Duotone help...

[Kristian]

I have a CMYK image which I want to separate out of Pantone 525 and Black by creating a Duotone.

I am struggling in getting the balance correct between the two channels as my image just looks really dull. Does anyone have any tips as to how to get good results.

Image attached is the supplied CMYK version. I want it to look the same but only using the 525 and Black.

Also, once I have my duotone image what is the best format to save it as? How can I view the channels?


Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

[gordo]

First convert to a good grayscale. Then convert to Duotone mode in PShop. Use one of PShop's canned duotone inksets. Choose one that uses a PMS color that is similar in darkness to PMS 525. Then click on the PMS color patch and chage the PShop PMS color to PMS 525. Then adjust the default curves until you get the effect you want. Then save as an eps.

Attached is my version. I can send the eps to you if you like.

best gordo

!http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/data/500/10692test_1-med.jpg!

[carijansen]

Altneratively... if you are using Photoshop CS3, start by *Image > Adjustments > Black and White* and get the setting that gives you the best Black and White image.

Click *OK*

Then *Image > Mode > Grayscale* followed by *Image > Mode> Duotone*

Set your two duotone curves and click *OK*.

Seen as you are submitting this message in the InDesign forum: You can save the file as a .psd (Photoshop). no need to save a duotone as an EPS.

[Kristian]

Thanks for the tips. Gordo if you could send me your version that would be great. My email address is kristianw(at)james-townsend dot co dot uk

I will have a go myself and compare it to yours.

I will also try the other method by Cari.

Many thanks for your help.
Kristian

[Tech]

> {quote:title=Kristian wrote:}{quote}
> I have a CMYK image which I want to separate out of Pantone 525 and Black by creating a Duotone.
>
> *I am struggling in getting the balance correct between the two channels as my image just looks really dull. Does anyone have any tips as to how to get good results.*
>
> Image attached is the supplied CMYK version. I want it to look the same but only using the 525 and Black.
>
> Also, once I have my duotone image what is the best format to save it as? How can I view the channels?
>
>
> Any help is appreciated.
> Thanks


The main reason you images are dull is your duotone curves. Follow either of 2 previous suggestions, when refining duotone curve, I would suggest loading Adobe's preset as a starting point. 1) Find and load a similar preset color then change it to your actual color and see if you like the result 2) Refine the curve if you aren't too happy with preset

[Helmet_of_Poe]

Here's a cool trick to get usually better looking and printing grayscale images from CMYK or RGB images. This works best on darker images when you're concerned about losing detail in mids and shadows. It involves extracting the Lightness layer from a LAB color image, which is often a better grayscale than just going to Image > Mode > Grayscale.

1) Convert your image to LAB color; go to Image > Mode > Lab Color
2) Open your Channels Palette and select the Lightness Channel
3) Now change to grayscale with Image > Mode > Grayscale

What I do most often is open my CMYK or RGB image and make a Duplicate of it (Image > Duplicate), and view both copies side by side. Now I convert one to grayscale the conventional way, and I convert the other using the LAB method. Almost always, the LAB version is better, especially at maintaining detail in the mids and shadows. For images that are already very light and blown out, you'll probably like the conventional method because the LAB method will lighten the images even further.

You've got nothing to lose by trying both methods, running a proof and picking the best one.