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How can I convert an Affinity Designer file and convert it to CMYK?


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Make a copy of your document, and in that copy:

  • File > Document Setup
  • On the Color tab, change RGB to CMYK, and pick an appropriate profile. Click Convert if it's not selected.
  • Then click OK

 

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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Mind you, this way it is easy to make black text and vectors go rich black (something like C89M78Y62K97). Usually this is not desired. I do not now how to convert RGB000 to K100, other that select objects and adjust values manually.

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5 minutes ago, Fixx said:

I do not now how to convert RGB000 to K100

Yep, this is a missing feature. There should be a swatch that preserves black, or an option when converting to map 0,0,0 rgb to 100k.

The best you can do now is define a spot colour of 100k and use that, it will survive conversion. It does then result in an extra channel on export to pdf, but any RIP/prepress should be able to handle that and shift it onto the K plate.

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8 hours ago, PaulWilliamson said:

I do not see the convert option

It's there, in your screenshot, but grayed out:

image.png.cba176563045eecec39bc0e24934eedf.png

Looks like all you need is to press OK when changing color modes. The Assign/Convert is only for changing profiles within a mode.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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Hi,

No matter what I tried, the document colors are not saved with CMYK colors.

I tried the document setup suggestion, and I also clicked on the colors on the RHS tabs and on the fill color on the context menu.

I think I saw a slight change in the colors when changing them to CMYK but when I exit Designer and reopen it and the document, the CMYK colors I set are gone.

For instance, in the attached file, the green background underneath Exit333 should be Highway Green (CMYK 64,0,47,48) but it is now 81,25, 94,11 in the Fill CMYK Slider.  It was not that when I was working on the document. Also, RGB for Highway Green is 48,132,70 but it is now 51, 132,69.

I have not sent my logo off to a printer on a document but I think it would look fine.  Just curious how to convert an Affinity Designer file colors to  CMYK since it doesn't appear to work.

What if I started an AD file in CMYK, if that is possible?  I am sure I am doing something wrong!

Thanks!

-paulw

exit333logo - CMYKConvertedAttempt2.afdesign

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RGB document profile = rgb colours

CMYK document profile = cmyk colours

Anything shown in the colour picker that is not the same colour mode as the document (e.g. cmyk sliders in an RGB document) are conversions based on the default profile that is set in your preferences.

Setting a colour using the cmyk sliders in an RGB document does not give you a cmyk colour.

To go from one to another you have to convert the document colour space as mentioned before.

The other thing to bear in mind (which confuses a lot of people) is there's no such thing as an RGB colour or a cmyk colour - you need a profile for the values to mean anything. "Highway Green" will be different values in SWOP, ISO coated etc etc.

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I think I get it now! 🙂

I created a new CMYK color document and copied and pasted from my original afdesign file.

Then I changed every color to CMYK.  The default sliders were in CMYK.

I saved the document without converting then reloaded it just for test and everything was still in CMYK.

Great learning exercise!

Thank you so much, especially for "The other thing to bear in mind (which confuses a lot of people) is there's no such thing as an RGB colour or a cmyk colour - you need a profile for the values to mean anything. "Highway Green" will be different values in SWOP, ISO coated etc etc."

-paulw

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1 minute ago, PaulWilliamson said:

copied and pasted from my original afdesign file.

Then I changed every color to CMYK.

Nearly got it :) As your destination document was CMYK, your pasted elements would have already been converted.

All you need to do is "save as.." to get a copy, then go to the document setup, colour tab as show earlier in this thread, and select the cmyk profile you want and the colours are all converted for you.

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Hah!!  Well, I got it done and learned a lot from this post.  There are so many nice and knowledgeable people here.

I do have the AD book and tons of all Affinity courses at Udemy and other places and I am going to set aside as much time to go through them all.

However, there is nothing like learning from the people here on the forum!  Books and courses do not always cover all "real life" situations, IMO!

I have attached the final CMYK file.  Please let me know if I missed anything 🙂

Thanks so much!

-paulw

exit333logoCMYK.afdesign

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Warning: some of the following information contradicts statements seen earlier in this thread.

Converting an Affinity document from one colour mode (e.g. RGB, CMYK, Grey, Lab) to another does convert the colour mode of Pixel objects, but it does not convert the colour mode of vector fills and strokes or the colour mode of swatch definitions.

For example, say a document is RGB and contains a vector rectangle with fill specified as RGB(48,132,70). If the document is converted to CMYK, the specification of the rectangle's fill remains RGB.

Again, say a document is RGB and contains a vector rectangle with fill specified as RGB(48,132,70). If the rectangle is copied and then pasted into a CMYK document, the specification of the pasted rectangle's fill remains RGB.

To see the true specification of a colour, two things need to be done to the Colours panel before selecting an object for inspection:

  • set controls mode to Sliders in the hamburger menu
  • disable the colour mode lock (padlock button)

 

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1 hour ago, anon2 said:

the specification of the pasted rectangle's fill remains RGB

That may be "behind the scenes" but the displayed colour is converted, and if you export to a format that supports mixed colour models (e.g. pdf) you won't get a mixed output. To all intents and purposes, the colour model of the document is what you get. I understand what you are saying, technically the object's data isn't converted, my point was the result won't be an RGB "colour" in the display, or in any export. If the document pasted from and the target document are both in the profiles as the defaults then I believe the shown values will be correct, unless I'm missing something?

You can place an image of a different colour model, and that is maintained on output to pdf if set that way, however as Affinity cannot display mixed colour modes it won't show correctly in the app.

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20 minutes ago, BofG said:

[...] my point was the result won't be an RGB "colour" in the display, or in any export [...]

The points I was contradicting with facts were mistakes you were making when you were explicitly writing about the effect on Affinity documents when performing operations inside an Affinity app.

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40 minutes ago, anon2 said:

The points I was contradicting with facts were mistakes you were making when you were explicitly writing about the effect on Affinity documents when performing operations inside an Affinity app.

I guess the OP should have opted for the book after all :)

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8 hours ago, anon2 said:

Warning: some of the following information contradicts statements seen earlier in this thread.

Converting an Affinity document from one colour mode (e.g. RGB, CMYK, Grey, Lab) to another does convert the colour mode of Pixel objects, but it does not convert the colour mode of vector fills and strokes or the colour mode of swatch definitions.

For example, say a document is RGB and contains a vector rectangle with fill specified as RGB(48,132,70). If the document is converted to CMYK, the specification of the rectangle's fill remains RGB.

Again, say a document is RGB and contains a vector rectangle with fill specified as RGB(48,132,70). If the rectangle is copied and then pasted into a CMYK document, the specification of the pasted rectangle's fill remains RGB.

To see the true specification of a colour, two things need to be done to the Colours panel before selecting an object for inspection:

  • set controls mode to Sliders in the hamburger menu
  • disable the colour mode lock (padlock button)

 

I get it now!  I did not know that.  Thanks!

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