• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

How to Print true CMYK ???

ProPDF

New Member
One thing I think throws many people off is they, in their head, assume there is a correlation between a default design software CMYK profile (US Web Coated SWOP or any other default CMYK profile) and the CMYK inks in your machines. The CMYK inks in your machines are capable of a far greater range of color than those crippled default design CMYK profiles can describe and have no correlation to the CMYK inks in your printer. This is why shops who design in RGB often get much more vivid color.

This is exactly what I was taught and this is correct. Excellent response overall as well.
 

ProPDF

New Member
If you are looking for accuracy over gamut size, then you wouldn't design in RGB necessarily

What???

So what are you telling your clients with Orange and Green Roland inksets to design with CMYK? Are you telling people who are buying into the VG2 with Orange inks this as well that they should stick with CMYK for accuracy?
 

JoeDG

Wide format trainer and creative enthusiast
What???

So what are you telling your clients with Orange and Green Roland inksets to design with CMYK? Are you telling people who are buying into the VG2 with Orange inks this as well that they should stick with CMYK for accuracy?

No. Note in my post I put necessarily. I was under the assumption that the original post was for a CMYK only device...and he only wanted CMYK-not extended gamut. That came from other posts!
But it depends what they're after. If you're printing something that you know is larger than the CMYK standard gamut (a photo for example-in it's original RGB format) then yes you would want to leave it as RGB and let your RIP do the conversions via color management, that is what it is there for.
But again, if you're just going for an accurate colour in a vector graphic, you would not (you can, but normally wouldn't) get that from an RGB colour...you would want to use a spot or an accurate CMYK known value.

For the VG2 there is a new color management preset and also a new spot library for the orange inks.

There is no outright correct answer to some of the dilemmas raised in this post, as there are many variables to each example...
  • Was the source file the original or has it been opened and re-saved elsewhere changing the input info?
  • Does the customer want vibrancy over accuracy?
  • Have you profiled your media on your device...etc etc.
 
Last edited:

ColorCrest

All around shop helper.
What???
So what are you telling your clients with Orange and Green Roland inksets to design with CMYK? Are you telling people who are buying into the VG2 with Orange inks this as well that they should stick with CMYK for accuracy?
One can certainly design in CMYK for machines with extended ink sets and it has been done successfully for decades. The challenge for you (because you have derailed the thread with your first post immediately following the OP's) is to to explain to the internet how one is to design in RGB for a color which is outside it's gamut but still in gamut for the CMYK space of the printer.

See my previous post#28 attachments as the graphics should be all the hints you need to answer the challenge although there are plenty of other hints throughout the thread posted by knowledgable others.
 

Andy_warp

New Member
The way I have achieved this is pretty simple, however I am not familiar with your rip software. Does it support spot color correction (input at the rip)?

I always create 4 generic named spot colors in Illustrator. (spot1, spot2, etc)

From the rip I do a color replace and set the values to 100% for each channel respectively.
No muck in the yellow...

As far as the "cmyk vs. rgb" argument we have had times where we had to use rgb. We had some cool artwork come in that was all vector of sky and clouds.
The clouds were gradient mesh with transparency...and when ripped as cmyk much of the data was lost. Stuff just disappeared!
We just changed the color space to rgb and everything rendered correctly. We have had similar issues with uncommon blending modes like color burn...pin light...etc.

In my opinion, if you use a print rip let IT do the conversion. Leave everything rgb for as long as possible.

I had a customer send images as 16-bit layered cmyk files. They were easily 5 times bigger than they needed to be and clogged everything up in the pipeline.
For absolutely no reason. 8-bit gives you a variation of 256 variations per channel...16-bit is 65,536 variations per channel...overkill to say the least.
Especially in our low color gamut workflow of dye sublimation.

Just my two cents.
 

2ny

New Member
Hi there everyone

i am trying to do a few test prints of 4 squares C M Y K
and its pretty clear that is not 100% Yellow and the other colors are not 100% also
I export my file from corel as a eps and use the default settings, open in versaworks and print

I sure i am doing something wrong or is it even possible to print true CMYK ??

Thanks
Biggs

Hi.
If you want your printer to use pure CMYK in your print where you have any, you send them as pure CMYK color and in Versaworks you click Edit > Special Color Setting. In there you add Special Colors, and then put in 100% for both input and output. When you have a file in Versaworks that contains a pure color in either C-M-Y-K you will see that under Job Settings for the spesific job, you will have an option under File Format to choose to convert Special colors to print pure. This will make the printer to use only the selected ink cartridge for the pure colors present in the file. I have found that this is the case with the profile Max impact. The black color is printing clean and less thick with this rutine.

Good luck.
Best regards
Tony
 

C5 Service&Repair

New Member
Holy moley.
Ok if you just want a test pattern to see each channel to print, then the fill pattern is the way to do it.
If you want to print a file and have 100% yellow print as only 100% yellow with no other colors, ,then design in CMYK, NOT RGB, and in versaworks go into the Properties button in the color management area on the Quality tab, and check the 'Preserve Primary Colors' checkbox.
Now if you create a color thats C0% M0% Y100% K0%, it will print with only 100% yellow.
 

oliviakim

New Member
Hi there everyone

i am trying to do a few test prints of 4 squares C M Y K
and its pretty clear that is not 100% Yellow and the other colors are not 100% also
I export my file from corel as a eps and use the default settings, open in versaworks and print

I sure i am doing something wrong or is it even possible to print true CMYK ??

Thanks
Biggs
A quick tool to help you select CMYK ink values that will produce the most vibrant colors for printing.
 

wanderer

New Member
Hi there everyone

i am trying to do a few test prints of 4 squares C M Y K
and its pretty clear that is not 100% Yellow and the other colors are not 100% also
I export my file from corel as a eps and use the default settings, open in versaworks and print

I sure i am doing something wrong or is it even possible to print true CMYK ??

Thanks
Biggs
Dont know if you got the answere yet, anyway use density control only in profile choice
 

niksagkram

New Member
Hi there everyone

i am trying to do a few test prints of 4 squares C M Y K
and its pretty clear that is not 100% Yellow and the other colors are not 100% also
I export my file from corel as a eps and use the default settings, open in versaworks and print

I sure i am doing something wrong or is it even possible to print true CMYK ??

Thanks
Biggs
Have you tried Versaworks "special colors" option?

Mark
 

Jim Hill

New Member
Years ago before I purchased my own printer I uses three different printer shops to do all of my work.

The one print shop I used was a small two person shop and the owner had a Masters degree in graphics and his work was always the best of any of the print shops I used.

One day I decided to show him the print work the other two shops had done for me and I lined up three graphics and were all the same image and I asked him why is always had the most vivid colors.

We talked about graphics and when I asked him about designing in RBG or CMYK he looked at me and said what colors does your new printer use and I said CYMK and he said then that is what you should be using for all of your designing.

Since I did not have a graphics degree I took his advice and that is what I have done for the past 10 years.

I realize many others may use RBG but I am very happy using CYMK colors for everything I do.

Jim
 
Top