From the course: Photoshop 2020 One-on-One: Fundamentals

Print from RGB, not CMYK - Photoshop Tutorial

From the course: Photoshop 2020 One-on-One: Fundamentals

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Print from RGB, not CMYK

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- Generally speaking, there are two ways to print a PhotoShop image. The first is to save the image as a flat TIFF file or layered PSD or PSDC and then place that file into a single or multi-page document that you create in Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. The other option is to print the image directly from PhotoShop, in which case, you'll most likely be printing to a local printer, meaning a printer that's located in the same building that you're in whether it's your office or your home. In this chapter, we're going to do some local printing, and by way of example, I'll be using a state-of-the-art Epson model inkjet printer which is designed specifically to print photographic images. So it's about the most representative printer there is. Having said that, every printer manufacturer uses its own driver software, and some drivers look different on a Mac than they do on a PC, or they differ from one model to the next which means that there's a very good chance that you're going to encounter different options and different settings than I'm about to show you. But while your specific experience is bound to be different, the basic approach is the same. So I'm going to give you two rules right up front. First, there's a common misconception that before you print an image you need to convert it to CMYK. In case that acronym is new to you, CMYK stands for the four process color inks used in commercial printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and the key color, black. But that misconception, it's not just wrong, it's dead wrong. CMYK is useful in one and only one scenario: when sending an image out for commercial reproduction. But if your plan is to print your image to a local inkjet device, then converting that image to CMYK is just about the most destructive modification you can make. Consider my Epson printer. It offers nine inks: one yellow, two shades of magenta, two shades of cyan, and four shades of black. It only uses three of the four black inks at a time, but still, that's eight inks for every image, twice what you get with CMYK. Which means that your everyday, average inkjet printer is capable of rendering about a few hundred if not a few thousand times as many colors as you can convey with CMYK. Which is why every printer driver released since the late 1990s is specifically designed to print directly from RGB. Second, your everyday, average modern LCD screen is too bright. Even the brightest paper, the kind that's been bleached and processed to the point you can't possibly recycle it, doesn't hold a candle to a backlit screen. And meanwhile, as ink absorbs into paper, it spreads, and the more ink you use, the darker the image becomes. So giving your images a little bit of a brightness boost before you print them is often a good idea. Again, your screen, your printer, and your system are all different than mine, but even so, I think the following movies will help you achieve the best possible results.

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