Rendering In Maya For Print

[bastardloud]

Oi!
I'm rendering single images in Maya for print. Our printer is CYMK so everything is always be converted from RGB to CYMK. This is killing alot of the color detail in my work. Does anyone know how to render out CYMK in Maya? Is there a solution someone Could introduce me to?
Thanx

I not so SmarKt.

[akildee]

As far as I know, there is no cmyk rendering in maya. If you want to have better control over your colors, open up the rgb image in photoshop and convert it to CMYK. Then I would advise getting a full color swatch book so that you can see how your color values on screen are going to appear printed.

[dunkelzahn]

There is a utility render node to convert RGB to HSV. Don

[failure]

You can't. Computers natively understand only rgb. cmyk ( on computer ) is just an emulation of printing inks color space. All color calculations in any 3d software are done using additive color mode - rgb that is.

To convert, use image edditing app like photoshop which can emulate number of printing color spaces. Note that rgb's color space ( called gamut ) is much biger than cmyk and mapping from one to another can be done in number of non-linear ways. Because of that some rgb colors don't have their equivalent in cmyk representation and closest match is used according to applied conversion algorithm. This can result in drastically different colors in some cases. Photoshop's color picker even issues "out of gammut" warning for colors than cannot be mapped directly to cmyk.

Bottom line - take photoshop, calibrate it to show your printer's output as accurate as possible, convert rgb image to cmyk and use color balancing tools to adjust colors. In fact doing that kind things is main purpose of programs like photoshop.

[joojaa]

CMYK is allways a separated image prepared for a specific printter. No sane person would actualy use cmyk color unless hes trying to print something very specific things such a sprint a logo on a known specific printter. If it sosmething they inted to use in future theyd in general be adviced to use RGB.

One allmost allways want to store images as RGB and noever actualy do the conversion untill you hit print. The only excpetion for this is again if you want to limityoruself to one printter and you have a non iccprofiled prrofing setup going on in your printting pipe, wcih quite frankly is a tchnology from the past (1980

[failure]

the whole icc thing is worth s**t on low end systems

[joojaa]

So is cmyk, because it does not represent anyrthing usefull for the author without the icc info.

BUt even a a very cheap monitor can be icc calibrated quiet accurately. As can a inkjet, thenagain inkjet and most dektop printerss do work as if tehy were rgb things anyway making the color reproduction of cmyk content less acuurate than cmyk anyway. Ive seen this so many time sthat youd be supprised a rgb black prints as black but the cmyk is convertted to rgb in the driver and then the printers internals convert it to cmyk based on basic iccs and tehy do make a dark gary blacks.

Anyway for proper icc calibration one needs a icc calibrator.

bottom line is for low end systems its pretty pointless, because they coldnt reproduce very accurately anyway without a huge deal of visual tweaking. But if pring is what you do get a calibrator, ist worth ist value in pure gold.

[failure]

Yes rgb>cmyk conversion is destructive towards color information. Once you do it you don't go back to rgb. Always keep rgb masters.

And, yeah it's a viable option to send rgbs directly to inkjet printer and let it decide about conversion scheme. Or better just dump rgbs to print studio. If prints come out bad blame them for bad results and make them redo the whole thing. Afterall you pay for it and you want your colors crisp

[joojaa]

But why then convert at all, if oyou dont inted to do cmyk touchup tehn its still going to be convertted the same whan you choose print! (the printter driver does this want it or not!) Smartter progs like adobe indesign acrobat and photoshop do it too, letting you choose wheter to do cobversion in ps, using widows cms, mac cms or the rpintter if it happens to have one.

the conversion is done by this cms anyway whan you choose convert.

Point being because its handled anyway by the pipe as well as it woudl you doing manualy why do it at all? just waste of time.

BUt yeah its not llways EASY wespecialy with lowend printters.

[failure]

Personally I hate printers. I tend to do everything on screen and in rgb. AFAIK printing is somebody else's problem.

[joojaa]

QUOTE(BastardLoud @ 12/12/05, 06:43 PM)
Oi!
I'm rendering single images in Maya for print. Our printer is CYMK so everything is always be converted from RGB to CYMK.

[snapback]222156[/snapback]

this is kindof the point of cms syetrms, rgb is sjhaped differently form the cmyk. BUT you could render into a range thats much wider than your visible rgb tough youd have hard time seing what you work with on monitor since out fo gamut cant be shown anyway. SO youd need to work by measuring isnetad of yoru eyes.

But as is said its about your conversion intent, the problem si not teh conversion bvut rather the mening of the color. you can reder outa a rgb imahge in maya that you intend wider then your monitor. BUT se the problem si thte your MONITOR is probably wifder than yoru printter anyway. se printters have much less blue, green and red than yoru monitor (but image intent brings the gamut to sizer in the print space), but on teh otherhand usualy slightly more yellow cyan and magenta (se the link below it has a nice illustration and explanation on MANY pages)

But I suggets you use image intent instead of the absolutes, wicjh is what your clipping souds like you have set it to. NOw dont do cmyk conversion either bbecause if you PICk the worng cmyk tehn you get totaly bzonkers colors anyway and even worse clipping.

read http://www.boscarol.com/pages/cms\_eng/ itlll light your problem

[joojaa]

reproccuing accurate color inst triviqal business... its quite frankly EXPENSIVE a hell if you only do it ocasionaly. If you do it all the time then its cost is neglible a you can afford to buys a deecent monitor that can proof and can be iccd accurately.

And the iccing needs prettymuch to be to be done mothly or bi monthly. Personaly i used to do it biweekly.

[failure]

Actually it should be done bidayly ... err two times per day... since changing the lighting situation in the room changes the perception of color drastically.

[joojaa]

Or then you should work in a neutral color environ like i was. where the lightning was allways constant! So i only monitored the monitors and lights life decay creep.

But thats alos the case with color on the printted paper it too should be inspected in the same color as it to changes with the day so its not realy possible to do PERFECT color, with printters today anyway. So taking the paper out of the office makes it cnahe lightning conditions.

monthly is considered clse enough. because you cant be that accurate!

There are dyes for this tough being developped that coudl reproduce the exact specturm.