colors fade in cmyk export as tif

[behzad]

Hi, I am trying to get the best colors, closest to the original RGB
as I can. As you can see the CMYK export from xara desaturated
lot of colors.

I know How RGB and CMYK works and CYMK colors are hard to match RGB ones, but there must be a way to get the closest resemblance to RGB when exporting as tif CMYK?

[gnurf]

This will be one of the ever-lasting questions I guess, and it has been endlessly discussed on this forum too - You can always set the "Show Printer Colors" to "Simulate Print Colors" which will destaturate the screen colors, but otherwise the whole thing would require color profiles and setting as in Photoshop for example, where you have the option to "Proof preview".

CMYK is meant for print and that depends on the medium it will be printed on, so the same CMYK values will look completely different on different papers. So even if you manage to match the RGB and CMYK colors in Xtreme it still will not look the same in print.
If you are aiming for serious print work where colors really need to be "exact", upgrade to Xtreme Pro if you haven't done that already, ask the printer for a color profile to use (with a little luck it may be a profile already provided in Xtreme) and then create a PDF-X file.

[behzad]

Thanks, this image aside from the butterfly is a photo, So like you said I would have to play around in photoshop.

Setting command "show printer colors" is good for setting colors to vector objects. Most of the times when I import tif's from Xara P to photoshop it looks very good, but in this case where there are many gradients of red and orange things start to look not too hot.

[FAx]

behzad, try read this useful article "Why Are My Beautiful Scans
Terrible When Offset Printed" about RGB-CMYK convert and blacK color generation. It's not give ready solution to you, but can help understand cmyk.

Try generate CMYK from your RGB-bitmap in Photoshop with "Heavy Black Generation" - that can make your color maximum "burn" as cmyk can. Load your RGB bitmap and play with settings: Photoshop -> Edit -> Convert to Profile -> Custom CMYK -> ...

[behzad]

Thankyou Fax, I will read more on it. But lets say some people do not have photoshop.
They only use xara, then what happens to those people?

[minimiro]

Try generate CMYK from your RGB-bitmap in Photoshop with "Heavy Black Generation" - that can make your color maximum "burn" ...

This will kill totally image colors
If you choose this option where you have RGB values closer to 0.0.0 they all will converted to pure black.... here is a problem, offset black is not like rich (or composite)CMYK black where values are in depence of color CMYK profile choosen,but for example for SWOP coated are C63/M52/Y51/K100
So you can make comparison which black will be more closer to absolute black.... one with ink density 100% or other with ink density 266%

In cases like this, my opinion is that is better to export wanted image like RGB tiff with print preview turned ON, and after that in Photoshop to convert it to CMYK (with CMYK profile Photoshop5CMYK or Eurostandartd v2 coated) and after that if you need you can reinforce a litle darks and lights with simple levels

[minimiro]

But lets say some people do not have photoshop.
They only use xara, then what happens to those people?

You havent choice
Xara is illustration tool with basic bitmap options

The only one that you can do is to convert to bitmap your design (without print preview turned ON, when you convert it) and after that you can export it like PDF with some of fogra profiles included in PDF exporter... this will give you satisfying results... something around result in photoshop explained in my previous post.... but something around

[behzad]

In cases like this, my opinion is that is better to export wanted image like RGB tiff with print preview turned ON, and after that in Photoshop to convert it to CMYK (with CMYK profile Photoshop5CMYK or Eurostandartd v2 coated) and after that if you need you can reinforce a litle darks and lights with simple levels

Thanks, That is the method I have been doing things so far.
For rich black 100% Black, 20 Cyan, 20 Magenta, 20 Yellow

[FAx]

This will kill totally image colors

Choice algorithm depend of each image.

ps. Maybe Im crazy conspiracy grayscale fanat! kILL ze color! kILL ze color! yehhh! 8-)