In this article we will talk about CMYK channels in Photoshop. What are they for and how to work with them? How are they different from RGB channels? In the last article, we found out that RGB channels reflect the work of the RGB color model in Photoshop. Channels for CMYK perform the same task, but in a different color space. You will learn about what this space is, how to effectively work with CMYK channels and do color correction for printing in this article.

In my opinion, I managed to create the most understandable and simple article that clearly demonstrates the principles of working with CMYK channels and the basics of CMYK color correction.

• Part 1:

CMYK color model

A lot has been said about the CMYK color model even on Chronofag.ru. Therefore, I hope that everyone is familiar with the theory of the CMYK color model. This article is more practical. Unlike RGB, CMYK displays colors on the screen in a form in which they can be printed in a printing house. Working in CMYK is an essential attribute of a print designer. Therefore, it is especially important for every beginning designer to understand the principles of his work.

The CMYK color space is based on the principles of mixing inks during printing. While RGB channels subtract color information, CMYK channels add color information. At maximum value RGB channels (R 255 G 255 B 255) we get white color (prism effect). In CMYK it’s the other way around: the more information on the channel, the darker the paint. In RGB - zero values ​​- black. Which is logical, there is no information about light, which means there is no light. In CMYK, on ​​the contrary, there are zero channel values ​​(C 0 M 0 Y0 K 0), which means the color is white, since there is no paint.

The principles of nature lie in both color models. Principles of RGB light emission and principles of CMYK light absorption. One problem. Modern printing has failed to display exclusively (in cyan, magenta and yellow). And even if it were possible, spending three layers of 100% paint to extract color is not rational and expensive, given that most of the printing is black text. Therefore, in CMYK there is an additional fourth channel K (black). However, you can read more about the features of the CMYK color model separately.

Principles of interaction of CMYK channels

Only practice is better than theory. You'll find the Channels panel in Windows > Channel. can be done via Image > Mode > CMYK (Image > Mode > CMYK)

It is very simple to understand how an image is constructed in CMYK channels. After all, each of us painted with paints in childhood, mixing different shades with each other. And most of us certainly know that mixing red pigment with yellow produces orange. When blue and yellow are mixed, green comes out. This is why it is so easy to understand the principles of CMYK, because everyone has experience in painting with paints.

CMYK channels work exactly the same. Only if in the gouache palette we had 10 or more paint pigments, in CMYK there are only four. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and optional black. Black ink should ideally be used only in areas where three CMY inks are not powerful enough to produce a rich black. Therefore, the black channel in CMYK is contrasting.

Moreover, you can easily simulate CMYK channels by creating your own image using masks. In this article we will do such a trick. But first, let's take a simpler example.

Let's take for example a pure yellow channel and a gradient, where on one side we have Y100, and on the other side Y0. On other channels the values ​​are zero.

Add the same purple gradient to it and blend it together. It is logical to assume that on different segments of the gradients we get combinations of different shades of paint. On the gradient we have M100Y100 - red, in the middle M50Y50 - a less saturated red. The less paint, the less saturated the color.

Let's add a blue gradient at the bottom. What happens when you mix cyan and magenta? Dark blue. And different shades of saturation.

Now let's move the blue gradient to the center and get a combination of all three channels, where point 1 is the darkest shade that can be obtained by combining three colors together.

So far our gradients have been in a row. And the saturation of colors changed in proportion to each other. Now let's expand them and put them on top of each other in a completely random order. I chose Oval as a more convenient shape.

Several things are clear from this picture:

1. The fewer channels, the purer and clearer the color.
2. The more strange compounds there are in the percentage of paints, the more unattractive the color.

Everything is based on these two simple rules. The more ink, the darker the color, the more confusing the digital values, the duller the shade and the grayer/blacker the printed graphics. Let's select several points in our image and take a color proof from them using the Eyedropper Tool.

In sample 1, 2 and 3 we have two channels and pure colors. In sample 4 there is no obvious gain in any channel and the color is dirty.

Mixing paint is the basis of working in CMYK. Novice designers are accustomed to perceiving paint as a color on a monitor. They find it difficult to visualize digital CMYK values ​​as if they were real ink on paper. They choose a color from the Color Picker panel and don't look at the numbers. The result of such work is the same. Pale print, gray colors.

Mixing paint on gradients

Gradients pose particular challenges. It is not always clear to a novice designer by what logic CMYK paints are mixed. When I started working in Corel Draw, the results of gradients shocked me. I chose a gradient from red to black and got amazing results. Red on one side, black on the other, and muddy in the middle.

But if you understand what happens on CMYK channels, it is much easier to understand this problem. After all, if you know that the red color is a mixture of the Magenta and yellow channels, and the black paint is on a completely different channel, then the problem of the gray transition is obvious. Here's what's happening on the channel.

The loss of red paint from the middle is the source of the problem. If we take a color proof from the center of the gradient, we will get the values ​​C0M50Y50K50. What does a color look like with these values? This is exactly what it looks like.

But if we had drawn the same gradient on paper, there would have been no problems. After all, on an intuitive level, everyone understands what colors need to be mixed to get a gradient from red to black. You need to take red and black paints and mix them together, reducing the pigment of the black paint. Red paint should be present 100% in each section of the gradient.

In our case, the red paint decreases in proportion to the arrival of the black paint. And it’s not surprising that the gradient turns out faded. But if we adjust the values ​​of the black side of the gradient, and add a yellow and magenta channel to it, the gradient will become bright and saturated.

The situation is changing in the same way on the channels. Now we have the Yellow and Magenta channels as solid colors. And black is a decreasing gradient. At each segment, black is mixed with 100% red, resulting in a rich shade.

Simulating CMYK channels

It is quite possible to create your own image using CMYK. And now we will do this with you. Select absolutely any photo and convert it to CMYK (Image > Mode > Cmyk (Image > Mode > CMYK)).

Now let's open the Channels panel and see what's on our channels. It is very easy to imitate the combination of paints. Naturally, you can easily and quickly turn off channels and see how the color is combined, but doing all the work instead of Photoshop is much more clear.

Press CTRL and click on the yellow channel. By doing this you have loaded the selection. That is, a cast of the mask. Selection - half mask. Therefore, switch to the workspace and create a fill layer Layer> New Fill Layer> Solid Color (Layer> New Fill Layer> Color...).

In the Color Picker window that appears, select CMYK values ​​- C0M0Y100K0

Since we had an active selection when creating the layer, the layer was created with an automatic mask. But the mask is filled in backwards. To make it the same as the image, click on the mask icon and press CTRL+I Invert.

We created the first channel manually. Create your layers for the black, blue and purple paint in the same way. Arrange the layers in the same way as in the channels. And of course, don't forget to invert each mask.

Now let's change the blending mode of each layer to Myltiply (Multiply). Myltiply mode simulates the overlay of paints on top of each other. It cuts off light pixels, leaving dark ones. And this is how the paint is mixed. The more paint, the darker the shade. And as a result, we get exactly the same image, made with our own hands.

Manually changing CMYK channels

CMYK channels are very simple. The more pigment, the darker the channel; the less pigment, the lighter it is. You can correct the information on the channel “by hand” using a simple brush. You must understand that the channel's operation is based on a regular mask, which hides some of the light information in some places and reveals it in others.

As an example, I chose a colorful sky, in which the blue channel dominates at the top, yellow in the center, and purple on the sides. But knowing how channels work, you can easily fix this at the most basic level. Color correcting channels. It is clear that in order to remove pink, you need to lower the values ​​on the magenta channel.

Make a CTRL+click on the purple channel, and select this channel to work on its mask. Select a large soft-edged brush with white color. Set the brush's invisibility to about 25% and begin to lighten the magenta channel mask, stroke by stroke. You will see the color pink literally fall from the sky.

To remove yellow, CTRL+click on the yellow channel, and again, without losing the selection, reduce its effect.

In no case do I advocate color correcting channels this way. For color grading in Photoshop, you will find more than 100,500 different tools. There is no need to make irreversible changes to the channels. If you think about ways to correct color, then editing channels directly is the worst. But for the purposes of this article, it was important to show that the nature of the channels is a regular mask, which can be adjusted manually by adding color pigments with a brush.

Now that we have dealt with the channels, let's move on to more advanced methods of color correction.

Color correction in CMYK

For example, let's choose the same photo of the sky. Actually, in Photoshop there are 100,500 filters and color corrections to change colors without interfering with the channels. And the whole point of these filters comes down to the fact that they regroup the information on the channel. As an example, I will choose color correction - Chanel Mixer (Channel Mixing).

It is not difficult to guess that this color correction is tailored to change the saturation of channels. In the RGB color space, this filter may seem very complex because the RGB mixing principles are more complex to perceive. But when it comes to paints, everything is much simpler. In the photo we have 4 color areas. I'll take a pipette and sample the canals.

• In sample 1 we have a dark blue color. And we see that dark blue is obtained from the combination of cyan and purple paints.
• Sample 2 shows the color blue. And indeed, apart from this paint, no others are used.
• The purple areas in sample 3 are due to the prevailing purple paint.
• And the dull greenish tint in the middle was created due to the fact that a little yellow paint was mixed into the weak blue channel.

How to achieve exceptionally blue skies? It's simple. Reduce the influence of third-party paints. By reducing the magenta, we will remove the purple colors on the bottom and the dark blue on top. By reducing the yellow, we will remove the greenish tint in the center.

Chanel Mixer color correction makes this easy to achieve. You just need to select the desired channel and reduce its impact. If we compare paint samples after applying the channels, we get a completely different result. Now all samples are dominated by blue paint.

Face color correction in CMYK using curves

Everything is simple with the sky. Removed unnecessary paints and that's it. But what if the photograph is more complex? If the channels contain not just shades, but details? Simply remove shades when all the details of the sky are in the blue channel. But what about more complex photography? If you know how paints interact, then it’s much easier to correct color correction. And the better the print result will be.

In the photo below we have the actor's face. The purple muzzle and overall blue color immediately catches the eye. But if we think in CMYK paints, then we understand that blue is due to the prevalence of blue paint, and redness is due to excess purple. Think gradients that intersect randomly and muddy gray-brown-crimson shades. So in this photo there are dirty mixtures that we need to clean.

If we take samples from the actor's skin, we will get the same picture. Light gray-brown-raspberry and dark gray-brown-raspberry. And CMYK channels testify to the reasons. 37% blue 45% purple 20% yellow. So the result is almost gray, with a purple tint due to the purple channel.

It’s easy to correct the situation if you understand the principle by which paints are mixed on paper. For this adjustment, I'll select Curves and create a new color adjustment layer. First of all, let's get rid of the exposure to blue paint. It is she who creates blue and grays colors.

And the photograph began to sparkle with purple colors. The reasons for this are clear. The blue paint held back the purple. Now she is gone and the photograph is filled with a purple channel. Let's switch to Magenta and change its curve as well.

There is now a distinct yellow tint to the photo. And this is also understandable. After all, we removed the cyan and magenta channels, leaving the yellow one, which we will correct after them.

After which I slightly increased the contrast of the black paint. And here is the final result.

You can compare the results of the paint composition on the face and glove yourself. Instead of 37% blue, we have 9% Instead of 50% purple, we have 28%. And the skin color stopped being purple.

I really hope that this article was extremely useful for you and now such an expression as CMYK does not scare you. Well, I, in turn, will continue to write articles on the topic of channels in Photoshop. Next up is Lab Color. Have a nice day and see you for the next articles.

How to convert rgb to cmyk, Convert rgb to cmyk, Convert rgb to cmyk, How to convert rgb to cmyk in Photoshop, Convert color from rgb to cmyk, How to convert rgb to cmyk in Corel, Convert an image from rgb to cmyk, How to convert rgb to cmyk in coreldraw, How to convert rgb to cmyk in Illustrator, How to convert rgb to cmyk in illustrator, Photoshop cmyk, rgb conversion.

Ensuring that your resource is displayed universally across the web is not easy because it is impossible to accommodate every end user's system configuration. They can view the website from home computer or with mobile device. Can use the Windows platform or work with a Mac. Depending on even these parameters, the calibration of their monitor displays varies along with the values ​​of many variables. The combination of these factors causes the irreversible loss of control over the display of the resource at the output. The brightness of colors, their saturation, softness may change, or the parameters of the user’s working environment may simply distort them. This can result in a serious problem, especially if your client's resource is designed in the specific colors of his brand.

We, web designers, are obliged to ensure that our designs are as consistent as possible with the given patterns. To do this, you have to build the process of creating a sketch, matching each stage with the conditions in which your creation will visually appear to the majority of users. This means you need to master a complex and rather confusing system of color settings.

Although this does not completely eliminate the problem of color distortion, its severity is nevertheless noticeably reduced, and maximum color identity of the resource is ensured when it is opened on most devices.

Display calibration

The ability to control how your colors appear at the output comes from control at the input (i.e., on your monitor display). To do this, you need to carefully calibrate the monitor: the key to competent workflow management. There is software for monitor calibration, but it is better to use a colorimeter. It is better to get one if you are a scrupulous person. A number of companies fair price offer acceptable options: Monaco Optix, LaCie blue eye, basICColor displaySQUID, etc. Do you calibrate your monitor using hardware or software, let it warm up for about half an hour first.
In addition, the room should be illuminated softly and evenly; the lamp should not be pointed directly at the monitor.

Since our thumbnail will be displayed on both Mac devices and Windows PCs, we need to apply the most general settings degree of contrast and white balance. Contrast, in short, is a property that reflects the relationship between the brightness values ​​of a monitor. The higher it is in digital terms, the darker the monitor display. Windows PCs are rated at a contrast ratio of 2.2, and Mac devices are rated at 1.8 - although Snow Leopard OS now defaults to 2.2. A contrast ratio of 2.2 is the most typical setting for web users, so your monitor should be adjusted accordingly. White balance is set to D65 in most cases, and it's best for you to stick to that convention.

ICC profiles

Providing universal color display across an ever-expanding variety of devices would be impossible without a single standard for all. It was developed by the International Color Consortium (ICC). By establishing non-commercial color specifications, the ICC allowed devices to recognize colors themselves and display them as they should. For the ICC specifications to work, both devices and files must be equipped with profiles containing the entire set of parameters.
The ICC profile of an image file tells the device in detail how it should interpret the color gamut data, and the device profile tells the system how to display that data.
Because the typical red-green-blue profile (or sRGB IEC 61966-2.1) describes a wide range of colors that can be reproduced on most devices, it has been adopted as a standard by the Internet community.

This means that you should adhere to the parameters of this profile in all your developments to ensure maximum compatibility.

Photoshop Settings

After calibrating your monitor's display, the next step is to adjust your Photoshop settings. This is where the first difficulties begin. Color processing in Photoshop has two purposes. First, avoid color distortion when exporting the file and displaying it in a web browser. Second, store its color palette information in a file so that it can be used and viewed equally across multiple platforms.

Color Processing Module (CMM)

Photoshop uses a color processing module (CMM) that converts colors between ICC profiles. The basis of the module is the profile communication area (PCS). This is a mechanism that processes the source data of a file along with its ICC profile, and tells the destination device how to display it according to its own profile.

It's important to understand this process because the colors you see in Photoshop are not necessarily the true colors in the image file. For example, if your workspace is set to sRGB and you view a shade of brown (say 161, 121, 69) on a Mac using the DigitalColor Meter, you'll notice that the display actually gives you 140, 103, 56. Quite a lot of distortion, especially in the blue channel. This is due to the PCS instructions from the file documentation to convert it first to the sRGB profile and then to the monitor profile.

To view the original color values, we can assign a different profile to the document through the editing menu: Edit > Assign Profile. By replacing the profile in the pop-up menu with the profile of our monitor, we will return the displayed colors to their true characteristics. That is, PCS is now instructed to directly convert the source data in accordance with the monitor profile, bypassing the sRGB conversion that previously caused color distortion.
It's easy to get confused here, and discrepancies in workspace display can cause you quite a headache with browser input into your overall workflow. Many browsers completely ignore embedded ICC profiles, and GIF and PNG formats do not support them at all. As a result, colors are distorted, and browsers may even display images differently. Luckily, the whole process can be simplified by managing your workspace wisely.

Color settings

Following the default settings, Photoshop will export files with distorted colors when viewed in the browser. The fact is that by default the Photoshop workspace is Adobe RGB. This profile, optimal for processing and subsequent printing of photographs, will add confusion to your web sketches. So you need to change your workspace. There are, so to speak, two approaches to the question of the optimal working environment for creating web projects. Some argue that the workspace profile should be matched to the profile of your monitor, while others suggest using sRGB. Both methods promise you the same result, only achieved in different ways. The advantage of using your monitor profile as your work environment is simplicity this decision. There is no need to convert or test anything. However, you should make sure to disable the "Convert to sRGB" option in the "Save for Web and Devices" dialog box. Otherwise your colors will be distorted. The simplest way, quite suitable for a solo designer. At the same time, you tightly link the characteristics of your document with the monitor profile. If you were to open this PSD file on another computer, its color values ​​will be preserved, but it will display differently, which may be confusing.

For maximum display versatility in both your exported files and PSD documents, I recommend using a strict standard in any of your workspaces: sRGB. The sRGB profile provides the basis for accurate color reproduction on any device.
However, by giving the working environment sRGB parameters, you will not achieve a match between the displayed document and its browser version (unless by embedding an ICC profile into it that is easily recognized by that browser).

The situation can be easily corrected using on-screen control. In View > Proof Setup, change the setting to "Monitor RGB". Next, make sure that the View > Proof Colors option is checked. You should notice certain changes in your document. This is how it will look in the browser. The Proof Colors feature is hard to forget, but you should get into the habit of doing so.

The essence of all of the above comes down to the following: the sRGB working environment is best solution to ensure identical display of images in Photoshop and in exported files. At the same time, do not forget to enable the Proof Colors option during operation and switch to the profile of your monitor. When saving with the "Save for Web and Devices" command, enabling or disabling the "Convert to sRGB" conversion function does not matter, but assigning a color profile through the "Embed Color Profile" must be disabled.

To change the working environment, open the color settings dialog box (Edit > Color Settings). The RGB workspace can now be replaced with sRGB IEC61966-2.1. In addition, in this window you will see a number of other settings.

Note: Modern browsers and color processing

Previously, all browsers completely ignored built-in ICC profiles. However, they are beginning to recognize them more and more. When all browsers catch up with color processing, your workflow will change greatly from what we're looking at now.
Luckily, once you've gotten used to the sRGB color space, you'll just need to start embedding the profile into your files when you save them by checking the "Embed Color Profile" option.

Color processing techniques

Color Management Policies enable you to resolve discrepancies between profiles. For example, if you copy and paste an image from the clipboard with a profile different from the current desktop profile, you will need to ensure that its file is converted. I recommend leaving the built-in RGB, CMYK and Gray profiles in the "Preserve Embedded Profiles" menu item, checking both "Profile Mismatches" boxes. When you open or insert a file with a different profile, Photoshop will ask you to agree to convert the file to match your current workspace settings, keep the current profile, or not perform any color processing at all.

If a file's profile does not match the current workspace settings, color processing features allow you to choose how to correct the discrepancy.

Please be aware that data loss occurs when converting from one profile to another. The sRGB color space is actually much smaller than, for example, Adobe RGB. So when you convert a file from Adobe RGB to sRGB, you'll be removing a ton of information. This is an inevitable loss, and such a transformation should be applied only when necessary.

Conversion and complex processing options

By clicking on the "More Options" button in the "Color Settings" dialog box, you will get a number of more options. First, there are Conversion Options to control the process of converting images from one profile to another. This is a set of rather complex options, which you can probably do without when developing a regular web project. However, they may be useful to you: when converting shades, the exact reproduction of which is very important, for example, logo colors, when you can get the desired combination of values ​​by selecting the “Absolute Colorimetric” option. Advanced Options are not that popular in web design. They are mainly used to imitate color schemes various devices and printing. In general, you can completely refuse to use these options.

Assigning a profile

The "Assign Profile" option can be used to change the profile assigned to a particular document without directly converting its constituent data. It may be useful to you if the document loses his profile for some reason, and if you know his profile. Under other conditions, at random, using this option is hardly reasonable. To suddenly, accidentally come across a profile that correctly reproduces the original image, you would have to try several different options.

The Assign Profile dialog box allows you to change an image's profile without converting it or truncating its value range.

Convert to profile

If an image is assigned a profile other than the current workspace profile, it will have to be converted before being included in your sRGB document. As already mentioned, converting a document to another profile results in the loss of the original data. Therefore, try to limit yourself to converting a file once: from its original color space directly into your working environment.

Photoshop uses the rendering engine to send an image from its source environment to its destination via various algorithms. Each such algorithm (or “Intent” (a means of obtaining the desired combination of values), as it is indicated in the dialog box) specializes in a separate type of conversion. Having "Relative Colorimetric" as the default setting is probably the best solution as it tends to produce colors that are as close to the original as possible while preserving the most important values. It is worth resorting to the use of “Absolute Colorimetric” to convey the colors that serve as the “call signs” of your images.
The "Perceptual" visualization option involves reproducing colors as they are distinguished by human vision, significantly deviating from their original values; it can sometimes be used when converting photos. Finally, "Saturation" rendering is performed by increasing the saturation of the image, without respecting the original color parameters and their proportions.

The "Convert to Profile" dialog box allows you to convert the color data of the source image to match a range of destination environment settings.

Quick installation

So, setting up the color processing functions in your system is extremely important for the subsequent display of your Photoshop document online correctly. And although the aspects of color processing itself can be quite complex, the adjustment process itself is very simple:

1. Calibrate your monitor by setting the contrast ratio to 2.2 and the white balance to D65.
2. Set sRGB as your Photoshop workspace.
3. Use Photoshop's "Proof Colors" on-screen color control command to test each document in the monitor's RGB profile.

Adjusting colors in Photoshop is often overlooked by self-taught users when mastering the program. People can usually get by without any knowledge about it. Is it really worth knowing about adjusting colors in Photoshop?

The answer to this question depends on how seriously you intend to work in Photoshop. If you want to become a professional, then any additional knowledge will give you an advantage when working in the program. Basic knowledge can make your work in Photoshop much easier.

Therefore, in this tutorial I will give the basics that you need to know about adjusting colors in Photoshop.

In order to set up the color management system in Photoshop, you need to run the command Edit - Color Settings (Ctrl + Shift + K).

By default, the window that opens will have the following settings:

Let's look at all the settings in more detail.

Working Spaces

RGB

RGB colors are created by adding to black, which is why this color model is called additive. It is very suitable for display on a monitor screen.

You will most likely have the SRGB IEC color profile installed by default. It is good for most simple Photoshop tasks, but does not provide a rich color palette.

For web designers and photographers, it is better to use the Adobe RGB profile (1998). It offers a wider color range.

The difference between them is still not so significant, it’s just that the SRGB profile was created for less expensive displays.

Nowadays, more and more photographers are choosing to use the ProPhoto RGB profile.

It has a much larger range of colors, some of which are actually beyond human vision. However, it has its downsides. One of them is that when converting color gamut, using this profile may end up producing undesirable results. Therefore, before you start working with this color profile, you should gain some additional knowledge about working with it.
Also, do not confuse sRGB IEC with Monitor RGB - sRGB IEC (Monitor sRGB IEC). If you choose the second option, you may get different results on different displays.

CMYK

The CMYK color model is based on the fact that the sheet of paper itself is white, i.e. reflects almost the entire spectrum of RGB, and the paints applied to it act as filters, each of which “steals” its own color (red, green or blue).

CMYK colors are determined by subtracting one of three RGB colors from white.

The CMYK system was created and used for typographic printing. Before sending to print, make sure your image looks correct in the CMYK color profile.

The default here is U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2.

You can select the “Load CMYK” option and load the one you need.

Gray/Spot

Leave the Dot Gain at 20%.

Color Management Policies

There are three settings you can configure here. Let's look at them in more detail.

Off

If you select this option, the embedded color profile (or lack thereof) will be ignored and the image will be saved without a color space description.

Save embedded profiles (Reserve Embedded Profiles)

This option will allow you to take into account the embedded color profiles and use them when processing images. Newly opened images are in the color space described by the color profile embedded in the file.

Convert to Working RGB (СMYK/Gray)

If the embedded color profile in Photoshop does not match the working color space, the program converts the image from its color space to the working one, assigning it a color profile corresponding to the working color space.

Click on the “More options” button on the right, under the “Ok” button, to expand the color settings panel completely.

After clicking this button, new fields will appear.

Conversion Options

Module (Engine)

Designed to select a color management system to apply color transformations. It is preferable to choose the Adobe (ACE) option, which corresponds to the color management system built into Photoshop.

Method (Intent)

This setting determines the method used to convert color between spaces. The most commonly used methods are Relative Colorimetric and Perceptual.

Relative colorometric(Relative Colorimetric) - when choosing this option, all colors falling outside the color range of the output device are cut off, and the closest ones are substituted instead. All other colors remain unchanged.

Perceptual(Perceptual) - in this case, the visual relationships between colors are preserved. Absolutely all colors received from the input device are converted to their equivalents within the color range of the output device.

Use black point compensation(Use Black Point Compensation)

When you select the Use Black Point Compensation check box, the darkest of all neutral colors in the source color space is converted to the same color in the target space. This is very important for maintaining black color during various transformations.

Proof Setup options

Allows you to set proof print settings.

Located in the View menu - Proof options (View - Proof Setup).

With this function, you can see a preview of the image on the screen in accordance with the set color profile of the output devices that are available in the operating system.

The screen version will give a fairly accurate idea of ​​how the image will look after printing.

To quickly turn it on and off, use the combination CTRL + Y (or go to the View menu - Proof).

If your colors look strange, check that you haven't accidentally turned this feature off. If you see a backslash with a color profile at the end of the file name, then you have found the reason.

In the section "Proof options" there is various settings.

CMYK shapes (Working CMYK) allows you to create a proof based on the CMYK workspace as defined in the Color Settings dialog box.

Mac/Win RGB
commands let you estimate how an image will look on a Mac and Windows monitors. Can be quite useful when you are developing a cross-platform project.

Custom- When you select this option, the following dialog box will appear:

Using these options, you can customize the soft proofing mode for any device.

Simulate paper color(Simulate Paper Color) - When you select this option, Photoshop will try to display on the display the color of the paper on which the print will be made. The quality of such a prediction strongly depends on the quality of the profile, since this is the only source of information from which Photoshop can get information about the parameters of the paper.

Simulate black paint(Simulate Black Ink) - performs a similar function, only Photoshop tries to display on the screen the darkest possible color that can be obtained on the target device.

Managing Color Profiles

Checking a file's color profile information

So, we learned how to adjust color in Photoshop.

Now let's see where to find out information about which color profile is embedded in the file currently open.

Open any image.

Find it in the lower left corner of the main window Photoshop programs a small panel to display various information.

Click on the right arrow, select Document Profile in the menu that appears, and information about the ICC profile will appear on the screen:

Assigning/converting color profiles

Used to assign or transform a file's color profile.

Performed by the command Edit - Assign profile (Convert to profile) Edit - Assign Profile / Convert to Profile.

Here's the most important thing. Now you have a basic knowledge of how to adjust colors in Photoshop, as well as what color profiles are and how to use them in your work.

The reason for writing this material was the repeated questions on forums and in personal messages by e-mail. The fact is that with non-optimal settings, both slowdown of the program and various other problems may occur, for example, the inability to work with individual filters or tools.

So let's get started.

First, let's configure the basic parameters of the program itself, and then move on to the color management settings.

In order to open the settings dialog, you need to either go to the menu Editing - Settings - Basic (Edit-Preferences -General) CTRL+K.

The following settings window will appear (by clicking on the picture you can view a larger image).

Here I usually set the default interpolation algorithm Bicubic (best for smooth gradients). This algorithm is the most universal and is suitable for both reducing and increasing the size of an image. However, after reduction you will have to increase the sharpness. If you mainly reduce images, you can set the algorithm Bilinear. Then, in most cases, you will not have to sharpen after reduction, or you will have to do it much less often.

Also I uncheck the option Changing tool with keySHIFT. This speeds up your work, as it allows you to quickly switch between tools of the same subgroup (for example, between a regular and a mix brush) by pressing just one key, rather than two.

Now let's move on to the next tab Interface

Here the settings concern mainly visual effects(circled in red). I turn them off because it interferes with my work. The color of the interface is a matter of taste, but I’m used to working in a light interface the old fashioned way.

I don’t use the next tab, since the settings synchronization function is not yet sufficiently developed. I'm not making any changes to it.

Go to the tab File processing

Here I change the setting Maximize file compatibilityPSD andP.S.B.. I set the value Always so that a window with this request does not appear every time you save.

Next tab - Performance.

Here you need to set the volume RAM, which will be used by the program, the number of file change history steps available in the palette Story, scratch disks, and configure usage settings GPU(video cards). Let's go through it in order.

It is better to set RAM within the range recommended by the program so as not to slow down the operation of the operating system and other programs and processes running in parallel.

You need to select a working disk other than the system disk (the one on which the operating system). The scratch disk is used for temporary files that Photoshop creates while working. It will be very good if this happens SSD drive, in this case many operations will be performed faster.

I leave the number of steps in the history at 20 by default, since I practically don’t use the change history. Why? Yes, because after just a couple of minutes of retouching, even 500 steps of history will already be used, and storing history requires large resources, which can lead to a slowdown in the program.

Therefore, instead of turning to history, you just need to organize your work correctly: perform operations on copies of layers, use the principles of non-destructive editing.

In the GPU settings block, you need to check that the checkbox is enabled Use GPU. For more detailed settings need to press a button Additional options

Check that the settings are the same as in the figure. Pay special attention to two checkboxes - Use GPU to speed up calculations and UseOpenCL. Disabling these features results in the inability to use many operations and filters.

Of the following tabs, the tab that is of practical importance is External modules. The block flags must be enabled Filters and Extension Panels. Then all filters will be shown in the menu, and various extension panels will work.

Now let's configure the color management system parameters. To do this you need to either go to the menu Editing - Color Settings (Edit-ColorSettings) or press the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+K. The settings window will open

In line Settings select from the drop-down list Universal settings for Europe. Thus, the main working space for the RGB model will be sRGB IEC61966-2.1. This completes the color adjustment.

You can use the preinstalled environment as a working environment Photo. You can select it in the upper right corner of the program window. You can then customize the program's palettes as you wish.

Now you need to restart the program and you can get to work.

In the era of digital photographs, tools for processing them were required. Photoshop rightfully takes the place of the best. Its possibilities, if not limitless, are certainly very significant. But most users completely misuse some Photoshop settings or are not even aware of their existence. To use the full power of the program, you need to configure it correctly.

What are the options?

Many people, when opening the program for the first time, find themselves faced with dozens of buttons, sliders and parameters. A completely logical question immediately arises: “Where are the settings in Photoshop?” Editor options can be divided into several categories:

1. Hardware settings of the program itself.
2. Colors.
3. Brushes and interface options.
4. Separate parameters for each tool.

Setting up Photoshop correctly and conveniently for the first time is almost impossible. It takes time to get used to the program. This may take several hours, a week, a month - it all depends on the frequency of work.

Differences between Photoshop CC and CS

The debate over which version of the popular editor is better has been going on for several years.

"Photoshop CC" has built-in advanced capabilities for teamwork on the project, improved capabilities and performance of 3D design and 3D printing, expanded standard set brushes and some tools. In addition, the program runs on a new engine, which means it has become a little more productive.

The differences between the CC version and the CS version will be subtle or completely invisible to a novice user. Setting up Photoshop SS is almost identical to setting up any other Photoshop, therefore, following the general recommendations in this article, you can adjust this editor as you please.

Basic parameters

You can go to the main parameters window using the Ctrl+K key combination. There are quite a lot of parameters here, and if you describe each of them separately, you will get a whole documentation for Photoshop, so we will dwell in detail only on the important points.

1. So, the first tab is General (basic settings). Here you can select the dynamic palette display, color system and image interpolation method. Below is a list of useful items. By default, they are quite acceptable; if you are not sure of the correctness of the actions, there is no need to touch them.
2. Next is the Interface tab. Here you can select the background color and the window itself, the program language and font size. Everything you need to set up Photoshop for yourself.
3. File Handling menu. Menu for saving and opening documents. Here you can also leave everything as default.
4. Performance tab. Described in more detail below.
5. Next are various interface settings. You can select the display mode of rulers or their values, cursors in different situations, guides and grids, plug-in settings window and typography.

Performance Settings

In the Performance tab, you can select Photoshop CS6 settings that will make it more comfortable for it to work even on weak cars. The first section is memory. Using the slider you can set any value. The system automatically calculates the available number of bytes of memory and the most favorable range of values, in case it is difficult for you to decide for yourself.

Cache and history. History is needed to save actions and possibly cancel them. The number of steps to record is up to you. 20-30 points is a completely acceptable value. The cache is needed to store the current image at different scales in memory. Thus, it is easier for the program to reproduce a saved image than to scale it every time.

Graphics and disks

In the disk settings section, you can select a local partition that will be used to store temporary files, and also, if necessary, act as a swap partition. By default this is the system partition, but you can use a disk with more free space. Ideally, you should reserve a separate section for Photoshop, and indicate exactly that in this window. This will speed up the program a little.

The last window is GPU usage. Definitely worth checking this box if you have an additional video card. To render large images, Photoshop needs as much processing power as possible. In the additional menu of this item you can select the GPU usage mode.

Color Setting

Photoshop supports many working color profiles. You can go to the Photoshop color settings menu using the key combination Shift+Ctrl+K. There are few items here, but many options within each drop-down list.

1. The first section Settings is a list of settings. Offers several preset macros to choose from. In most cases, you can use one of them.
2. Next comes the settings for the working color profile. For most pictures with professional cameras and other images, classic Adobe RGB (1998) is suitable. Having the largest allows you to display and adjust colors in Photoshop on your monitor or print.
3. The last point is the choice of action policy. For each color space there are three identical options for working with the color profile. Off - disables color management for images whose profile differs from the working one. Preserve Embedded Profiles (save original profiles) - the most best option. Allows you to save the built-in profile and restore it in case of incorrect conversion to a working one. Convert to Working - Simply converts the original profile to a working profile.

In order to fully control the color parameters of incoming images, check all three bottom boxes in the Color Management Policies section. In this case, the program will offer several actions to choose from each time if the color profile of the incoming file does not match the built-in working profile.

Interface personalization

In Photoshop there are quite a few wide range interface settings. It is possible to change the position of almost all tools, tabs, add or remove any of them by simply dragging and dropping.

There are also saved factory macros for various tasks. You can select them in the "Main workspace" tab in the upper right corner, immediately above the entire work area. In the drop-down list, you can select ready-made samples, reset settings, or delete a workspace macro.

By the way, choosing the type of workspace is a purely individual matter. For artists it will be useful to constantly display a navigator or palette, for photographers a histogram, for designers coordinates.

In the Photoshop settings you can control the parameters of the main menu. By default, the window opens using the combination Shift+Alt+Ctrl+M and contains only two tabs and one list of current settings. It makes sense to disable rarely used tools in order to save screen space, but only if it is really necessary, because you never know which ones pitfalls hides the processed photo.

In the same window you can configure keyboard shortcuts based on your needs. You can connect any combinations for any items. The menu is intuitive, there are no complex settings in it, which means we won’t dwell on this in more detail.

Tool Settings

In addition to customizing the ease of use of the program, it is possible to fine-tune brushes and other tools. Each has a “flash menu” that opens directly above the work area when activated. For example, for brushes you can select the type, size, blending mode, pressure and several settings for tablets. There is also a button to go to a full menu for setting up and managing brushes.

Brushes in Photoshop have quite a lot of functions, but they are all useful. The menu with brush presets opens by right-clicking in any part of the workspace, but the global settings menu opens by right-clicking on the icon with brushes in side menu on the right or on the icon in the flash menu. Here you can choose any contour effects, add texture, blur, rotate, refine and stylize just the contour or the entire print. More flexible setup brushes in Photoshop can be created by having graphics tablet. The effect of pressure and the quality of the texture of a particular brush at the edges of the line will be immediately noticeable. This is more relevant for brushes of complex shapes.

Tool Settings Manager

From the same menu you can go to another settings block by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner. In this window you can add or remove brushes, create your own, sort and create tool sets. You can load not only brushes, but also any other elements from the drop-down list. You can download them ready-made or make them yourself.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to recommend any general settings for this menu. It all depends on your preferences and type of activity. Try just moving the sliders and see what happens. You will definitely find a brush of the right shape and texture.

Seal

“Photoshop” can be used not only for drawing or processing photographs, but also for high-quality photo printing.

All printing settings in Photoshop are located at the following address or Ctrl+P. There are several printing methods depending on what kind of images you want to get on paper:

• Printing low resolution, vector drawings, text, monotonous abstractions and low resolution photos.
• Printing photographs and images of high resolution and geometry with complex patterns.

In the first case, you can simply go to the print menu by pressing Ctrl+P. All that needs to be set in this window is the Printer Manages Colors item (the color is managed by the printer). If desired, in the upper section of Printer Setup, you can select the sheet orientation or make adjustments to the advanced settings of the printer itself.

As in the first case, go to the print section Ctrl+P. In the color management menu, you must select Photoshop Manages Colors (Photoshop controls color). Next, select a color profile. It usually comes with the printer drivers, but can also be downloaded manually from the printer manufacturer's website. The color profile should describe the printer's operation as accurately as possible. Optionally, you can set the rendering method and black point compensation and other parameters. This method will allow you to convey colors as accurately as possible during printing.

There is no need to change the standard RGB. All modern printers perform automatic profile conversion.

What to do if you have configured too many things?

After visiting all the settings sections, dragging various sliders and hiding a couple of important windows, you may find that the program has become noticeably worse. There's nothing wrong with that; you don't have to reinstall the program. You can return it in a few steps standard settings"Photoshop" and get the product out of the box.

1. To do this, at the moment the program starts, hold down the combination Shift+Ctrl+Alt. A confirmation window will appear. After agreement, the program will restart with factory settings.
2. But you can also click on the “Cancel” button in the main settings window while holding down the Alt key.

After these steps, set the necessary Photoshop settings and restart the program.