In this photo editing tutorial we show you how to convert images from RGB to CMYK in Photoshop to produce perfect colour prints.
After processing a photo to look good on screen, you may end up with a print that suffers from shifts in colour. The discrepancy between the screen and print colour is caused by a variety of factors.
Your computer’s screen produces millions of colours by mixing reds, greens and blues (RGB) together, while most domestic printers combine cyan, magenta, black and yellow (CMYK) inks to create a narrower range of colours. Colours that can’t be printed are referred to as ‘out-of-gamut’ colours.
In this tutorial we’ll demonstrate how to prepare a picture for print and avoid colour-related disappointments. By default, Photoshop uses the screen-friendly colour space called sRGB (standard RGB).
You can change this colour space to a narrower, more printable one called Adobe RGB (1998) that helps you reduce the number of out-of-gamut colours. There’s also a handy gamut warning that you can summon to identify unprintable colours.
We’ll show you how to set up Photoshop’s colour management tools so that you can convert files that have an unprintable sRGB colour space to the printer-compatible Adobe RGB (1998) colour space.
We’ll also demonstrate how to change Photoshop’s colour mode so it’s compatible with the printer’s CMYK ink-mixing technique, so that your images have a vibrant, printable range of colours.
How to convert photos from RGB to CMYK
01 Manage your colours
Go to Edit > Color Settings. In the Color Settings window, choose an appropriate location-based profile such as Europe Prepress 3. This will ensure Photoshop uses a print-friendly colour space called Adobe RGB (1998) instead of the default sRGB one. Leave the Profile Mismatch boxes ticked.
Go to Edit > Color Settings. In the Color Settings window, choose an appropriate location-based profile such as Europe Prepress 3. This will ensure Photoshop uses a print-friendly colour space called Adobe RGB (1998) instead of the default sRGB one. Leave the Profile Mismatch boxes ticked.
02 Convert the embedded profile
Download our start file and follow along! Open print_start.jpg. The embedded colour profile of this image describes its colours using the screen-friendly sRGB colour space. You can change the sRGB profile to a printer-compatible one by ticking the ‘Convert document’s colors to the working space’ button. Click OK to close the dialog box.
Download our start file and follow along! Open print_start.jpg. The embedded colour profile of this image describes its colours using the screen-friendly sRGB colour space. You can change the sRGB profile to a printer-compatible one by ticking the ‘Convert document’s colors to the working space’ button. Click OK to close the dialog box.
03 Gamut warning
To discover remaining unprintable colours, choose View > Gamut Warning. Problematic colours will appear as patches of grey. You could use a Vibrance adjustment layer to reduce the saturation of the colours. The gamut warning patches would vanish, but other colours may look a bit drab.
To discover remaining unprintable colours, choose View > Gamut Warning. Problematic colours will appear as patches of grey. You could use a Vibrance adjustment layer to reduce the saturation of the colours. The gamut warning patches would vanish, but other colours may look a bit drab.
04 Change the mode
Go to Mode and choose CMYK Color. Click OK. This forces the colours into a print-compatible CMYK colour space. The gamut warning patches will vanish. Choose Mode > RGB Color. You can now use a Vibrance adjustment layer to boost the saturation without producing warnings.
Go to Mode and choose CMYK Color. Click OK. This forces the colours into a print-compatible CMYK colour space. The gamut warning patches will vanish. Choose Mode > RGB Color. You can now use a Vibrance adjustment layer to boost the saturation without producing warnings.
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