Printing GRAYSCALE...

[DougyFrisch]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed before on here, so if anyone has the links to the threads please feel free to post them...

But my dilemma I'm having is trying to extract all of the CMY out of my file and leaving just the Black... I'm sick and tired of my prints coming out with a green hue to them.

We had this issue at a shop I worked at for a while and through trial and error i was able to dial in the profiles and print amazing grayscale images off of RGB and CMYK files without adjusting my workflow. Now i'm running my own shop and I'm outsourcing the printing to a friend of mine, but I'm having the hardest time trying to get my grey images to print truely grey...

I just printed a file recently that was a mix of raster images i've found online along with some Pro Fill files... I used the diamond tread graphic that I have and noticed that the file was completely composed of Black, absolutely no CMY anywhere in the file, just percentages of black... Now when we printed the final product ALL of greyscale images except for the Diamond tread had a green hue to it....

So now my goal is to come up with a process to turn any image into pure values of black to avoid this awe full green problem. Any thoughts, ideas, or tricks to help me out? Thanks in advance...

 

[Mosh]

We rip greyscaled stuff as a tiff, helps the green issue alot!

 

[AUTO-FX]

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61139&highlight=grey+greenish

 

[DougyFrisch]

I've tried TIFF, JPG, PDF, EPS, and a few others and all with similar results... it got a little better depending on the format, but i think the real problem inlays in the color profile. I mean no matter what file type you use, C55 M47 Y48 K12 still prints greenish grey, and that's just a random swatch i just took from the "gray" section of this file.... where as that pixel should read C0 M0 Y0 K56 to get me that nice gray value I'm wanting.

 

[AUTO-FX]

ps. there's a boat load on this, just search it

 

[J Hill Designs]

change the inks in the RIP to only use black...

 

[Malkin]

For those kinds of jobs, we setup the file to use only K, no CMY. Then set the rip to not use any color correction, so it lays down only the black ink, without reinterpreting the color.

I figure it's the printer operators responsibility to make the prints come out right, you can only do so much yourself.

 

[DougyFrisch]

For those kinds of jobs, we setup the file to use only K, no CMY. Then set the rip to not use any color correction, so it lays down only the black ink, without reinterpreting the color.

I figure it's the printer operators responsibility to make the prints come out right, you can only do so much yourself.

That's what i'm running into, I keep feeling like its my fault. They keep tellin' me they've tried all the profiles they can and it's always green or sepia... but when we had a printer at my last shop I remember getting it dialed in and never having this issue, so I know it's possible...

But what it comes to is I'm just gonna start gettin my files ready like you said, Print the greyscale portion of the graphic with just K and be done. But there are going to be other colors in the decal so it can't be done at the RIP level, it's gotta be done prior in photoshop. I would search for it all day, but i have no idea what term to use to look for it. Are you using Layer Styles? Adjustment Layers? Adjusting Channels? I'm willing to change my workflow to guarantee my print quality, i just need to know the correct way of going about it...

 

[marcsitkin]

You need to linearize your printer as a first step. You can then go on to implement a color managed workflow that will allow you to consistently print graphics with neutrals and colors without fooling around. Start by talking with your dealer. If he doesn't have the ability to help you, get another dealer who can.

Not using a color managed workflow is only going to hold your business back.

 

[rfulford]

I'm willing to change my workflow to guarantee my print quality, i just need to know the correct way of going about it...

This really is not about your workflow. It does not matter how many profiles your printer tries, if it is not custom and specific to the media and printer, there will most likely be problems like this with exception to what was already mentioned above. Design the greyscale portion as greyscale and configure the rip to keep black pure. I run three different rips in my shop and all three can be configured this way. I say you should find someone who does their own profiling or at least knows their rip better.

 

[Rooster]

Sounds like you need a new print supplier.

If your print supplier can't print a neutral grayscale with CMY inks they shouldn't be your printer.

 

[eye4clr]

Sounds like you need a new print supplier.

If your print supplier can't print a neutral grayscale with CMY inks they shouldn't be your printer.

+1

 

[Malkin]

Sounds like you need a new print supplier.

If your print supplier can't print a neutral grayscale with CMY inks they shouldn't be your printer.

Can you print a gray using CMY that appears neutral under both florescent lights & outside under a blue sky?

 

[eye4clr]

Can you print a gray using CMY that appears neutral under both florescent lights & outside under a blue sky?

Does the K only "grey" actually look neutral under either light source?

If you're really on your color game, you can get CMY to adapt to a custom light source. Well....most light sources anyway.

 

[Malkin]

Does the K only "grey" actually look neutral under either light source?

If you're really on your color game, you can get CMY to adapt to a custom light source. Well....most light sources anyway.

Eh.. not exactly, it does tend to be a little warmish. The only real advantage is that it doesn't tend to color shift so badly when the light changes.

For our purposes it's acceptable in most cases.

 

[Rooster]

Can you print a gray using CMY that appears neutral under both florescent lights & outside under a blue sky?

When I run into metamaric color shifts, I just call up the target data and create a new profile that contains more GCR and uses it earlier in the K generation curve.

Black only grayscale prints look anemic and washed out. They need a color booster to get a decent D-max.