convert RGB to CMYK

[zee]

Hello,

Would anyone care to share your tips, techniques, thoughts, ideas or the software that you use to convert RGB to CMYK?

I create my graphics in Xara using RGB so that I can show them to my clients on my website and to get their approval. My printer prints in full color CMYK and that is where I have the problem. I understand that I can convert RGB to CMYK in Xara "manually" using the color editor and simulate print color setting, but that is very time consuming and difficult.

Just wondering how the rest of you tackle this problem.

[minimiro]

1. use CMYK color template from Xara xone.... all colors there are predefined in CMYK
2. work your design with show printer colors enabled
3. export your design to RGB jpg with show printer colors enabled
4. your clients will see preview in RGB but with CMYK color limitations
5. after aprove just print your CMYK design

[zee]

minimiro,
THANKS for the information. I will definitely be checking this out.
Zee

[gwpriester]

You can find that Template in The Xara Xone Shareware Page

Gary

[coldfuel]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid questions but like Zee, i have always designed in RGB and only recently started moving into the print area and require CMYK colour models..

I've downloaded the CMYK template, set to simulate print colours and i see the CMYK colour tabs, but also there are the RGB colour tabs. Do i need to limit my colour selection to the CMYK specified colours or can i also select any of the RGB colour ?

Also, can i adjust the CMYK colours with the colour editor, or will this cause problems with printing - i.e. the colours are not standard CMYK colours and may not print exactly as they appear on screen or a laser printer?

Thank you all for your help.

[pauland]

Yes, isn't the real problem that people want to design for web and print sources simultaneously? I might design a web site using RGB, get client approval, then need to get printed collateral to match the web design (or vice versa). So the real problem is getting something that looks the same in RGB or CMYK without a lot of manual intervention. BTW, I do appreciate that even web page screen colours will look different across different devices, so we're on a hiding to nothing in a way.

[gwpriester]

If you want your web content to look like your CMYK printed content then you need to work in the simulated CMYK mode which is with Show Printer Colors enabled (Window > Show Printer Colors > Simulate Print Colors).

Then create your bitmaps for the web in this mode and the colors will be closer to CMYK printer colors. (See attached)

But you will not be able to have many of the bright RGB colors in normal mode because the CMYK color gambut is not capable of showing as many colors.

Gary

[pauland]

.. so effectively the simulation is restricting the colour pallette?

[jclements]

Gary,

Hope this posting is clear enough.

Isn't there a graphic which shows a color gamut with an overlay of the RGB and CYMK "boundaries".

Where those boundaries overlap (mutually inclusive) would represent a shared "safe-zone gamut" between RGB and CMYK?

If so, then if there was a image of this, couldn't you then you use the eyedroppe in the color editor to pick "safe" colors.

John

[Doug]

Originally Posted by zee

minimiro,
THANKS for the information. I will definitely be checking this out.
Zee

Thanks for asking that, zee. I tried to ask the same question in another thread where I said:

"Are there standard proceedures when using Xtreme to adjust and compensate for graphics going from RGB to CYMK print, or is it a trial and error thing for each page you do?"

But I guess my post was poorly written. Good to get the info though!