# CMYK colour profiles



## Paul B (Feb 26, 2017)

I've downloaded some colour profiles from a printer I'm thinking of using. They all show up in Soft Proofing except for one, which is in the CMYK space.

According to Victoria's 'Missing FAQ' CMKY proofing should be available with CC/6. However another article I've seen (dated Jan. 2017) states that Lightroom does not support CMYK (though that may be considering output too, which I understand _isn't_ supported).

I downloaded another CMYK profile from another supplier and that didn't appear in the list either.

Has anyone else had any difficulties proofing with CMYK profiles?


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## johnbeardy (Feb 26, 2017)

I've a feeling the CMYK support was removed because of bugs in the soft proofing. In general, I would always use Photoshop for CMYK conversion since it's possible to soft proof there, and then do the necessary adjustments.

John


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## Paul B (Feb 26, 2017)

Ah, thanks John, that would make sense.

I don't have PS but Affinity Photo will handle CMYK; that's probably my best route.


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 27, 2017)

Yep, John's right, it was removed after the book was released. I'll double check I updated that in the Errata.


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## Paul B (Feb 27, 2017)

Victoria Bampton said:


> I'll double check ...


My fault; should have looked for an errata first.


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## Hoggy (Feb 27, 2017)

Well, that certainly seems odd.

I've never printed anything [yet], but isn't the largest purpose behind soft-proofing to be able to look for out-of-gamut colors for printing?


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## Paul B (Feb 27, 2017)

Hoggy said:


> I've never printed anything [yet], but isn't the largest purpose behind soft-proofing to be able to look for out-of-gamut colors for printing?


It also allows you to get a much better idea of how an image will look when printed on different devices, even with different papers (assuming your monitor is correctly calibrated in the first place).

Seems like Lightroom can't handle that for CMYK profiles.


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## johnbeardy (Feb 27, 2017)

Hoggy said:


> Well, that certainly seems odd.
> I've never printed anything [yet], but isn't the largest purpose behind soft-proofing to be able to look for out-of-gamut colors for printing?



Remember, it's softproofing to _CMYK profiles_ that wasn't working properly. 

Paul, do you actually have access to a press or other CMYK device? 

John


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## Paul B (Feb 27, 2017)

johnbeardy said:


> Paul, do you actually have access to a press or other CMYK device?


The profile I was originally trying to load is for a CMYK device used by a print company. So that profile is one of several I was simply taking a look at as an output option I may use at some point.

I wanted to understand what was happening with Lightroom when that profile didn't load but now that's resolved I'm quite happy with the status quo.


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## johnbeardy (Feb 27, 2017)

OK, well do get close to the print company before relying too much on a profile. It may be generic like Blurb's which is supposed to apply to all their printers and all papers, or it may not be up to date and the press operators would prefer the CMYK conversion to have been done in house.


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## Paul B (Feb 27, 2017)

johnbeardy said:


> OK, well do get close to the print company before relying too much on a profile. It may be generic like Blurb's which is supposed to apply to all their printers and all papers, or it may not be up to date and the press operators would prefer the CMYK conversion to have been done in house.


Thank you. They're reputable, I believe. But I take your point and will look before I leap.

I have also found somewhere within 10 miles of home that looks promising; at least I can physically visit them.


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