#RGB TO CMYK IMAGE CONVERTER SOFTWARE#

Imagine four 8.5' x 11' panels side by side (for a flat size of 34' x 11'). (Check with your printer first before submitting the files.) Double Gatefold vs. (The ICC profiles are descriptions of the color capabilities of each device-such as your scanner, monitor, etc.) The conversion will still need to take place prior to offset printing, but chances are good that your printer will have color corrected monitors and an environment more suited to accurate color viewing. If you are concerned that the results of your conversion will not be satisfactory, you can always hand off the RGB image files (and the ICC color profiles) to your offset print provider for color conversion. Then you can choose to either accept the color conversion results or alter the colors.) (As an aside, Photoshop will let you identify and highlight these 'out-of-gamut' colors, so you will know before printing exactly which colors may be problematic. Sometimes it causes a visible color shift.

#RGB TO CMYK IMAGE CONVERTER SOFTWARE#

Therefore, your computer software automatically maps (or shifts) the 'out-of-gamut' RGB colors that have no CMYK equivalents to the nearest color equivalent in CMYK color space. Both RGB and CMYK are slightly different subsets of the visible light spectrum (i.e., they don't overlap exactly). Why does this occur? The RGB color space includes hues that don't exist in CMYK color space. This may or may not happen, depending on the colors involved, and a photograph will often be more forgiving than solid areas of color in a graphic image (an illustration, for instance). You may notice, when you convert an RGB image to a CMYK image, that the colors change slightly. (It will have been optimized for the RGB color space and therefore will be an ideal image for a video screen.) That is, color correct the image, fix any flaws, remove any dust, etc., in RGB mode, then convert to CMYK, and then review the image on-screen in CMYK mode.Īnother benefit of doing this (particularly in this era of repurposing content for the web as well as print) is that you will also have a good RGB image to include in your web version of the job. Then, convert the images to CMYK prior to placing the TIFF files in your page composition document (an InDesign file, for instance). Long books have been written to explain all the nuances of color theory and color conversion, but the most reliable rule of thumb is to make all corrections to your images within the RGB color space. It is also easier to achieve color balance in RGB color space than in CMYK format, since a neutral color contains equal amounts of the three hues (which is not exactly true in the 4-color-CMYK-color space). The files are also smaller, interestingly enough, since you are defining color in three channels rather than four. Therefore, you have more color image 'information' to work with if you keep the photo in RGB format for as long as possible.

Another way of saying this is that your color monitor can reproduce many more colors than can be printed on press. RGB is a much larger color space than CMYK. The big question is, when do you make the conversion and why? You will then convert these images to the CMYK color space prior to handing off final art files to your offset print provider.

If you are preparing art files for final offset or digital printing, you will normally scan images, or open scanned images in Photoshop, into the RGB color space. Additional black ink is then added to achieve a true black.

In contrast, color on a printing press is created with ink (cyan-magenta-yellow-black, CMYK, or subtractive color), and the presence of equal amounts of CMY yields K (black, or, more precisely, a dirty brown). The presence of equal amounts of all colors creates white light. Following is an elaboration on this important topic.Ĭolor on the monitor is created with light (red-green-blue, RGB, or additive color). Several years ago I wrote a short PIE Quick Tips article describing the difference between RGB and CMYK color and noting that you must convert RGB images to CMYK images prior to submitting a job to your offset or digital print provider. When to Convert an Image from RGB to CMYK

Rgb to cmyk image converter