Photoshop CS2 Colour Seperation

If that doesn't help, could you elaborate on what you are starting with and what the printer wants?

um, there is a little more to proper color seperation than just changing the mode to cmyk. It would help to get some more information from cmdown though.

sorry for the delay in replying.

These images are raw image files saved as TIFF or JPG.  Printer requires CYMK seperation in order to produce large posters from images.

First, are they RGB, Index, Monochromatic, etc.? second, any printer worth patronizing should be able to do a color separation/convert to CMYK as good as, or better than anything we would recommend.

Unless your budget is really low, I suggest finding a better printer.

Regardless, do you have Photoshop? The gimp?

Careful...  "raw image" is a term for a specific file type with a specific type of data in it. jpeg, and tiff are NOT raw image formats.

If you need to include your separations in a single image file, TIFF is a layered format, so TIFF will be acceptable. JPEG will not be. In order to do a jpeg separation would would need to send 4 files for a four color process separation.

So, that link i sent... to that article... explaining all about color separations... That is what you need... Let me a digg up another tutorial... What are these separations FOR? Screen print?

<<JPEG will not be. In order to do a jpeg separation would would need to send 4 files for a four color process separation. >>

WHAT??? I disagree with this completely. JPEG allows for CMYK separation no problem. Not sure where you got that idea.

A CMYK jpg is not a CMYK separation. The key word being "separation".

Dude, you are splitting hairs.

I truly do not believe a printer is going to ask anyone to separate an image so that each color channel is saved out as a separate, monochromatic image, which actually WOULD be true color separation. If they were, four monochromatic images of each of the four colors in JPEG format could easily fill that requirement so I still don't agree with your assertation.

I think it is a reasonable assumption that the printer is asking for a CMYK file, not CMYK separations like you are referring to. Thats almost like 1990's technology... it doesn't make any sense.

JPEG supports the CMYK color space. The printer wants the 'raw' (I agree with you that this term is not necessarily used properly) TIFF or JPEGs which are most likely RGB converted to CMYK. JPEG fills this quite nicely as long as you don't use any compression that will ruin or degrade your image.

The bottom line is this: no printing company worth spending money on is going to turn you away and say: "We need a color separated image". They are going to say, look, "we need these images in CMYK. You can convert them if you like, or for a charge, we can do it for you. We are the experts, so if you want the best results, you should really give them to us. Either way, we need CMYK and the choice is yours."  In fact, most workflows (Scitex, AGFA, Kodak) will convert the RGB to CMYK on the fly, only the results are usually not as good if you have a qualified color expert do it using either custom curves or ICC profiles.

If the printer is NOT offering that, it means they do not have any real understanding of four color process printing, and as the saying goes, LET THE BUYER BEWARE. Go find another printer. Period.

Actually, almost all screen printing and promotional companies charge to do the separation. It may be silly. It's their perrogative. If you look at promotional company websites, this is still quite a common practice, which is likely why he's asking for it and specifically referring to it as a CMYK separation. He's probably done some sort of graphic design for someone, and now the printer that he or his client selected is giving him a hard time about doing the separation. Also, separations  are still QUITE common in the world of screen printing precisely because they ARE using the same technology from the 90's. A lot of these small print shops are run by old hippies.

Actually, to be fair, I reread and see you are talking about
printing posters, which will almost certainly be done via a large format inkjet printer. A cmyk file should be fine... And I totally agree with bongsoo's last post...

sorry for the delay in replying

Thanks for all your replies - the specialist printer had been insisting on being given the 4 monochromatic seperate files - however I will go back and see if a CYMK colour space single file is an option

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