Image looks ‘foggy’ when exported as CMYK jpeg from Photoshop

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I’m editing an image for print and I’ve got it all set up how I want in Photoshop (cs5), but when I go to File > Save as > Jpeg (quality 12, Baseline standard) the colours all seem duller and there seems to be a ‘fog’ over the image. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it but the image is A2 at 300dpi, any ideas why this is happening and how to prevent it?

I’ve attached a screenshot of the problem below, on the left is the image in Photoshop, and on the right is the ‘foggy’ image when exported as a jpeg.

I’ve also found that if I set the image > mode > RGB (it was CMYK before) the problem goes away.. but I’m printing this on a printer that specifies CMYK.. so I’ve half solved the problem, any idea how to get this to export correctly in CMYK?

foggy image

Answer

Printers, unless you have a full press with inkwells and rollers you clean, do NOT work with CMYK data. Every end user printer on the market expects and needs to see RGB data. Even many high-end “digital presses” expect to be sent RGB data.

What happens..

  • You send data to the printer
  • If that data is RGB, the printer converts the RGB to CMYK based on it’s profile settings, then outputs.
  • If that data is CMYK the printer doesn’t understand the data, so it assumes/converts it to RGB data, then converts it to CMYK based on it’s profiles. Then outputs. You get a double color conversion this way which almost always changes color values.

I have never seen an end user printer on the market which requires, recommends, or expects you to send it CMYK data, even the most expensive, professional, end user printers want to see RGB data. You may want to check the user manual for your printer.

This is why, as you added, “the problem goes away” if you send the printer RGB data.

The comments don’t make a great deal of sense. If the “print shop” specifies they need a CMYK image, then send them the correct CMYK image. But then JPG is an inappropriate format for CMYK. If you must send a CMYK image, save it as a .tif or .pdf and send that. Basically you’re mixing and matching color spaces and formats in ways that will almost always yield undesirable results. If jpg, then RGB. If CMYK then tif.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : sam , Answer Author : Scott

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