Printing / Exporting shows different colours to those in scribus

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owweeee

Hi I'm relatively new to Scribus. I created some business cards for a charity I volunteer for and when I print them out or export them for printing the colours are darker and duller (see pdf for printing) then the ones in the original document, or exported to use on the web (see pdf for web).

I think the problem might be because of RGB/CMYK differences, but I'm not sure how to get around it.

Thanks

Owen

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utnik

hi owen

some of your colors aren't printable in a regular cmyk process.
either you work wit spot colors (expensive), or you live with the limitations of process colors.

activate the color management and let scribus simulate the printer colors...

utni

owweeee

Damn.

Thank you, Could you or anybody recommend somewhere online that can help me choose suitable process colours.

mnawij


utnik

hi mnawij

i don't think a pantone color conversion book is what owen needs – he will have the same experience as with the 'rgb to cmyk' conversion. (many of the most brilliant colors will change do dull printable 'equivalents'...)

@owen:

if you are working in a real cmyk process, you could define your colors in cmyk. then you don't need to convert anything – you just can't define unprintable values...

utnik

mnawij

Hey Utnik,

My understanding was that he was looking for a solution... the only solution is to choose CMYK values to begin with when designing to match across multiple color spectrums with print being one of the mediums, unless I misunderstood his question. *shrug* I could be wrong...

@owweeee:  Let me know if you are looking for something different and I would be glad to assist.

mnawij

a.l.e

hoi mnawij

as far as i know, the only way for a good approximation of the colors that will be printed, is to (correctly) enable the color management.

using CMYK colors in scribus will only help, if your goal is to avoid using colors that are not printable at all (except if your picking the cmyk colors from a printed catalog or from the corporate identity guidelines).
but on the monitor you will always see an RGB representation of the CMYK color. and without CMS that will or not reliably match what you will get from the printer.
simply using CMYK colors probably will not really help if you want to avoid dull colors...

and if you really want a good matching, you'll probably also need to calibrate the monitor...

utnik

the best way (if expenses and work don't matter) is a calibrated reliable graphic monitor and an active color management with the correct profiles.

to keep it more realistic:

       
  • activate color management ('preferences' → 'color management' → 'activate color management')
  • simulate printer on the screen (same place)
  • set the correct profiles – if you don't know which to use, ask your print shop (or use some standard cmyk profile first...)
  • define your colors in cmyk
  • if you work with a spot color systems like 'pantone', take care to use colors with a matching cmyk equivalent (just a subset of the 'pantone' system...)
most operating system come with a basic monitor calibration tool.
even without any calibration, the results will be more reliable by following the steps i mentioned above.

utnik

Nermander

Quote from: owweeee on January 23, 2017, 05:00:04 PM
Hi I'm relatively new to Scribus. I created some business cards for a charity I volunteer for and when I print them out or export them for printing the colours are darker and duller (see pdf for printing) then the ones in the original document, or exported to use on the web (see pdf for web).

First point: The settings in Scribus are misleading.

Export for web is fully usable for printing, the differece is simply that "for web" is RGB and "for print" is CMYK.

If your printer does not require CMYK, don't use CMYK (at least not without your printer's color profile).

utnik

nermander is right – as long as the cards wont be printed in a real cmyk process.
...but even an office printer which requires rgb files will print in cmyk. so the non printable colors will be modified. (the cmyk space isn't as brilliant as real rgb on screen!)

utnik

Nermander

If the cards are to be printed on a CMYK printer, the conversion from RGB to CMYK needs to be done using the color profile of the printer.

I also think that most printing companies who handle this kind of printing usually have their whole workflow adapted to that clients send in RGB PDF:s.

utnik

Quote from: Nermander on January 28, 2017, 04:32:42 PM...I also think that most printing companies who handle this kind of printing usually have their whole workflow adapted to that clients send in RGB PDF:s.

yes, but then you run in the problem with the dull colors. (see the opening post!)
that's why i recommend to use printable colors right from the start.

utnik