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Applications => Adobe Photoshop => Topic started by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 09:58:22 AM

Title: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 09:58:22 AM
Does anyone know how to retain the blacks while converting to profile?
I'm wondering if there is a way to make a pdf of a photoshop file
and converting in Acrobat and retaining blacks
so far nothing has worked.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 10:13:40 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 09:58:22 AMDoes anyone know how to retain the blacks while converting to profile?
I'm wondering if there is a way to make a pdf of a photoshop file
and converting in Acrobat and retaining blacks
so far nothing has worked.

You mean something that is C0 M0 Y0 K100 is converting to something else? In your PDF job options, I think if you set it like this it should stay 100% black.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: David on August 10, 2011, 10:19:16 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 09:58:22 AMDoes anyone know how to retain the blacks while converting to profile?
I'm wondering if there is a way to make a pdf of a photoshop file
and converting in Acrobat and retaining blacks
so far nothing has worked.
what profile are you coming from and going to?
If it's doing it's job correctly, it will convert the black as well as the cmy. Why do you not want the black to change?
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 10:56:20 AM
Sorry I wasn't clear
I have a flattened jpg with images and 100 black text
converting to profile for high ink density
converts the 100% black text into cmyk
I know this has always been a problem
just wondering if acrobat can convert it without affecting the black text
prolly not tho
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 10:58:59 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 10:56:20 AMSorry I wasn't clear
I have a flattened jpg with images and 100 black text
converting to profile for high ink density
converts the 100% black text into cmyk
I know this has always been a problem
just wondering if acrobat can convert it without affecting the black text
prolly not tho

What happens using the settings I posted above?
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:08:41 AM
Ill check it out
kind of a freak out going on right now
I'll check back later
thanks guys!
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: David on August 10, 2011, 11:11:13 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 10:56:20 AMSorry I wasn't clear
I have a flattened jpg with images and 100 black text
...
just wondering if acrobat can convert it without affecting the black text

from my dusty memory, a jpg is an image, and there can't be any "text".
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:12:08 AM
I'm guessing she meant "words" in the image. :laugh:
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Farabomb on August 10, 2011, 11:14:38 AM
I thought we weren't allowed to retain blacks after the emancipation proclamation.

Oh wait, this is something totally different.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Sabrina The Turd Polisher on August 10, 2011, 11:17:50 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on August 10, 2011, 11:14:38 AMI thought we weren't allowed to retain blacks after the emancipation proclamation.

Oh wait, this is something totally different.
I've been giggling in my head since I've seen this thread "is this a human resources thread"?  :laugh:
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: David on August 10, 2011, 11:18:59 AM
if you do have a jpeg, is the text you want to keep as 100 k out in an open area where you can marquee select it and the give it a push curve to make it 100 black again, and then delete the cmy out of it?
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:24:22 AM
Quote from: david on August 10, 2011, 11:18:59 AMif you do have a jpeg, is the text you want to keep as 100 k out in an open area where you can marquee select it and the give it a push curve to make it 100 black again, and then delete the cmy out of it?
I wouldn't go thru that much trouble :laugh:, seeing as part of the spread has 4 color black "text"
Just seeing if this is a solvable problem.

Joe where is that screen shot you posted?
in acro?
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Ear on August 10, 2011, 11:26:14 AM
Quote from: Joe on August 10, 2011, 10:13:40 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 09:58:22 AMDoes anyone know how to retain the blacks while converting to profile?
I'm wondering if there is a way to make a pdf of a photoshop file
and converting in Acrobat and retaining blacks
so far nothing has worked.

You mean something that is C0 M0 Y0 K100 is converting to something else? In your PDF job options, I think if you set it like this it should stay 100% black.

Taking this setting and idea one step further... you can change the CMYK setting to Custom in this dialog box, at which point it will open up another box where you can really screw things up. You can change Black Generation to Maximum, which will make that "text" 100% black with no under color. Unfortunately, it will do scary things to the colored parts too and don't forget to switch it back to Medium before you open another project.

Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:27:51 AM
Up in post #2.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Ear on August 10, 2011, 11:29:09 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:24:22 AM
Quote from: david on August 10, 2011, 11:18:59 AMif you do have a jpeg, is the text you want to keep as 100 k out in an open area where you can marquee select it and the give it a push curve to make it 100 black again, and then delete the cmy out of it?
I wouldn't go thru that much trouble :laugh:, seeing as part of the spread has 4 color black "text"
Just seeing if this is a solvable problem.

Joe where is that screen shot you posted?
in acro?

Okay, Joe's screenshot wasn't from Photoshop, so my post is a little misleading. The way I got to my conversion was in Photoshop>Edit>Color Settings>Working Spaces>CMYK>Custom CMYK.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:33:08 AM
Joe i was wondering where in acro your screenshot came from not the thread :grin:

Im attaching my screen shot of my profile
when I convert to this in photoshop the 100% blacks convert to cmyk
and ear, yeah I don't want to mess with UCR
i don't think there is a fix in photoshop for this. no big tho.
see my screen shot below
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:34:28 AM
here is the profile with the settings
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:35:26 AM
Quote from: Earendil on August 10, 2011, 11:29:09 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:24:22 AM
Quote from: david on August 10, 2011, 11:18:59 AMif you do have a jpeg, is the text you want to keep as 100 k out in an open area where you can marquee select it and the give it a push curve to make it 100 black again, and then delete the cmy out of it?
I wouldn't go thru that much trouble :laugh:, seeing as part of the spread has 4 color black "text"
Just seeing if this is a solvable problem.

Joe where is that screen shot you posted?
in acro?

Okay, Joe's screenshot wasn't from Photoshop, so my post is a little misleading. The way I got to my conversion was in Photoshop>Edit>Color Settings>Working Spaces>CMYK>Custom CMYK.

If I understand the problem, and it's quite possible I don't, the jpeg in Photoshop already has words that are K100 but when she makes the PDF it is converting it to a CMYK mix.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:37:09 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:33:08 AMJoe i was wondering where in acro your screenshot came from not the thread :grin:

Im attaching my screen shot of my profile
when I convert to this in photoshop the 100% blacks convert to cmyk
and ear, yeah I don't want to mess with UCR
i don't think there is a fix in photoshop for this. no big tho.
see my screen shot below

If the image already has type that are C0 M0 Y0 K100 why are you doing a conversion on it?
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:38:19 AM
for ink density, Im converting to profile and then all the 100% blacks  convert to cmyk too.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:39:33 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:33:08 AMJoe i was wondering where in acro your screenshot came from not the thread :grin:

That screen shot was from Distiller showing PDF output options. Here is the one from Photoshop (PDF output options).
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:45:08 AM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:38:19 AMfor ink density, Im converting to profile and then all the 100% blacks  convert to cmyk too.

I'm not a big fan for CMYK ===> CMYK conversions and doing it will do exactly what you are seeing with the type. I prefer to use the Selective Color correction and select the black as the source and then subtracting the CMY and black if necessary. The following screen shot shows how to change C100 M100 Y100 K100 to C60 M40 Y40 K100 (just an example of how it works). Most of the time you will not see visible difference in the rest of the image as Selective Color is restricting it to the blacks only.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:47:07 AM
yeah Im thinking there is no solution to the problem
except if people would quit creating text in photoshop
and then flattening
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:51:47 AM
I was hoping this would work but it doesnt

Create a pdf and then in Acro try to convert

I think Ear has it right it could cause a lot of problems
when converting in photoshop with the UCR
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Joe on August 10, 2011, 11:59:15 AM
Selective Color works for the ink density problem. See above post.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: DCurry on August 10, 2011, 12:27:19 PM
Quote from: Earendil on August 10, 2011, 11:26:14 AMTaking this setting and idea one step further... you can change the CMYK setting to Custom in this dialog box, at which point it will open up another box where you can really screw things up. You can change Black Generation to Maximum, which will make that "text" 100% black with no under color. Unfortunately, it will do scary things to the colored parts too and don't forget to switch it back to Medium before you open another project.

You can make an ICC profile out of the Max Black Generation settings, and then you simply do a Convert To Profile. This way, you don't have to remember to change your CMYK settings back to whatever they originally were and you can do the conversion anytime in the future without touching your CMYK setup.

I often will then apply a trap of 1-2 pixels after doing this, since any black text that is surrounded by color will now be knocked out.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Dawn on August 10, 2011, 12:55:45 PM
In Acrobat I use the Advanced tab and then use the convert colors. I use the setting of Gray Gamma 1.8. This converts my rgb or cmyk images to gray scale and lets my 100% black type as 100% black.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Ear on August 10, 2011, 01:04:56 PM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 11:51:47 AMI was hoping this would work but it doesnt

Create a pdf and then in Acro try to convert

I think Ear has it right it could cause a lot of problems
when converting in photoshop with the UCR

Ya, I wasn't talking about UCR. I was leaving it at GCR, but changing the Black Generation to Maximum, ad DCurry is talking about. Still, it does a strange Sep. And as far as CMYK to CMYK... not so much. You can go CMYK to RGB then back to CMYK, as long as you have it set to Assign Profile as opposed to Convert to Profile but going CMYK to LAB then back to CMYK is the better option, if you must.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 01:44:32 PM
alright I will try all of these
Sorry Im so spasy today :laugh:
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: swampymarsh on October 19, 2014, 05:06:57 PM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 10:56:20 AMSorry I wasn't clear
I have a flattened jpg with images and 100 black text
converting to profile for high ink density
converts the 100% black text into cmyk
I know this has always been a problem
just wondering if acrobat can convert it without affecting the black text
prolly not tho


In later versions of Photoshop, in convert to profile (advanced), one can convert a CMYK file using a DeviceLink Profile, which will go directly from CMYK to CMYK, bypassing the standard ICC profile PCS (which is why the K channel is lost). The caveat being that the DLP has to be setup to retain the original K channel and that you have to get your hands on or create a DLP in the first place.

The Acrobat Pro Convert Colours "Preserve..." feature only works on vector text/objects (not raster images or vector gradients).

PitStop Pro can apply a DLP to only vector objects, however with the Acrobat Pro "convert options, preserve" one can create an end result similar to using a DLP. To apply a DLP to an image in Acrobat Pro, one would have to use the touch up image tool and then use Photoshop.

P.S.: If you can make a clean selection/mask of the K only "text" (perhaps starting with the K channel), then it is possible to keep it at 100K only using a standard ICC conversion inside Photoshop. One can use the channel mixer adjustment layer, set to monochrome, with 0%cmy and 200%k.
Title: Re: Retaining Blacks
Post by: mattbeals on October 23, 2014, 10:50:05 PM
Quote from: Tracy on August 10, 2011, 10:56:20 AMSorry I wasn't clear
I have a flattened jpg with images and 100 black text
converting to profile for high ink density
converts the 100% black text into cmyk
I know this has always been a problem
just wondering if acrobat can convert it without affecting the black text
prolly not tho

you need a device link profile that is specifically configured to do that. That's the easiest way. You can try to convert to RGB/LAB, then back to CMYK using Perceptual rendering intent.