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16bit cymk support


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dont know if or how often this one may be asked for already (search is empty on this)...

 

i really need to have 16bit CYMK tif support for images in both design and photo.

should be possible soon - shouldnt it?

 

cant imagine any reason why this isnt already there and be able to edit/use existing tifs wich 16bit cymk color space.

quite annoying and makes it impossible to use affinity for eyery case i have to deal with them.

 

please!

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reason is that for most people RGB (be it 8-, 16-, or 32-bit) is the working and archive format and CMYK is for press only, to be converted on demand from RGB.

 

... are you kidding or do you know that this is the reason???

 

"for press only" ... what should that mean for a designer app that is intended to be "used by professionals" for "your professional workflow"?

not to use it for press?

 

sorry, but this really confuses me and i hope it cant be the real answer because this would say that there is no plan implementing it in an acceptabele amount of time - which would be another downpoint to me and my workflow for cmyk printing ...

 

would love to hear something about this from the developers.

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If you are talking about AP then yes, most people use RGB in the production and convert to CMYK8 at last stage. Of course for some CMYK8 is suitable all the way.

 

I you are talking about AD then I do not know any printing processes that take CMYK16.

 

Personally if AP had CMYK16 it would be ok, just another seldom used colour space. Now if there are a lot of people who use CMYK16 now is your change to say you need it. I just think it is quite rare.

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just to be clear:

 

"... I do not know any printing processes that take CMYK16." - nor do i .

"... most people use RGB in the production and convert to CMYK8 at last stage." - obvious.

 

but thats not the point.

1. you can go along with (pro-photo) 16bit rgb most of the way. right. best way. but at some point you have to change to cmyk - and that leads to the important thing: (at least me) never let any software handle this completly in an automated way! the results quite often are more or less not whats to be expected. no matter if generating the print files yourself with automated conversion from rgb to cmyk or even sending rgb within your files to the printers and let them do it. (btw: for the second one i do not know any printer who is giving any warranty in this case for perfect results...)

 

2. so you have to have control over this when going for cymk at the end, and occasionally (and possibly) have to tweak some things within your required colorspace (cymk) ... you cant do that in 8bit seriously due to the high risk of the limited colorspace and loosing information and other damages. you have the smaller cmyk colorspace anyway with 16bit, right, but you take advantage out of the much bigger headroom (just watch the histogram when editing photos in 8bit... regardless of colorspace). so going for 8bit is the very last step when compiling the final files for print. everything above that has to be 16bit - even in cymk. mandatory.

 

 

maybe most of the people who are using cmyk for print havent noticed any issues so far (i had), or arent even aware of the limitations within 8bit cmyk (i am).

so theres no way dismissing 16bit cmyk in a serious workflow for print at least for me - have to have this both in AP and AD.

its simply all about control over the final result.

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What file format do you use to send to a print service?

 

Look, there is no way a 16-bit CMYK image will hit a PDF as 16-bit. Even if it could, the RIP is going to convert it to 8-bit--even if there was one capable of so doing.

 

You don't want a black-box conversion? Fine, I don't overly like the thought either. But at some point in the processing chain, that 16-bit image has to become an 8-bit image. With modern work-flows, I prefer to use RGB images through into the PDF as tagged content and allow the RIP to do the conversion. This provides the widest usage possible no matter the type of press and its ICC requirements. It allows any press condition to print fairly close to another.

 

CMYK images are a profiled conversion. They are only good for one intended output condition. To make another CMYK image for a different output condition, it is back to the RGB source image and do another conversion to the different output condition. So for instance, a CMYK image cannot be reused without degradation if it converted to an ICC profile intended for a newsprint ad and also be used for a magazine. Which is why using a CMYK image in a layout application (or something like AD) is a pre year 2000 solution.

 

There have only been a couple presses capable of a 16-bit workflow. I seriously doubt anyone here has had opportunity to utilize one. There are also higher-end consumer inkjets that have been capable of a 16-bit work-flow--and I seriously cannot see the difference worth it. But even so, I would still feed them a 16-bit RGB image for the highest fidelity.

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... hmmm. always regarding the print file factor.

 

but thats not what i'm after... its the way in between ...and yes, i know (has been mentioned) dealing with 16bit cmyks is obviously an pre 2000 behaviour :wacko:

so this seems to be an argument anyway.

 

but eighter way - it would be really poor if i would have to tick that point off. not even being able to handle lots of existing content aggravates the real change to affinity unnecessarily.

 

cant imagine it would be this complicated or heavy labour to implement it.

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The only reason I see above is for print purposes.

 

And I do not see where you have explained how you intend to use these 16-bit CMYK images. Nor to what device.

 

At some point, they are going to become 8-bit. Converting from a 16-bit RGB working file to a 16-bit CMYK file doesn't advance any color conversion reliability when the end result needs to be an 8-bit file.

 

Like I mentioned in another of your threads in response to your "black box conversion" statement (I think it was yours anyway), you can either have control over the conversion by going from a 16-bit RGB working file, to a large 8-bit RGB color space (ProPhoto or Adobe or whatever) and then to a profiled CMYK conversion (a controllable work-flow where adjustments can be made at each step as required), or, you can drop in a 16-bit RGB image and pray the large drop in color space to 8-bit CMYK works out (which does not afford controlling the large to small color space conversion).

 

16-bit CMYK makes little sense from a work-flow perspective whether the intention is for print or some vague, undefined as-of-yet purpose. There will be degradation at each conversion and you can choose how that occurs or not. 16-bit RGB is not comparable to 16-bit CMYK no more so than 8-bit ProPhoto RGB is to an 8-bit CMYK.

 

Maybe Serif will include the ability for 16-bit CMYK at some point, I can in Photoline. I would never work in 16-bit CMYK: there are absolutely no advantages. 16-bit CMYK doesn't save you from the possible issues of going from a 16-bit RGB to at some point your images being produced on an 8-bit print device.

 

Much better results that are controllable is by stepping down to an 8-bit RGB format and doing any further color correction, etc., at this point. It is a reliable work-flow. Then, whether you early-bind to a CMYK conversion (only good for a single press condition) or use the modern late-binding work-flow of leaving the images in 8-bit RGB into a tagged content PDF for whatever RIP in the world to convert to their calibrated 8-bit devices at RIP-time.

 

I'll leave you alone now. Unless I read how this whole 16-bit CMYK thing is actually beneficial by you and your work-flow and your intended print devices, it has gotten pretty pointless to me.

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The only reason I see above is for print purposes.

 

...

I'll leave you alone now. Unless I read how this whole 16-bit CMYK thing is actually beneficial by you and your work-flow and your intended print devices, it has gotten pretty pointless to me.

 

... reading, reading again etc. maybe that might help.

seems you can follow my demands as well as you dont? so it may be pointless to you - not for me. but thats o.k. in every way. thanks for being here. :huh:

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