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CMYK Color Difference Between Affinity Designer and Photo


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Hi All,

Preface: My color preferences are set to identical settings in both Designer and Photo.

Problem: I'm having some issues with color difference when I send a file from Designer to Photo. My CMYK files that I have designed in Designer open in Photo differently. I've used the sample tool to confirm that colors are indeed coded differently. The black is most noticeable: I design with 60, 40, 40, 100 and when I open in Photo I get 75, 71, 65, 80 

Additionally, I have never been able to get Designer to store 60, 40, 40, 100 as one of my CMYK settings. I always have to punch it when I need it. 

Does anyone else experience these problems? Thanks in advance for your help on this  -A

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Hi and welcome to the forums.

Please attach:

  1. one of your Designer files (.afdesign) - it doesn't need to be an actual project, but it does need to exhibit the colours problem on your computer.
  2. a screenshot of the Colour section of Designer's preferences.
  3. a screenshot of the Colour section of Photo's preferences.
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Hi, 

Thanks for responding. I have attached the files you requested. I have also realized that I did not specify that the issue occurs when I open "png" files in Photo that were created in Designer. The color swatches on PNGs and PDFs designed in and saved after a Designer session open in Photo with colors that are different like 60, 40, 40, 100 opening as  75, 71, 65, 80 

When I open a Designer file (.afdesign) in Photo, I find that the CMYK colors stay true to how they were punched in in Designer. Again, the issue seems to occur with opening PNGs and PDFs in Photo (I haven't tried any other file types).

Is there a way that I can open PNGs exported from Designer and keep accurate CMYK values after opening in Photo?

Screen Shot 2023-03-18 at 6.16.15 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-03-18 at 6.18.02 PM.png

Swatch Color Sample.afdesign

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33 minutes ago, asummers said:

the issue occurs when I open "png" files in Photo that were created in Designer.

The PNG format does not support CMYK. It's always RGB.

-- 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 @asummers, thank you for providing the files @,,, requested and for the additional information...

7 minutes ago, asummers said:

Is there a way that I can open PNGs exported from Designer and keep accurate CMYK values after opening in Photo?

The PNG file format doesn't support the CMYK colour space which is why you're not seeing consistent colour values when exporting your colour swatches as a PNG file. Can I ask the logic of using the PNG file format with CMYK colour as it wouldn't be the correct choice but understanding what you are trying to achieve would be really helpful and allow us to suggest alternative options for you...

The issue with your Designer file is that even though the default CMYK colour profile is set to U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2, your actual Designer document is using a Generic CMYK colour profile which you can see when you go to File > Document Setup and click on the Colour tab.

Exporting your CMYK document as a PNG file and then opening it in Photo results in all the colour swatches being converted RGB colour. In the colour palette if you unlock the padlock icon next to the colour space dropdown and then use the colour picker to click on a swatch you will see the colours in your file have all been converted to RGB values.

Exporting to PDF, if you export your file and tick the Embed Profile check box then your PDF will be exported using the same Generic CMYK Document Profile used by your Designer file so when opened in Photo using the settings shown in your screengrab the colour values will match.

If you export the Designer file as a PDF but don't tick the Embed Profile check box then you are exporting an unprofiled document which means when you open it in Photo it will be converted to the document profile set in your colour preferences, i.e., U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 and that is why you are seeing the difference in the swatch colour values.

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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Thanks for your responses Walt and Hangman. 

Hangman: Thanks for identifying the issue  with U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 and Generic CMYK. I have addressed that. I have been exporting using PNG for uploads that require color value retention. I have tested out a jpeg and discovered that I can retain color values with that file type, which I will use moving forward. 

Good to know about PDF exporting and the padlock button. Very helpful.

Much Appreciated -A

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6 hours ago, asummers said:

I have tested out a jpeg and discovered that I can retain color values with that file type, which I will use moving forward. 

TIFF would be better, as it will preserve data more accurately.

-- 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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10 minutes ago, asummers said:

Thanks, Walt. Reading up on and learning more about retaining/preserving color values. This is my first foray into printing with increased accuracy. 

Depending what it is you are printing or looking to create you may be better off using pdf... are you able to tell us a little about what it is you are looking to do, e.g., is this something that will be physically printed by a printing company like a book or something you plan to print yourself on your own printer or something designed for use on the web...

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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These will be files to share with others of my designs for printing. I'm going to encourage printing on inkjet printers on a gloss or semigloss paper. I'm attempting to determine the best file format for preserving color values so that I can share the most accurate version of what I have designed. 

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1 minute ago, asummers said:

These will be files to share with others of my designs for printing. I'm going to encourage printing on inkjet printers on a gloss or semigloss paper. I'm attempting to determine the best file format for preserving color values so that I can share the most accurate version of what I have designed. 

Are your designs created using vector or raster graphics or a mix of the two, as in, are you mostly creating your artwork using Designer or Photo or again a mix of both...

If the final output of your designs are for Inket printing you are probably better off working in RGB rather than CMYK since Inkjet printers are generally capable of reproducing more colors than CMYK printing presses.

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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Predominantly vector with some raster graphics mixed in. I export to Photo after I design in Designer to add a vignette layer on most of the designs in the series I am working on now. I've been exporting JPGs from Designer to Photo and I have also been opening Designer files in Photo and then exporting as JPG for comparison, however I'm not noticing a difference in color value quality either way. Photo is always the "last stop" before finalizing a design with a vignette and then exporting a JPG (I'll look into PDF) to share and print from. 

Do you know how a design created with RGB would come out printed with laser printer? My goal is to develop a file that will best retain color values while also printing well on either laser or inkjet printers (I have no control over what kind of printer will be used). 

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26 minutes ago, asummers said:

I export to Photo after I design in Designer to add a vignette layer on most of the designs in the series I am working on now.

A vignette layer is typically a rectangle with an elliptical hole in it, and a feathered edge applied. You can easily achieve that in Designer by subtracting an ellipse from a rectangle and applying a Gaussian Blur filter effect, thus obviating the need to switch to Photo.

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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14 hours ago, Alfred said:

A vignette layer is typically a rectangle with an elliptical hole in it, and a feathered edge applied. You can easily achieve that in Designer by subtracting an ellipse from a rectangle and applying a Gaussian Blur filter effect, thus obviating the need to switch to Photo.

Although true, it's perhaps easier to create and more flexible to apply and adjust using the Live Vignette Filter in Photo...

Personally, once I'd created my artwork in Designer I would simply use Edit in Photo... add a Live Vignette Filter and then Edit in Designer... where the Live Vignette Filter is still editable and gives full control over Exposure, Hardness, Scale and Shape... but equally there are always a myriad of different ways to achieve the same thing, it really all comes down to what works best for your personal workflow...

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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1 hour ago, asummers said:

Predominantly vector with some raster graphics mixed in. I export to Photo after I design in Designer to add a vignette layer on most of the designs in the series I am working on now. I've been exporting JPGs from Designer to Photo and I have also been opening Designer files in Photo and then exporting as JPG for comparison, however I'm not noticing a difference in color value quality either way. Photo is always the "last stop" before finalizing a design with a vignette and then exporting a JPG (I'll look into PDF) to share and print from. 

I think a lot depends of the nature of your artwork, vector artwork will potentially give you crisper, better quality output especially if peope will be printing your artwork at varying different sizes... e.g., if you provide your artwork in A4 and the end user decides to print at A1 then the print quality of a JPEG is going to suffer vs a pdf which will give you better quality output...

1 hour ago, asummers said:

Do you know how a design created with RGB would come out printed with laser printer? My goal is to develop a file that will best retain color values while also printing well on either laser or inkjet printers (I have no control over what kind of printer will be used). 

Laser printers use a completely different technology to inket printers so you will likely see different results using both technologies but equally it also depends on the particular printer your end user has, how competent they are printing and the paper stock they are printing on... Laser printing on photo paper can create beautiful, high-quality prints providing that the correct type of paper is used so you may find yourself in a slightly advisory role recommending paper stocks to give the best results to compliment your artwork...

My guess (rightly or wrongly) is that the majority of your customers will download your artwork in whichever format you provide it and simply hit Ctrl or Cmd P on their computer expecting a great print...

I don't know where you plan to upload your artwork to, whether your own website, Etsy or somewhere similar but maybe you could provide your artwork in both pdf and jpeg formats, if appropriate... I would also try to find a way of testing the quality of the output, ideally on your perferred paper stock when using both laser and inkjet printers (if that is possible) even if this means producing test prints with a local print shop so you can determine the options that work best for your particular artwork.

I don't know if you are willing to share a sample of the kind of artwork you create (absolutely no problem if you'd rather not) but it may help others here provide the best advice based on the overall look and feel of your work.

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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