How to manage colours in Photoshop

[Rss Bot 1]

Colour management is a huge topic. While it isn't something we'll be able to completely master in one sitting, this article will provide a great overview for users who are new to colour management, with practical advice for managing colours in Photoshop.

• Get Adobe Creative Cloud

On this page, we'll show you how to convert your images from RGB to CMYK mode, and the effect this will have on the colours within your image. Jump to page 2 to find out how to customise your colour settings to suit your particular needs. 

Finally, on page 3 we'll show you how to sync your colour profile across all of your Adobe CC apps, add a particular colour profile provided by your printer, and preview a CMYK version of your design without losing any RGB information.

How to convert RGB to CMYK

When we're working on images at our computers, we are looking at the RGB (red green blue) colour space. In RGB we have access to many more colours than we do when we're going to output for print. When we're printing our images, we have access to cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK, where the 'K' stands for 'key').

When you start off with a document that's in RGB mode and you convert to CMYK, you're definitely going to lose some of the colours and some of the vividness inside that image. The reason that this happens is because the RGB colour space has many more colours than CMYK. One way to avoid this is by using Photoshop's native colour management system.

Let's take a look at what happens when we convert an RGB image to CMYK for print.

01. Find your image mode

Changing from RGB to CMYK is easy (Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image)

To reset your colour mode from RGB to CMYK in Photoshop, you need to go to Image > Mode. Here you'll find your colour options, and you can simply select CMYK. 

02. Note your colour profile

Photoshop's warning pop-up will tell you the precise CMYK colour profile it's about to use

Once you do that, Photoshop will give you a warning letting you know that you are about to convert to CMYK using the specific profile that will be listed in the warning. The warning lets you know that this may not be what you intend to do and it even shows you where you can go to choose the correct profile. 

03. Implement the change

Once you click OK you should see a slight shift in colour. You are now in the CMYK colour space. Were you able to see the difference in vibrancy and the reduction in colours? It might be a subtle change, depending on your monitor. Hit the arrow icons above to compare the two images.

Try this out on a couple of different images to see the results you get. This will allow you to get familiar with the changes. One thing that is unavoidable is a shift in colour when you're going from RGB to CMYK. In some cases the change will be more dramatic than others, so be prepared for that.

Next page: Adjust your colour settings

Now you're getting familiar with the conversion, here's how to have more control when converting from RGB to CMYK. For the very best result, you need to adjust your colour profile according to the particular printer, ink and paper you're using.

The best practice is to get a colour management profile from your printer then install it on your machine and sync it up with the rest of your applications – you can find out how to do that on page 3.

However, if you don't have that information, the following are the standard settings that will work in many situations.

01. Find your colour settings

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

To have full control over the conversion you want to find your colour settings, which you'll find under the Edit menu at the top of your screen (or use the keyboard shortcut cmd+shift+K).

02. Explore the standard options

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

If this is your first time opening the colour settings, assuming no-one has made any changes, you are now looking at the standard colour settings. These settings will work in most cases – however, if you are going to send your artwork to a commercial printer, you would want to ask which specific colour setting they would like you to go with. 

If you're new to colour settings, this window might seem a bit intimidating. Let's take a look at the main settings you want to look at.

03. Choose a specific region

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

Starting at the top, you have a Settings section. If you click on the drop-down menu you'll find different settings. Choose your specific region. 

04. Select an RGB colour space

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

Next, you want to look at the RGB colour space that you will be converting from. There's not just one RGB colour space, you actually have many to choose from. You could test them out to find the one that works best for your particular monitor and workflow, but it's fine to leave it as-is.

05. Select a CMYK colour space

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

Next you want to look at the CMYK colour space that you will be converting to. The same rules apply as when choosing the correct RGB colour space. 

06. Explore conversion options

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

The last major setting to look at is going to be inside of your conversion options. Click on the drop-down menu for Intent and you'll see four different options. 

The one that works best the majority of the time is Relative Colorimetric, but make sure to try the other ones to see if they work better for your particular workflow. Remember if you're not sure which one to go with, just leave it as-is or ask your printer for their suggestion.

Next page: Final tips

There are a few final things you need to know about colour management in Photoshop. In this final section, we'll show you how to sync your colour settings across all your Adobe apps, add a new colour profile provided by your printer, and preview a CMYK version of an RGB image.

01. Sync your settings across apps

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

Once you get that set up, you want to use Adobe Bridge to sync up all of your applications with the same colour settings. That way you have the same experience between Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. 

To do this all you have to do is launch Adobe Bridge, at the top of the application, then select Edit > Color Settings. You can then choose which setting you want to sync across all your applications. Then click Apply and that will take care of everything for you – you're all synced up and ready to rock.

02. Add a new profile provided by your printer

Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image

If your printer is able to provide you with the appropriate colour settings for their materials and machines, this is great. To bring them into your applications, first bring up your colour settings, and in the top right, hit the Load option. This will enable you to search for the new profile provided by your printer. 

Then select the correct profile, choose Open and you will see it loaded into your colour settings. Click OK to accept this change and you are good to go. You can also create new colour settings and save them for future use.

03. Preview a CMYK version

If you want to keep your document and RGB workspace but you want to see what it looks like when you print it out, go into the View menu and choose proof colours. This will allow you to see the CMYK conversion without losing any of the RGB information. 

Some advantages of working in RGB is that file size will be smaller, and you'll be able to access all of the editing features in Photoshop.

About Pluralsight

Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified, end to end learning experience for businesses across the globe. Through a subscription service, companies are empowered to move at the speed of technology, increasing proficiency, innovation and efficiency. For a free trial and more information, visit www.pluralsight.com.

Read more:

• 100 brilliant print adverts
• Create special print finishes in InDesign
• The designer's guide to printing a poster

View the full article