I find that, when I have Color Management set to "Optimized for Professional Output," my photo images in both Draw and Paint look subdued and low contrast, a bit washed out even. But in the Default color setting, the images look true to life and match what I see in my browser when downloading them from the stock photo site I use.
On the other hand, in the Professional Output setting, any vector fills look normal and, in Default mode, they look unusually harsh.
When I output my layout to PDF, the resulting images maintain the low contrast appearance they had in Draw even when viewed in Acrobat. This is a concern. Before X4, I never had to play with the Color Management settings, and I always got what I saw on screen -- true-to-life images.
I recently produced some business cards that, after being printed, more closely match the Default color management setting than they do the Pro Output setting.
HELP! I've got a major job to complete. I have no idea how my images will look on press.
Sponge:I find that, when I have Color Management set to "Optimized for Professional Output," my photo images in both Draw and Paint look subdued and low contrast, a bit washed out even
They shouldn't look completely vivid, since they point of the utility is to simulate what ink on paper will look like later If you are using Draw for Professional Output.
As for PDF's?
None of the PDF modes with a slash after it create PDF's with RGB images correctly when native is selected in color mgmt.
I discovered that the yellow combinations below do not work for RGB bitmaps. Try my test and report back with your findings.
Jeff Harrison MacroMonster.com Daily Diversion Blog
"Optimized for Professional Output" show colors in CMYK mode, for printing. Also, most of the PDF presets are for Press or Pre-press. If you want to use for web, you must setup yor Color Manager on RGB mode, as older versions. You will see similiar color than a web browser or a photo stock softwre. But remember that you can't use RGB color mode for print.
RGB mode uses 16.8 million colors, CMYK have only 64.000. Of course, RGB looks better, but ALL printing companies works on CMYK. For this reason, you must use only CMYK for print and only RGB for web.
Color corection is too big for explain in a few words. David Milisock has a complete book about Color Management and Foster Coburn has also an important guide for CorelDRAW (The CorelDRAW Unleashed book).
The best way is to correct the images with a "right" program (PhotoPaint, Photoshop, PaintShopPro), before place on CorelDRAW. A simple workaround, if you have made all settings correctly in the Color Manager, is to import the images on RGB and change the mode on the Bitmap menu. Also, you can "convert to Bitmap" once again (altough it sounds redundant) and choose "apply color profile". You will see less color changes, but allways loose something. There's not an "automatic and perfect" change, because not all photos have the same problems or the same settings.
One more thing:
Sponge:the images look true to life and match what I see in my browser when downloading them from the stock photo site I use.
Take care if you use a photo downloaded from internet, no matter if it's a stock photo site. Most of them have extremely low resolution (72 dpi), good for web and monitors, but useless for print. Also, most of those photos are on RGB color, and sometimes with a high color saturation. Check all you photos before to send your document to print
Ariel Garaza Díaz
arielgaraza.com
I'll try your suggestions. The photos I am downloading come from Shutterstock. They are high-res (300 dpi) and taken by professionals. They are saved in RGB, of course.
Thank you for the care you put into your answers. I have worked in graphic design for many years, so I fully understand when to work in RGB vs. CMYK. The issue is that the images look great when opened in the default color setting, but they look bad under pro output. I know paper can absorb ink, but not to that degree. Especially coated stocks.
Before X4, I never worried about my ouput not matching what I saw on screen. Now I worry. Printing a job and then having to rerun it is an expensive problem. If I leave the mode in Default, photos look fine but all vector elements look like they are flourescent - overly bright and unreal looking.
What version of CorelDRAW?
What work flow are you using, RGB, Press print, Ink Jet print, Mixed?
I use these settings in CorelDRAW X3 and X4 Internal RGB Set to Adobe RGB, sRGB is fine is that's the source space of your images. Double click the RGB icon and set rendering intent to perceptual, color engine of Kodak is fine. Both Draw and Photo-PAINT.
Activate arrow from internal RGB to the monitor and to the separations printer, set the CMYK profile to U.S. Coated sheet fed if its sheet fed work in North America. Web coated or uncoated or sheet fed uncoated if that's the work flow.
Print work run in CMYK mode - web work run in RGB mode and make sure that you use sRGB as the internal RGB. for web or presentation work.
A custom monitor profile is best if you can make one. This should help you.
Make sure that you work with CMYK images, vectors color pallets for cmyk work, spot color for spot color , RGB for presentation and web. Only uses expanded gamut ink jet work (mixed color models and pallets if you understand how. Can be messy.
A full explanation of Corel Color Management is available in my book at www.graphictechnology.com
David Milisock
I am using X4. Thanks for the tips. I will try to find where these are set. Should my settings affect how the PDF looks when displayed on other peoples' PCs under Acrobat? I'm hearing from them that my images look like hell.
Below is an approximation of what I am seeing between the two settings.
Sponge:Should my settings affect how the PDF looks when displayed on other peoples' PCs under Acrobat? I'm hearing from them that my images look like hell.
Yes the setting I gave you will help ONLY IF THEY WERE USED DURING THE CONVERSIONS FROM RGB TO CMYK.
If they have Acrobat Pro they should set the CM setting to match those used in yoru Corel document, if they have reader they get sRGB like u tor not.
David,
Thanks for the advice. When I adjusted the settings in Paint, the CMYK image became muddy and desaturated, the same problem I've had using the Pro Output setting.
One thing I've noticed ... my layout is two pages and has about 5 photos. The only one that comes out muddy when converting to PDF is the cover shot. The other images look perfectly fine. The cover shot is a 300 dpi CMYK uncompressed TIF.
Sponge:The only one that comes out muddy when converting to PDF is the cover shot.
Go into CorelDRAW and make sure what color model the original image is in. Then convert it to CMYK in the application before making the PDF.
If the image is way out of gamut it may require some color correcting.
Okay ... I found that if I convert the CMYK image in Draw to RGB, then create the PDF with the prepress preset (to get CMYK output), the resulting image looks like it should. A strange workaround, but I'm glad it works.
Can you please send that particular image to me at davidmilisock@graphictechnology.com ?