View CMYK Raw Files

KH
Posted By
keith.halligan
Jan 11, 2006
Views
524
Replies
12
Status
Closed
I’m trying to output CMYK to photoshop’s raw format as part of an application I’m developing. However my copy of photoshop elements 4.0, apparently does not support CMYK data at all only RGB.

What applications out there will support the loading of photoshop CMYK raw files?

This is really wrecking my head at the moment.
Related Tags
cmyk file view

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

E
edjh
Jan 11, 2006
wrote:
I’m trying to output CMYK to photoshop’s raw format as part of an application I’m developing. However my copy of photoshop elements 4.0, apparently does not support CMYK data at all only RGB.

What applications out there will support the loading of photoshop CMYK raw files?

This is really wrecking my head at the moment.
Photoshop of course. Not many others. Is price a factor? Photoline32 http://www.pl32.com/ is good if you can handle the interface.

—
Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
KH
keith.halligan
Jan 11, 2006
I tried Photoline32 but it doesn’t load RAW files (*.raw) only digital camera raw files, I’m talking about the generic raw files that are just image data dumps and have nothing to do with digital camera’s.

Starting to look like Photoshop is the only application that’s going to be able to do it.
GH
Gernot Hoffmann
Jan 11, 2006
IMO the Photoshop Raw format, not for Camera Raw
but for naked pixel information, suffers much from the
fact that such a file doesn’t have any header.
At least xmax and ymax should be mentioned in a header.
Encountering such a RAW file, one has to guess:
how many pixels in a row ? how many rows ?
IMO idiotic, and it’s understandable that other applications don’t support Photoshop Raw
(waiting for the correction, that some other programs CAN read Photoshop Raw, if provided with xmax, ymax explicitly).

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann
E
edjh
Jan 11, 2006
wrote:
I tried Photoline32 but it doesn’t load RAW files (*.raw) only digital camera raw files, I’m talking about the generic raw files that are just image data dumps and have nothing to do with digital camera’s.
Starting to look like Photoshop is the only application that’s going to be able to do it.
Are you sure? In the latest version (12.5) I see Camera RAW and RAW Image Data under File>Import.

—
Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
L
LeOpdenbrouw
Jan 12, 2006
Keith wrote:

I’m trying to output CMYK to photoshop’s
raw format as part of an application I’m
developing. However my copy of
photoshop elements 4.0, apparently
does not support CMYK data at all only
RGB.

What applications out there will support
the loading of photoshop CMYK raw
files?

This is really wrecking my head at the
moment.

Hey Keith,

Consider Richard Lynch’s book and plug-in "The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 3". It’s available at Amazon for about $28. It adds a lot of tools to Elements; Curves, Separations (including CMYK), Masks, Color Balance and more.

There are versions for Elements 1, 2 and 3. Elements 4 would use the Hidden Power 3 book. The program had a change between 2 & 3 that did not allow the tools from Hidden Power 2 to be used, so Lynch revamped the tools to work with E3 and E4.

The 280 page book is an excellent tutorial on the use of the tools. I recommend it highly.

Cheers Lee O.

Check out the web site: www.hiddenelements.com
C
Clyde
Jan 12, 2006
wrote:
I’m trying to output CMYK to photoshop’s raw format as part of an application I’m developing. However my copy of photoshop elements 4.0, apparently does not support CMYK data at all only RGB.

What applications out there will support the loading of photoshop CMYK raw files?

This is really wrecking my head at the moment.

Why are you trying to save a CMYK file to Photoshop RAW format? That seems so strange and I don’t what use that would have.

I always wonder why people use CMYK. Usually it is due to a misunderstanding of when to use it. I also don’t know what use there is for Photoshop RAW format.

BTW, Elements doesn’t have any of the pre-press functions of its big sister. It wasn’t designed for professionals creating graphic work for printing presses. That is what CMYK is for. It has very little practical use outside of the printing industry.

Please let us know. We may be able to steer you toward something better.

Clyde
E
edjh
Jan 12, 2006
Clyde wrote:
/snip/
I always wonder why people use CMYK. Usually it is due to a misunderstanding of when to use it. I also don’t know what use there is for Photoshop RAW format.

It is used for press all the time. Photoshop is commonly used by print professionals.

—
Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html
MR
Mike Russell
Jan 12, 2006
wrote:
I’m trying to output CMYK to photoshop’s raw format as part of an application I’m developing. However my copy of photoshop elements 4.0, apparently does not support CMYK data at all only RGB.

What applications out there will support the loading of photoshop CMYK raw files?

This is really wrecking my head at the moment.

CMYK is normally targeted to a specific press’s ink color and dot gain settings.

I really can’t give you specific advice until I know more about your application, and what you mean by "CMYK raw file".

You may be able to get by with using Elements to edit in RGB, saving to TIFF, and then using the free conversion utility from www.drycreekphoto.com , combined with a suitable profile such as SWOP v2, to generate a CMYK file.

Mike
C
Clyde
Jan 13, 2006
edjh wrote:
Clyde wrote:
/snip/

I always wonder why people use CMYK. Usually it is due to a misunderstanding of when to use it. I also don’t know what use there is for Photoshop RAW format.

It is used for press all the time. Photoshop is commonly used by print professionals.

Yes, you and many pros do. However, you aren’t the ones asking questions like that. If he was a pro asking that, I would be really worried.

I bet you don’t save your CMYK files in Photoshop RAW format. BTW, what is that for?

Clyde
GH
Gernot Hoffmann
Jan 14, 2006
Mike,

the PhS fomat ‘RAW’ is described in the help menue.
Such a file contains just a stream of bytes, for RGB, Gray, CMYK or Lab.
A header can be added (manually ?). Then it’s necessary to remind the byte offset for the byte stream.
Opening such a RAW file is an adventure. One has to know: Width
Height
Number of components per pixel
8 or 16 bits per component
Offset of header

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann
C
Clyde
Jan 14, 2006
wrote:
Mike,

the PhS fomat ‘RAW’ is described in the help menue.
Such a file contains just a stream of bytes, for RGB, Gray, CMYK or Lab.
A header can be added (manually ?). Then it’s necessary to remind the byte offset for the byte stream.
Opening such a RAW file is an adventure. One has to know: Width
Height
Number of components per pixel
8 or 16 bits per component
Offset of header

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann

That is good to know. Well, interesting anyway. However, it still doesn’t explain where and when anyone would use it. Any ideas?

Clyde
GH
Gernot Hoffmann
Jan 14, 2006
Clyde,

let’s assume, somebody wants to do some experiments
by image processing, but he/she is not familiar with file formats (TIFF is too complex and BMP cannot store
CMYK or Lab).
Then he can create prototype or example images by PhS,
save as RAW and open them easily in his application.
In such a case the experimentator knows all the necessary parameters and he would probably use always the same
values.

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections