CMYK from Photoshop5 or Photoshop Elements

MEW wrote:

I’m frantically trying to find a way of outputting in CMYK for printing. I have Photoshop Elements and Photoshop 5 but I can’t find anyway of doing this. Can anybody suggest how?

Photoshop Elements can’t convert to CMYK, Photoshop 5 should by choosing CMYK as color mode. However, before you do so: what kind of printing? Please note that all consumer desktop printers expect RGB data. They do the conversion themselves in the printer driver. If you change the color mode to CMYK, the driver will convert it back to RGB first and then convert it to CMYK again. Guess what that will do to the results…

—
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Thanks Johan,

I’ll stop trying with Elements and persist with Photoshop 5.

The output is for a banner to be used at an amateur art exhibition and will be printed by a commercial printer who has demanded CMYK not RGB.

Richard

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message

MEW wrote:

I’m frantically trying to find a way of outputting in CMYK for printing.

I

have Photoshop Elements and Photoshop 5 but I can’t find anyway of doing this. Can anybody suggest how?

Photoshop Elements can’t convert to CMYK, Photoshop 5 should by choosing CMYK as color mode. However, before you do so: what kind of printing? Please note that all consumer desktop printers expect RGB data. They do the conversion themselves in the printer driver. If you change the color mode to CMYK, the driver will convert it back to RGB first and then convert it to CMYK again. Guess what that will do to the results…

—
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

MEW wrote:

I’m frantically trying to find a way of outputting in CMYK for printing. I have Photoshop Elements and Photoshop 5 but I can’t find anyway of doing this. Can anybody suggest how?

Hi Richard,

Photoshop 5 will do this conversion for you, but Photoshop’s default settings are not particularly suited for printing on a press: too muddy.

It’s likely that CMYK, as others have suggested, that you don’t really need CMYK at all, but you did say "frantically". So perhaps there is a pressman in overalls, cigar stub in mouth, tapping his foot outside your door, and you are under time pressure to spin RGB straw into CMYK gold.

So in the interest of helping a fellow Photoshopper out in time of need, here are some good default settings targetted at the SWOP standard, courtesy of page 116 of Dan Margulis’s Professional Photoshop, 4th ed. There is a lot of thought behind these numbers, and they may be counted on to produce acceptable CMYK output under almost all press conditions.

Select Custom CMYK in your Photoshop color settings:
Ink colors: SWOP (Coated)
Dot Gain: Standard 17%
Separation: GCR
Black Gen: Light
Black Ink Limit: 85%
Total Ink Limit: 300%
UCA Amount: 0%

Open your image, use Image>Mode>CMYK to convert to CMYK, and save as tiff, bundle the tiff files off to the servant waiting outside your door. And no need to spend the rest of the day guessing the name of the tempermental dwarf who gave you all this information!
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

I’ve found the problem. It’s not Photoshop 5, it’s Photoshop 5 LE and this does not support CMYK.

Sorry to have wasted your time.

Richard

"Mike Russell" wrote in message

MEW wrote:

I’m frantically trying to find a way of outputting in CMYK for printing. I have Photoshop Elements and Photoshop 5 but I can’t find anyway of doing this. Can anybody suggest how?

Hi Richard,

Photoshop 5 will do this conversion for you, but Photoshop’s default settings are not particularly suited for printing on a press: too muddy.
It’s likely that CMYK, as others have suggested, that you don’t really

need

CMYK at all, but you did say "frantically". So perhaps there is a

pressman

in overalls, cigar stub in mouth, tapping his foot outside your door, and you are under time pressure to spin RGB straw into CMYK gold.
So in the interest of helping a fellow Photoshopper out in time of need, here are some good default settings targetted at the SWOP standard,

courtesy

of page 116 of Dan Margulis’s Professional Photoshop, 4th ed. There is a lot of thought behind these numbers, and they may be counted on to produce acceptable CMYK output under almost all press conditions.
Select Custom CMYK in your Photoshop color settings:
Ink colors: SWOP (Coated)
Dot Gain: Standard 17%
Separation: GCR
Black Gen: Light
Black Ink Limit: 85%
Total Ink Limit: 300%
UCA Amount: 0%

Open your image, use Image>Mode>CMYK to convert to CMYK, and save as tiff, bundle the tiff files off to the servant waiting outside your door. And

no

need to spend the rest of the day guessing the name of the tempermental dwarf who gave you all this information!
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

MEW wrote:

I’ve found the problem. It’s not Photoshop 5, it’s Photoshop 5 LE and this does not support CMYK.

Sorry to have wasted your time.

Richard,

Email me the image and I’ll send you back a CMYK version. mike AT curvemeister.com
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

"MEW" wrote in message
I’m frantically trying to find a way of outputting in CMYK for printing. I have Photoshop Elements and Photoshop 5 but I can’t find anyway of doing this. Can anybody suggest how?
___________________
In PS5, Click Image >Mode > CMYKcolor
Open the Channels pallette to view the separations.
Regards,
David "Routemeister" Thompson
http://home.rochester.rr.com/backroads/

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your wonderful offer. However, my printer agreed to accept an RGB PSD and convert it himself so I’ve already given him the file and have seen some proofs.

Again, my apologies for wasting your time and my thanks for the quick responses from the group and for your kind offer.

Richard

"Mike Russell" wrote in message

MEW wrote:

I’ve found the problem. It’s not Photoshop 5, it’s Photoshop 5 LE and this does not support CMYK.

Sorry to have wasted your time.

Richard,

Email me the image and I’ll send you back a CMYK version. mike AT curvemeister.com
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net