CMYK images too dark

[Highwekkgull]

Has anyone got a reasonable solution for creating graphics for print in Gimp (in my case book covers and photos inside the book) and they look great in RGb but when converted to CMYK for the printers they come out too dark and/or dull?

[rich2005]

(03-20-2024, 02:50 PM)Highwekkgull Wrote: Has anyone got a reasonable solution for creating graphics for print in Gimp (in my case book covers and photos inside the book) and they look great in RGb but when converted to CMYK for the printers they come out too dark and/or dull?

First the dull colour issue. This a quote from one of those rgb<>cmyk conversion sites.

Some RGB colors that you can see on your monitor (in particular, blue, green and all bright vibrant colors) cannot be printed and/or replicated with standard CMYK inks. Keep in mind that, when creating a file for print, you should always make the original file in CMYK color mode before starting to work on it.

No way of getting around that, unless you take some precautions such as not using bright colours your RGB image is muted to a certain degree.

You can get a preview using Gimp - soft proofing. As a comparison, and a bit over-the-top. Lots of out-of-gamut colours that I 'fixed' using colour curves but View -> Color Management -> Proof does give some idea of how your RGB image will print. This one does actually print better than shown, all depends on the printing company.

   

Next is hardware. To be correct the monitor should be color profiled. This tends to be expensive unless you are keen / a professional. There are a couple of simple checks you can do. See: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori...ration.htm  The Adjusting Brightness & Contrast section. If using a laptop, most are way too bright by default and what is printed seems dull in comparison.