[scribus] re washed out printout

[Peter Nermander]

> How do I get it to be not washed out when going directly to a CMYK
> PostScript printer attached directly to the PC that is running
> scribus?  I'm assuming if I can export to a PDF with "Output Intended
> for:" set to printer and have that work then that would also solve
> the printing direct to a CMYK PostScript printer problem.

Are you REALLY SURE your printer accepts CMYK data?

Just because the printer prints with the colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and
Black doesn't mean its driver accepts CMYK data. Most desktop printers are
designed to accept RGB data and then does the conversion themselves.

I think what is happening to you is the following:

You tell Scribus to export to CMYK ("export for printer"), so Scribus does
a conversion from RGB to CMYK (using the color profiles you have set it to
use).

You print the CMYK data to your printer, but since your printer does not
accept CMYK data the printing application (or possibly the printer driver)
will do another conversion (from CMYK to RGB, but using what profiles I
don't know) and then send the data to the printer. Inside the printer the
RGB data will again be converted to CMYK (using built in color profiles).


So you get several RGB-CMYK (or the opposite) conversions, some of them
involving color profiles you do not have any control over.


If you just set to "export for web/screen" the data will be RGB all the
way into the printer, where it will do the final conversion to CMYK.


One of the keys to successful color management is to only do conversion
ONCE, and this conversion is preferrably done at the printer/RIP level.

That's the whole point with the PDF/X formats if I undestand it right,
they contain colorspace and profile information so the RIP can do a good
conversion AND so that print preview works as axpected.


/Peter