Gamut warning after conversion to CMYK

[darinb]

I'm converting my images to CMYK for offset printing (an art/photo book) and I'm new-is to all of this.

My question: I have a series of images that is made up entirely of super-highly saturated colors (just shy or just over the limit of Adobe RGB color space). When I use a soft proof layer and choose the appropriate icc from the printing company the image, of course, looks much duller, many of the color relationships change (sometimes drastically, purples and oranges, for example, seem doomed). I think I get all of that.

What puzzles me is that when I check the out of gamut checkbox in the soft proof dialog box my *entire* image is shown in gray as being out of gamut.

I understand that the Adobe RGB version is entirely out of gamut--it's at the edges of its own larger color space--but why is soft proofing still showing me everything is out of gamut when that layer is visible? I thought the soft proofing was supposed to show me (in an approximate way) how the image will look with the paper/process and I thought that all of the various rendering intents brought everything back into the smaller color space, just using different methods.

Should I pay attention to the out of gamut areas in the soft proof layer? Or just work to make the image look good?

Attached are screen grabs showing the image with and without the gamut box checked, and one with the soft proofing turned off.

Thoughts?

--Darin

 

[darinb]

Spent the morning looking into this and still not clear--maybe I should rephrase my question:

When I use a soft-proof layer or when I choose Document-->Convert Format/ICC profile, and then I choose an icc profile, the image on my screen changes (as one would expect).

So, #1, does that revised image represent what will be printed by the printer (in this case an offset printer using CMYK)? 

Or, #2, do I need to check the Gamut Warning check box in the soft proof layer and make further adjustments until less of my image in out of gamut? 

#1 is how I *think* things (should) work. #2 is what the tutorial video shows, which makes no sense to me--if large areas of the image are still out of gamut after the profile change what then did the rendering intent do--should it not have brought everything into gamut via a choice of methods?

Bewildered a bit, hoping to avoid renting Photoshop.

--Darin

[Callum]

Hi darinb,

I just want to let you know that we haven't missed this thread it is just taking a lot of investigation! Me and another agent will be looking into this over the weekend and should hopefully have some info for you on Monday.

Thanks

C

[Callum]

Hi Dairnb,

When you use the Soft Proof Layer it will preview how the image will look when printed with the selected profile and rendering intent. The Gamut Check, when switched on, will always show the colours in the source profile that are out of gamut compared to the destination profile. Depending on the level of out of gamut colours you would pick the best rendering intent for the image to bring the out of gamut colours into the gamut of the destination profile . The Gamut Check option is only there to show the state of the image before the rendering intent has been applied.

Thanks

C