Total Ink

[adam_mueller]

<p>When editing and using the Total Ink information tool in the Ink Pallet does it really matter that your darks go over 300%?<br>

Also, does the 300% rule stand for other colours too?<br>

Every image I have had printed doesn't seem to have any problem. Some are even 350-360% and the blacks seem to be ok. This has been with commercial printers, local printers even my own printer.</p>

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[howard_owen]

<p>If you're sending your files for CMYK offset output, total ink most certainly matters. Many printers will run your file through their own RIP which will reduce ink percentages to something their press can tolerate. Given that some people actually think "rich black" should be 100,100,100,100 (or Registration black), it's become a matter of self-preservation among printers to prevent such atrocities from reaching their equipment.</p>

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[adam_mueller]

Ok thanks for the info.

 

What would you recommend is the best way to reduce it? I have tried using curves and

selective colour and it hasn't really made a difference without making the darks look

extremely light and odd. Looking at some images in magazines the blacks have to be over 300% for it to look like that.

[patricklavoie]

<p>here a excellent book for most of your question.. for now.</p>

<p><em><strong>CMYK 2.0: A Cooperative Workflow for Photographers, Designers, and Printers</strong></em> has one purpose: to get us all back on the same path to creating predictable color in the RGB-to-CMYK workflow. In a field that often features very strong—and very different—opinions, author Rick McCleary emphasizes the need for cooperation, collaboration, and communication. After first establishing a context for how we all got here, McCleary redefines each partner’s role in the process, demystifies the entire RGB-to-CMYK workflow, and offers a clear, step-by-step guide to achieving predictable color on press. Written with exceptional clarity, <em>CMYK 2.0 </em>presents a highly detailed and thoroughly rigorous approach to CMYK color, and it offers a workflow that all photographers, designers, and printers need—one that works.<br>

<br /></p>

 

[digitaldog]

<p>TAC is based upon the output device/paper/colorants etc. One device will be fine with 300 TAC, another will not. Talk to your printer. FWIW, TAC is more than just black! A high TAC with an improper black generation (GCR or UCR as well) can produce issues. Higher TAC is not necessarily the answer. </p>

[emil_ems5]

<p>I also used to have problems with total ink coverage but not more! The trick for me is to do all digital processing (including final sharpening) in the RGB space. To simulate the final output, I am using the printer's profile for proofing. In my case this happens to be FOGRA 35 (Latest European standard for respectable offset printers). Before sending the picture to the printer, I convert it to the CMYK space (FOGRA 35). This automatically limits total ink coverage to 330%, which is the limit in FOGRA 35. When checking the picture after conversion, I never felt the need to complain about the blackness of total black. Everything seems as black as before conversion, and turns out as black as possible in the final print.<br>

Permit me to add, as a previous commentator has, that I often see several places with 330% on the converted print that are of other colors than black. Especially deep green tends to hover at that limit.</p>