Any Color You Like so Long as it's Black

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2009-11-09T20:55:02.480-08:00

1223

Hi Mark. It was good seeing you yesterday at the p...

2009-10-18T19:56:51.469-07:00

Hi Mark. It was good seeing you yesterday at the poker tourney. Are you on facebook at all?

Erica Woolley

Actually that is exactly what happened to me and w...

2009-08-04T17:41:15.338-07:00

Actually that is exactly what happened to me and what led me to this post. I got a proof of a book back and the blacks made almost all of the colors muddy, and the blended into the blacks of the ink lines. I changed to your recommended settings and got a much crisper more vibrant result... again thanks for the infot Mark.

One of the problems with printing color comics is ...

2009-08-04T16:37:23.865-07:00

One of the problems with printing color comics is that the more K-tones you add, the muddier the colors.

I've experimented with adding blacks to various colors after converting to CMYK : i.e. adding blacks to reds produce nice, rich dark reds. But adding it to anything with yellows, oranges, and cyans turns colors greenish.

GCR works well for photographs(14+ years of experience in newspaper prepress agrees with you on this), but unfortunately, not so well for comics.

Editors and publishers (Marvel, DC etc) are all adamant about having very little (no more than 15%), or no K-tones added to colors.

In an ideal world, it shouldn't be a problem at all, but in printing comics, color accuracy is a big problem. I know of instances where the printer wasn't even able to match their own proofs.

Print runs are short enough that there's little time to adjust colors on the fly as it prints. Sometime I'll have to re-post an email I sent to someone who complained about colorists and coloring, listing all the problems with color printing and comics, problems I never had working for newspapers and magazines.

OK, Mark, now that I switched to UCR, I duplicate ...

2009-08-04T16:17:10.900-07:00

OK, Mark, now that I switched to UCR, I duplicate your results. However, you can solve it just by switching to GCR. Then you don't get the shift. And GCR is what's recommended for newsprint anyway, because it substitutes more black. That reduces the total ink necessary, which is what you want with the more absorbent paper.

So, just use the DC settings with GCR, and you're set.

Aaron, it would probably also help If I gave you t...

2009-08-04T15:34:25.428-07:00

Aaron, it would probably also help If I gave you the rest of the DC setting:

Separation Type: UCR
Black Ink Limit: 100
Total Ink Limit: 240%
Printing Ink Setup: SWOP Newsprint for Standard Format books (Dot Gain 30%)

Now try converting a 100M 100Y color from RGB to CMYK.

Thanks Aaron, I did have that backwards. I should ...

2009-08-04T15:18:50.689-07:00

Thanks Aaron, I did have that backwards. I should proofread a little more carefully.

The images I show are screen captures of CMYK images, and visually accurate enough to display the difference. I work with the 100% BIL 240 TIL setting every day and watch 100M 100Y turn to 59M 89Y 17K every single time with those settings.

Some colorists use their own settings, while others work in CMYK so there's no shift in color.

I know many other colorists who work for DC, converting colors from RGB to CMYK with their settings who found the same problem with solid reds turning orange-brown.

Mark, I'm sorry, but this info is completely wrong...

2009-08-04T14:19:26.449-07:00

Mark, I'm sorry, but this info is completely wrong. To start out with, Under Cover Removal does _not_ replace black with a mixture of C, M, and Y. UCR does basically the same thing as GCR, but just doesn't go quite as far. The two processes are both ways of putting in more black. They are both necessary to keep colors from getting muddy and from shifting hue on the press. They are _especially_ needed on newsprint, with the reduced ink limit.

I downloaded your test image and made the same conversion to DC's settings of 100 BIL and 240 TIL, and the color shift was minimal -- nothing like what you show here. And how exactly did you intend to show it here anyway? You cannot display CMYK on the Web. Your test images are converted back to sRGB, which automatically reduces the gamut from the larger one of CMYK.

But even taking that into account, I have no idea how you got from red to brown in your sample. Mine stayed a very nice red. In fact, another image converted also with DC's settings showed _increased_ red. Have you never seen real red in a DC comic?

It does work on windows to.. Neat O !!

2009-07-08T07:48:59.772-07:00

It does work on windows to.. Neat O !!

I'll let people know Erica, and I'll be there. I'm...

2009-05-30T11:17:02.722-07:00

I'll let people know Erica, and I'll be there. I'm so sorry for your loss. I always looked forward to seeing Harry at the games, and enjoyed his company, both on and off the table.

Hi Mark. This is Erica Woolley (Harry Woolley's da...

2009-05-29T21:01:36.320-07:00

Hi Mark. This is Erica Woolley (Harry Woolley's daughter) I found you via a twitter message you posted on my Dad's passing. I just wanted to let you know that his memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 13 at 2:00 PM in Burnaby at the Forest Lawn Cemetary, 3789 Royal Oak Drive. A reception is expected to follow. Hope that you can make it :) He loved poker and the Pirana Poker Community he was a part of. If you know of anyone else that would like to attend they are more than welcome to.

Regards,

Erica Woolley

Hi Mark,I just wanted to say thanks very much for ...

2009-02-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hi Mark,

I just wanted to say thanks very much for posting this entire series on Photoshop tricks and tips. I've lurked over on GutterZombie and I've been familiar with at least some of your thinking along these lines before, but these posts over the past few months have been very helpful. And these two (Ink Limits Parts 1 and 2) have been particularly helpful.

Thanks a bunch!

Mark,This is an excellent explanation! Very detail...

2009-02-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

Mark,

This is an excellent explanation! Very detailed and easily understood!

That's a great tip!

2009-02-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

That's a great tip!

Excellent, I'm finding your posts very helpful!

2009-02-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Excellent, I'm finding your posts very helpful!

I see. Thank you for responding. I did assume that...

2009-01-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

I see. Thank you for responding. I did assume that many things "Depends" on what you are creating, but thank you for sharing.

Another question, if you don't mind. Do you ever find Control: "Fade" in brush settings useful?

I mean, in Photoshop brush settings (for things like color and shape dynamics) there is an option to set the tablet pen control to "Fade" instead of "Pen Pressure".

So, for example under "Color Dynamic" the Foreground/Background Color control: "Fade" creates a gradient between your foreground and background brush colors. Except this is controlled by your brush stroke and can be combined with flow, diameter, and opacity settings. And it is adjustable.

Is this method ever used in lieu of using a Soft Brush, Gradient tool, Healing Brush tool, or Smudge tool to blend colors?

I have a huge amount of brushes - well over 150.Ho...

2009-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

I have a huge amount of brushes - well over 150.

However, I tend to use 5-8 the most frequently.

Brush hardness really depends on how you want your colors to blend:
Very smooth blending? Hardness 0%
Hard, painterly edges? 50-100%

Opacity and Flow, I usually keep both at 70%. If I feel a brushstroke isn't quite hard enough, I can use the Fade Command (in Photoshop's Edit menu) to increase the strength of brushstroke.

Minimum diameter depends on what you want your brush to do. I have several similar brushes, with different minimum diameters, ranging from 0 to 80%.

Hmm, this is a cool practice menu.Wacom tablet set...

2009-01-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hmm, this is a cool practice menu.

Wacom tablet settings also have a senstivity/feel setting, so I wonder about that.

Actually, I'm wondering if you had some knowledge to share regarding brush softness, minimum diameter, opacity and flow, and wacom pressure properties. My question is vague and situation, but I mean just in general, how you'd ideally set properties to get similar results to exercises.

Thanks Lea! It's hard to believe it's been 6 month...

2009-01-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks Lea! It's hard to believe it's been 6 months already. Christmas was a bit tearful, as we have a stocking for both our cats, BJ and Corona.

We adopted both at the same time - Corona is my wife's cat. She wasn't sure if we should put it up or not, but we did, hanging their stocking underneath a framed photo of BJ on our fireplace mantle.

I am always up for reading more about your colorin...

2009-01-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

I am always up for reading more about your coloring.

Belated sympathy for BJ. A very sad end, but what a life! I hope you are both feeling better now.

Hello Mark, I liked a lot your coloring in my work...

2008-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Mark,
I liked a lot your coloring in my work!
Could you send me (via e-mail) the covers we've both done?
Thank you!

I was just looking for Black Summer artwork for my...

2008-10-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was just looking for Black Summer artwork for my blog, when I came across this post. It just kinda stopped me dead in my tracks. I have a cat who's 8 now and I know that when he goes it will be one of the most difficult things I'll ever have to deal with. I know, because just reading your post brought tears to my eyes.

Sorry for your loss.

You wrote a nice eulogy. I got pretty choked up re...

2008-08-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

You wrote a nice eulogy. I got pretty choked up reading it but then I've always been a cat person. It's always nice to hear when someone saves a pet at the shelter and that made the story a little less sad because I think of how close he was to being put down as a kitten- you gave him many, many years he otherwise wouldn't have had.

Pretty nice work. How do you feel about coloring p...

2008-08-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

Pretty nice work. How do you feel about coloring panels with water colors?

This is wonderful. I've tried it quickly and it wo...

2008-06-07T02:35:00.000-07:00

This is wonderful. I've tried it quickly and it works great. I can give it several uses. Thanks a lot, man!