[Scribus] Preferred graphic formats.

[PLinnell]

On Tuesday 21 February 2006 15:15, Craig Bradney wrote:
> On Tuesday 21 February 2006 15:06, John R. Culleton wrote:
> > On Monday 20 February 2006 14:46, Christoph Sch?fer wrote:
> > > Am Montag, 20. Februar 2006 20:06 schrieb John R. Culleton:
> > > > 1. If I scan and save a photo using Xsane, what format is
> > > > preferred for import into a CMYK Scribe document?
> > > >
> > > > Xsane will save as JPEG, PNG, PNM, PostScript or TIFF.
> > > >
> > > > 2. If I have a color graphic created in Gimp, what is the
> > > > preferred format for import into a CMYK Scribus document?
> > > >
> > > > Gimp only uses RGB, but will save in all the above plus many
> > > > more.
> > > >
> > > > 3. If I must import a RGB model illustration, should I just
> > > > import it as is or should I run it through a conversion
> > > > program first?
> > >
> > > Hi John,
> > >
> > > please have a look at the docs:
> > >
> > > http://docs.scribus.net/index.php?lang=en&page=importhints
> > >
> > > You can find the same information in the Scribus help browser.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Christoph
> >
> > Thanks for your reply. Now, do you have a suggestion for #3
> > above? The object of course is a Scribus document using only cmyk
> > colors.
>
> Import the RGB file and select Printer (which is CMYK) on the
> colour tab of the PDF export dialog. This will convert all to CMYK.
> Turning on colour management with all the correct profiles
> installed and activated may then give you a better export of
> course.
>
> Craig
> Probably set up colour management,

Not probably, definitely...

Blindly creating or importing RGB colors in 1.3.2+, then converting to 
CMYK is not recommended for good color conversion without using color 
management enabled and "simulate printer" also enabled.

The tricky part is getting a decent icc profile of your monitor, which 
is often difficult, especially with LCD - not impossible, just more 
difficult.

Here is a good example: Create a medium deep green CMYK without CMS 
enabled, then switch on CMS. You will see a dramatic color shift and 
the exported PDF will show the same. Too much black and it will 
appeared muted. 

Now create a similar 2nd same shade with CMS enabled, then export. To 
match the green, you will need to add C and Y both - sometimes a lot. 
Now, screen and PDF or print will almost match perfectly - the green 
will stay saturated and will have correct black level. Disable the 
CMS, the green will shift and will look too light and over saturated. 

In the above case, RGB colors are SRGB and I used the Forgra-27 ICC 
color profile for CMYK printer with perceptual rendering.

I know the 1.3.x docs need to be updated and I hope this part is done 
in the next week or two. 

1.3.x is much better for color management and color conversion once 
setup properly.

Hope that helps,

Peter