Bump Up curve in Soft Proofing/Illustrator

[marc3llo]

Hi,

I was wondering how to make an ICC profile in "custom CMYK" (Photoshop) that acts as a bump up curve in Illustrator.

The idea is to make a profile (I dont have any soft, just photoshop) and then in soft proofing in Illustrator, go to view, customize and then choose my new profile.. and be able to see teh change... let's say, what is 3% see it as a 10% and so on..

Any idea?

Thanks a lot!
Marcelo

pd> If it can't be done in Photoshop, which could be the easiest way?
Thanks!
M

 

[TerryWyse]

Probably be easier to simply edit the profile you're using with curve adjustments (you'd need a dedicated profile editor for that) and save it out as a new profile.

If you're trying to simulate plate bump curves, it might be better to simply create a curve adjustment layer in Photoshop and toggle the layer on/off to see the effect. I'm not an Illustrator guy so I'm not sure if you can accomplish the same thing in Illustrator.

Terry

 

[marc3llo]

Hi Terry,

Yes, in Photoshop is much easier but I will have to raster the image an open it then in PS.. The idea I was thinking about is, within Illustrator, just see the changes with the soft proof..

One related question, If you have a curve in Photoshop, can you apply the "shape" of this curve, the values, to an ICC profile.. let's say that I have already a bump up curve in PS and I want the same one to be my ICC profile. Can I do it? and How?

Thanks a lot!
Marcelo

 

[TerryWyse]

One related question, If you have a curve in Photoshop, can you apply the "shape" of this curve, the values, to an ICC profile.. let's say that I have already a bump up curve in PS and I want the same one to be my ICC profile. Can I do it? and How?

Yes...and no. The *correct* way to apply/embed a new curve into an existing ICC profile would be to use a profile editing application (I use X-Rite's Profile Editor app, which used to be Gretagmacbeth Profile Editor). With profile editing software, you simply open the ICC profile, adjust the curves and save out a new profile. There are technical issues such as editing the correct "table" in the profile but that's another issue.

That's the correct way to do it....but you can SORT OF do what you ask using Photoshop's Custom CMYK editor. PS's Custom CMYK editor (available via Color Settings) allows one to create a new ICC profile with custom black generation settings and (for you) custom dot gain curves. Here's the catch: you cannot apply custom dot gain curves to an EXISTING ICC profile....it will create a completely new ICC profile based on some rather poor default ink colorimetry settings. Almost EVERYONE assumes that when opening the Custom CMYK settings that they are making changes to the current CMYK profile that they have selected in their default settings....NOT TRUE! Bottom line, yes, you can make a new profile with custom dot gain/curve adjustments but this new profile will likely not be anything like the profile you're currently using or that's embedded in your imag...resulting in potentional and unwanted color shifts. The profile editor software option that I first mentioned is the only way to use an existing profile and simply apply curve adjustments to it.

"Friends don't let friends use Photoshop's Custom CMYK engine!"

Regards,
Terry

 

[marc3llo]

Thanks Terry!, now I can clearly see the difference

So, what I really need is an ICC editor in order to do what I want? Ok, I am gonna try to find the way to get one.

Thanks a lot for your time and explanation of the matter.

Cheers!
Marcelo