can at least attempt to get a better rendering. But its CMYK, the devils color space <g>, its gamut is tiny and in your situation, you are at the mercy of the CMYK profile provided.

ziggy53

If you use an automated site for printing you must conform to their system and their color space.

If the print colors are that important, go to a custom printer and show them what you are trying to achieve. A custom printer may be able to custom mix some inks and provide an additional color to overprint the CMYK and get much closer to a specific hue, tone and shade. It will cost more, probably a lot more, but it will get you better color. (Essentially it is an additional "spot color".)

You might also try to find a print house that still uses the "Hexachrome" process. Hexachrome is a six ink process that claimed more accurate Pantone color reproduction. The image file would have to be redone in a compatible older software as Hexachrome is no longer supported.

Finally, you might consider using a photographic print process for the image, and conventional offset, or other mechanical, printing for any text (although it's easier to just use the photographic process throughout).

Sam

Look at using a different printer. Trying to get cards printed at the cheapest price will generally sacrifice quality, and since your promoting your photography I believe it will behoove you to show your work at it's best.

Sam

LiveAwake

Thank you all for the feedback. I will try the softproofing/adjustment technique, but may indeed decide to go with a different printer for this one. Does anyone have any recommendations for a printer that offers reasonable prices on promotional materials such as rack cards and brochures? OvernightPrints seemed to be a step up from VistaPrint, which is where I started when I first got business cards. I like the templates they provide, which make it easy for me to design the card in photoshop (my graphic design skills are basic to moderate at best). I'm looking to print maybe 500 or 1000 at this point. I don't need these to be "pro-lab" quality, as the pictures will be quite small anyway, but as this thread describes, I'd like to keep at least a reasonable semblance of the colors in my pictures.

Suggest away!

Tracker

one other thought. Pick another picture for promotion that translates better to the CMYK space.

LiveAwake

Tracker wrote: »

one other thought. Pick another picture for promotion that translates better to the CMYK space.

Yeah, I thought about that. But I'm trying to include a variety that represents some of the different styles that I shoot, and it would be nice to be able to include one of the pictures that I'm having trouble translating. Perhaps . . .

LiveAwake

Man, I've been searching around and it seems like pretty much all of the places that offer rack cards (or at least all of the ones I found in the first couple of pages in my google search) use CMYK. Are there any options out there? Where do other folks get promotional materials printed?

BinaryFx

LiveAwake wrote: »

Thank you all for the feedback. I will try the softproofing/adjustment technique

If the flower was in focus, then I would go for it. As things stand, it can't hurt but the gains will likely be minimal - however one can always do better, even if it is just minimal.

but may indeed decide to go with a different printer for this one.

All "standard" press CMYK printers are going to have the same/similar limitations compared to the original RGB image.


Stephen Marsh

http://binaryfx.customer.netspace.net.au/ (coming soon!)
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

BradfordBenn

I am not sure if they will do what you want or be price effective, but my Moo Cards (moo.com) were great color and I believe there is a SmugMug affiliation program. They were not the cheapest but they have great color and some unique features like each print being a unique image.

LiveAwake

BradfordBenn wrote: »

I am not sure if they will do what you want or be price effective, but my Moo Cards (moo.com) were great color and I believe there is a SmugMug affiliation program. They were not the cheapest but they have great color and some unique features like each print being a unique image.

Thanks. In the moo FAQ, they state that they use the same CMYK coated GRACol as Overnight Prints.