RGB to CMYK (Photoshop CS4)

[yuppicide]

At work I only have access to free software, such as GIMP, which cannot currently do CMYK. At home I do have access to Photoshop CS4, although I'll admit I'm mostly used to GIMP because I use it day in day out.

I am unsure if this whole story / question will end up being an RGB to CMYK question or a Photoshop question or what. Maybe part both.

I needed to make a 4 x 6 postcard for a fashion show in Jan. We wanted to try and save a little money from having to call in our usual outside go to guy.

I used a template from the postcard manufacturer's website in PSD. I can open those in GIMP, so it shows me where the "safe zones" are and the bleed area is. I designed both sides of my postcard in RGB and figured maybe I could do something when I got home.

I know converting from RGB to CMYK is a touchy subject and maybe can't be explained that easily, but maybe I can make some sense of it.

I opened the files in Photoshop CS4 and went to Image - Mode - CMYK. It automatically selected U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) V2. Not sure which one I should be trying as there's so many to choose from! Which one to choose? I was originally going to View - Gamut and try to adjust only that section, but so far I like what I see color wise, so I think this image mode might be the route to go.

The front of my postcard is two layers.. one has a girl in a dress with our company logo and some text. I'm happy with that side. Looks great. Color is a little off from the logo to the text, but it's decent.

The second side is I a bunch of layers. A gradient background, two logos, text, and lastly a decorative border I found here: stock.xchng - Art Deco Box (stock illustration by saine).

I took the "flower looking things" and colored them the same as our logo. Burgandy.

When I view it in GIMP it looks crisp and clear. The edges are nice and clean it appears. When I view them at home in Photoshop CS4 the edges are jagged and do not look good. I'm talking about the whole border.. not just the part I colored. Zoomed in to 100% or even 50% looks jagged.

Should I be concerned? Should I be doing something else? Should I go elsewhere to find a "decorative border"?

I think I'm satisfied with everything else on that side of the postcard, except for that border. I cannot draw the border on my own, so I'm forced to find some royalty free alternative.

Your help is most appreciated and I still look forward to doing some contests here in the coming year once money is better for me.

[jiaix]

maybe the jaggedness is caused by PS's default screen resulution (72 dpi). go to preferences->units & rulers

[yuppicide]

I tried doing that after I had opened the file.. I'll try tonight setting screen resolution first, then maybe exiting and reentering program and loading my file.

[DesignsbyALX]

i agree with jiaix, it's probabely the default resolution. It can also be a vector-problem, sure you didn't use any in Gimp? My tip; stick to one program, Adobe, i'd say!

[yuppicide]

Thanks for the tips so far.

The reason I can't stick with one program is because I have to work at the office, and won't get paid for my time at home.

For awhile now I knew there was a plug-in for GIMP to do CMYK, but I never figured out how to get it working until today.

I'm testing it out. I successfully converted my image to CMYK. It shows 4 channels, it shows them all in blackish colors. When I click proof it comes to life. Hopefully this will work for the printer whom I've sent the files.

I was able to pick up 1500 postcards for $68 with shipping, so it's not too big of a loss if they don't come out right. If they do come out right then we'll know for the future that I can do all the work in house.

[yuppicide]

I just got emailed a proof, well I have to login to their website. It's horribly pixelated. I've contacted the.. I hope it's something that can be corrected without needing to hire the other guy.

[yuppicide]

Thanks for all the help. I think things will be fine. I emailed someone at the company, he said preview the proof again. For some reason it looks perfect this time.

The only thing like I said is the jagged edge on that floral border, but it's not too bad.