Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

ICC profile useage in CMYK printing


Recommended Posts

I have what I hope can be a yes / no answer type question.

I've created an ICC profile (sRGB) after monitor calibration, great.

I want to send photos to an external printing house (as a photo book) which uses a CMYK (FOGRA39) profile.

Can I simply export the photos using the ICC CMYK profile they use or is there more to it?

Is soft proofing necessary? (I'm not really sure what it is but have seen some tutorials on it).

What about document -> assign an ICC profile?

I'm using AF v1.8.0.486 Beta.

thanks so much

Julie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well usually the printers convert the photos (basic sRGB) into the CMYK profile they use in order to print them at the best quality possible for them. So you should first of all ask that external printing house how they handle images and how you have to prepare and send them in.

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Thanks for the help. I still haven't made the photobook but am ready to do it now......

I have watched lots of videos & read lots of forum entries but remain confused.

I guess I want to know a point by point list of what to do.

The jpgs I have were exported using the ICC profile I created when I last calibrated my monitor.

In the past the images have always looked very dark (not sure if that relates to not having calibrated my monitor back then>????).

Do I need to add a soft proof layer using the FROGRA39 profile, make adjustments & then remove soft proof layer then re-export using the FROGRA39 profile?

 

Here are some comments I got from their helpdesk:

We tend to print slightly darker than what is presented on screen as the light source behind computer monitors helps brighten the images more, but once printed - It becomes more darker.

Any images with Shadows will also be darkened when printed.

You can have the images as RGB and our Software would convert them to CMYK.

If you have vivid colours such as bright magenta or bright cyan, please note that they will print a lot more darker when converted to CMYK.

Our software allows PNG and JPEG files to be used.

Any help would be gratefully received. I guess I'm after a workflow on converting a lot of images to add to the photobook so they'll print as they appear on my (calibrated) screen.

Thanks again

Regards,

Julie 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

No, using Affinity Photo.

It's a simple photobook with jpeg photos added.

In the end, I want to end up with jpgs that will end up looking like they do on my screen.

I want to know if I can just export them using the printer's ICC profile or if I have to lighten / brighten them to make up for them appearing darker (plus magenta issues).

Last time I made photobooks with this company, I didn't have a calibrated monitor so not sure how much difference that makes???

Thanks

Julie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for your replies Lagarto. I really appreciate it :-).

I have exported them using the embedded sRGB (????) profiles I create when I calibrate the monitor. I always using the highest quality. I've included a graph of the profile (created another one just now) so it's close to sRGB

I just looked at a photobook that I created using professional photos (my wedding!). On screen (through AP), they're perfect. In the photobook they're a bit darker as the print lab person said. this was done before AP so I am assuming they were sent to me using sRGB & were provided as jppegs.

Because of that (guess proofing in a way?????), maybe I will just lighten the photos I put in the book & even bring up the shadows more? Does that seem about right?

Thanks again so much

Julie.

Untitled.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brilliant! Thanks so much for clarifying this!

I have compared photos in AP to how they print them & yes a bit darker, more shadows & more saturated so using that as a baseline, I will adjust all the photos to make them less of those things & keep them exported using the profile I created most recently!

Time to get to work!!!!!!! 🙂

Thanks, Julie 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only way a printshop would not convert RGB to CMYK is if they were printing on a wide format printer. My 44" Epson 9900 has 11 colours (12 including a matte black) and handles RGB beautifully. Of course they are not going to be printing photo books like this. I am assuming this is a perfect bound photo book? Either way your files will be converted. A print shop may say they use a certain profile but it does not mean it is going to print like your screen. Not sure how many you are ordering, but if it is that important to you I would be getting colour proofs. Most likely the job will be printed digitally and they can spit out print ready proofs very quickly and easily, of course you will pay for physical proofs. This will be your best indicator and guide to what you need to change. I would be adjusting everything in CMYK on your end. Even if your screen is not calibrated to anything you will spot differences in colours that just cannot be achieved with CMYK. Sending over RGB files with super vibrant colours may leave you disappointed, which again is why you should get physical proofs if it is that important.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The photobooks are 12" square & bound:

https://www.photobookshop.co.uk/custom/photobooks/photobooks?rpid=16

I realise that CMYK isn't going to be as good as sRGB but that's what they do & the prices are very good.

Am only ordering one as it's a photobook from a holiday so not that important. I'll see how this one goes & then amend the next one accordingly.

I've created a macro to increase brightness & lift shadows so am applying that (with some individual tweaking) to the photos I'm going to use.

I'm exporting them using the ICC profile I created to suit the lighting here.....so close to sRGB (per the screenshot above)

What do you mean by 'adjusting everything in CMYK' Does that relate to exporting or via a filter?

Thanks

Julie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, juliep said:

The photobooks are 12" square & bound:

https://www.photobookshop.co.uk/custom/photobooks/photobooks?rpid=16

I realise that CMYK isn't going to be as good as sRGB but that's what they do & the prices are very good.

Am only ordering one as it's a photobook from a holiday so not that important. I'll see how this one goes & then amend the next one accordingly.

I've created a macro to increase brightness & lift shadows so am applying that (with some individual tweaking) to the photos I'm going to use.

I'm exporting them using the ICC profile I created to suit the lighting here.....so close to sRGB (per the screenshot above)

What do you mean by 'adjusting everything in CMYK' Does that relate to exporting or via a filter?

Thanks

Julie.

If I am working editing a picture that will be printed, in Photoshop I change the colour mode to CMYK and use that as my base. I will see if that bright vibrant blue changes colour immediately and be able to contact the client and let them know they are not going to get what they see on their screen. I will also make some adjustments while the image is CMYK, again this will be a better representation of what I will get when printing because it is in CMYK rather then RGB. In many cases you will not notice a huge difference in terms of colour. I like this method because I see it right away. The print shop is going to convert it at some point which may be fine as I am sure you will at least get a PDF proof. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I am brightening them up, I'd adding a soft proof layer & weirdly, when I untick the soft proof layer, the images are actually lighter. I'd have expected the opposite? (ie they print darker than expected to ticking the soft proof layer should show the image on the screen as it will print). Do I make any sense?

Is it still ok to export them using the calibrated profile or should I change that to sRGB? (I think they're pretty close to being the same anyway?)

Edited by juliep
wrote the wrong thing, plus needed clarification
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for your help.

I sent the print company some images - looking right on the screen, after soft proofing & after some brightening etc.

They liked the brightened one best but suggested some contrast being added.

I then sent them some more with various %s of brightness / shadows & contrast so once I know what works for them, I can then set up a macro  & see how the first book goes.

They said that as a rule of thumb, increasing brightness by 10% seems to work.

thanks again for your help!

Julie 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Lagarto.

I created another version with the midtones raised a bit - pulled the middle of the curve up in a curve adjustment.

I sent that version to the printers as well. (They're in Australia so won't see the emails for a few more hours) so hopefully they can tell me what works & can then use a macro to make those adjustments & maybe tweak here & there.

I'm sure my photos are much better than when I last made a photobook! New camera, AP, calibrated monitor.......now to get to work!!!!

Thanks again - you've been great!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.