To preface why I’m writing this blog, one of my first post-college jobs was working as a pre-press tech in a print shop before later moving into graphic design for the better part of a decade. I’ve sent hundreds, if not thousands, of print jobs to printers all over the world. I learned much of what I know on the job and while the experience was often “do it wrong three times before getting it right”, during that time I became very comfortable with various print processes ranging from film-based offset to digital offset to pure digital to large-format printing. All of these styles require slightly different know-how (particularly early digital offset) and I immersed myself into every one of them because that was my job and I enjoy researching (obsessing over) the “right” way to do things.
So, as you’re probably aware by now, I decided to start up a webcomic a few months ago and I’ve been mulling around various forums, listening to podcasts, and getting to know a few of my fellow comickers to really get a feel for what works and what doesn’t within the industry. One thing has popped up that surprised me. I heard it in a podcast and then I heard it repeated in another podcast, and then I saw it repeated on multiple forums.
It was the line “work in CMYK while coloring”. I have something to say in regards to this:
It’s wrong.
Well, it’s not ENTIRELY wrong. But mostly, yeah, it’s just wrong. As someone who has used Photoshop since version 2.0, I know nearly every nook and cranny of the program. While working in CMYK is not quite as taboo as it once was in the program, there are still a bevy of reasons to not do it. I’ll try to explain a few reasons below.
1. You’re working in the additive color spectrum. On a monitor, your display is in RGB, an additive system. This means that when you combine all three colors, you get white. CMYK is a subtractive color system, meaning that when you combine all colors, you get black (in theory, reality is more a really really dark brown, aka “rich black”). With this in mind, remember that no monitor will exactly display a subtractive system. In the print business, highly specialized equipment is purchased to adjust monitors to compensate for this discrepency and unless you want to spend $150 or more on one of these color matching systems (typically in the form of a suction cup color calibrator that attaches to your monitor or an ambient light sensor such as the Pantone Huey), you’re better off staying away from CMYK. Also, it’s good to have a set of Pantone swatch books alongside you to reference color palettes versus what you’re seeing on screen. Those start at about $100 and are offered in a myriad of styles (Coated, Uncoated, Spot, etc.) based on the requirements of that particular print job. It quickly gets expensive and when you’re painting in multiple tones, hues, and shades, there is no way to predict with 100% certainty that what you’re viewing on-screen is what will be output by your printer.
2. Photoshop isn’t really made to work in CMYK. Go ahead, open a file and switch it over to CMYK. Then start looking through your adjustment options, filters, and other peripheral menus in Photoshop. You’ll probably notice that several of them are now greyed out. That’s because Adobe themselves recommend that you work in RGB while in Photoshop. The program simply isn’t designed to give you its full power while in a subtractive color system. Go ahead and test it. Create a document in RGB and then copy that image over to a CMYK document. With both of these images side-by-side on your monitor, start playing around with the color adjustments. You will see that the RGB palette will react far more predictably with truer colors than the CMYK image, which will have the tendency to really muck up your image’s color palette. Don’t believe me on this but don’t want to take the time to test it yourself? Then check out this blog from Jason Brubaker, the creator of reMIND. He plays around with RGB and CMYK images side-by-side so show the differences. He also happens to be one of the best webcomickers on the Internet when it comes to artistic technique and color.
3. You just kicked your color palette in the nuts and your product is a WEBCOMIC. Why would you do this to yourself? CMYK has its limitations, as red and blue are *not* colors in the system, replaced by their slightly inbred cousins, magenta and cyan. Create a document in CMYK and choose the brightest red possible. Fill half your document with this color. Switch the document’s mode over to RGB and then, using that very *same* red (in other words, don’t move the slider), fill the other half of the document. Notice a difference? Yeah, that’s just one small part of the palette you lost by deciding to work in CMYK. First and foremost, your product is a webcomic, made to be displayed on a computer monitor. Don’t restrict your color palette to appease a process that you will only need down the line, particularly after you realize this next point…
4. Photoshop is fantastic! You can color adjust to avoid muddy colors when readying your document for print! Here is just one tutorial that explains one method of converting your colors so that everything doesn’t turn into a dreary mess upon printing. There are other methods as well, just Google around for them. In a pinch, there are also several handy tools under the “View” menu in Adobe’s flagship program that will give you a quick view and rough approximation of what to expect from your image after a conversion to CMYK. On top of all of this, some printers don’t even print in CMYK anymore. Courtesy of digital printing, the entire process can be run using RGB and several printers are switching to these systems, particularly on short run print jobs. They’re much less expensive than the traditional offset style of printing, which require expensive presses, film, and a qualified pressman to operate it all. All of this is dependent on your printer so remember to check with them and ask them what works best with their setup. Obviously, mileage may vary.
5. But what about my inks? When you convert an image to CMYK using Photoshop’s default settings, you’re going to get a “rich black”, a black that uses 90% or more of every color instead of using only a 100% black fill with no other colors. Why is this important? Well, because of offset printing and its slight inaccuracies. In a photograph, you’ll want that rich black, as it gives a deeper tone to the black and given that ink is partially transparent, you won’t see any underlying colors. In a photo, a little plate shift isn’t noticeable but in fine inking (or text, but more on that later) where precision and sharp lines are a requirement, it’s more readily evident when a press isn’t calibrated perfectly. Black is the last color printed on any offset press and that means your black ink lays over the top of all other inks. If you’re using all four colors to generate a rich black, any printer inaccuracy will result in a dreaded plate shift, which causes your printed image to resemble a 3D movie screen from the 1950s (if you removed the glasses, that is). To overcome this, you can set your black at 100% to lay over the top of your other colors nicely and then plate shift won’t be a problem. Doing this is very simple: Go to Edit>Color Settings and then “Custom CMYK”. Change your Black to Maximum and then convert your image to CMYK. Bang, done. If you’re really paranoid about it, you can do this to your ink layer in a separate document and then just paste it on top of your colors in another document. There are negatives to both methods of black separation so, again, it’s best to check with your printer and work with them through the process. A better solution to either of the previous options is to create a partial rich black using 100% black and ~60% magenta but if you want to experiment with that, Google around to find solutions. Black separation is a topic unto itself, really.
5a. But what about my text? It needs to be 100% black as well, right? You shouldn’t be writing your body copy in Photoshop. Shame on you. Go find a copy of Illustrator and do all your text work in that program. InDesign would also work for this, should you feel more comfortable in that program. Use the right tools for the right job, damn it! Photoshop is not a layout program. Do your layouts in a program specifically made to handle the requirements of text. Illustrator can run circles around Photoshop when it comes to text and vector objects so use it.
6. Still not convinced? Well, I don’t know what to tell ya. Converting to CMYK (if you need it) should be one of the last steps in your painting or drawing. Up until the very end, you should be working in RGB to take advantage of your full color palette, Photoshop’s full complement of filters and adjustment tools, and the very nature of your computer monitor (and your readers’ monitors), which displays it all in the additive color spectrum.
So that’s that. Adobe will allow you to work in CMYK and while some people believe it’s the way to do things, it’s really not. You’re seriously hampering your ability to create the best webcomic possible by not catering to its primary method of display, the computer monitor. Poke around various print websites, such as the fantastic Printer National website. On that site, you will find explanations, tips, and tricks to make your printed product as good as it can be, all without cramping your RGB-lovin’ style through the first 90% of the coloring process.
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