Hi everyone, I’m fairly new to Krita and I wasn’t able to find a solution through search, so apologies in advance if it has been answered before! I’m currently on 5.2.2 on both Windows and Linux.
When I create a document with CMYK/Alpha / 8bit / [My Printer’s ICC profile], and I try to set a specific CMYK value (e.g. 40 40 40 100) with the specific color selector, the vector shape or paint spot I draw does not return the same value if I sample it with the color sampler / dropper tool (the result is 22 45 49 95). The same seems to happen with any other specific CMYK value that I input manually; I’m guessing that this is the conversion error from converting to RGB and back?
I have checked and confirmed that the file and layer are in the correct CMYK color space with the correct ICC profile.
Is there something I’m doing wrong, or is it not possible to work in CMYK in Krita this way? Working in RGB and exporting to CMYK isn’t suitable for my machine as this results in duller colors than if I assign the color values manually.
I just checked and the sampler is set to Blend 100%, but even more confusing to me now is that the info box shows different values than the color that goes to the Specific Color Selector (Update Color is checked)
It’s set on Sample All Visible Layers, but I got the same result if I had it on Sample Current Layer.
I think I’ve figured out part of the problem: the Specific Color Selector was somehow set on a different ICC profile than the document was, and I changed it to the ICC profile of the file (my printer ICC profile).
If I now create a paint layer, enter a specific color value, and use the brush tool, the color sampler now returns the correct color from the spot I painted. However, if I attempt to do the same with a shape on a Vector Layer, or with a Fill layer, the values are different again.
I’m thinking that the paint layers are able to work in CMYK but vector or effect layers can only work in RGB?
My advice is not to work with CMYK in Krita (or any application) and instead use the soft proofing workflow.
There are many topics about this on this forum for why working in CMYK gives little to no benefit and even has disadvantages even when your printer at home works in CMYK color space.
I understand that you probably want the print to look as close as possible to what is on your screen but for this to even work you need to
print a test image and probe the colors with a colorimeter
create the printer’s true color profile from the measurements
import the created profile into Krita and set it for your document
calibrate your display and set it’s profile in Krita’s display settings so the colors can be converted correctly
And even then you will only get sort of close because colors on paper simply work different than on a screen (in addition to other CMYK quirks like having different blacks). And I assume you have an “office grade” printer which’s color accuracy is questionable anyway.
It’s much better to save yourself the headache and work in RGB, make sure the colors stay in range by soft proofing and using out of gamut warnings and let the printer handle the conversation if needed. You will only get “close enough” in any case, so why not use the simpler method? Using soft proofing gives you a file that looks good on screens and prints instead of just one or the other.
Also, the SVG standard (which Krita uses for vector objects) supports color profiles from version 1.1 on but Krita still uses the 1.0 version of the standard (I believe).
Normally I’d offer the same advice to any artist / illustrator thinking of working in CMYK; my situation is a bit backwards as I’m not really concerned about how the colors look on screen, and more concerned with how the output will appear on my specific printer (a Xerox Versalink).
Ideally I’d just keep everything in RGB and let the printer do the conversion, but I’ve found over time and experimentation that setting the values myself produces better results for the kind of printing I do (flat vector-like artwork with maybe just a few raster elements and no gradients).
For anyone else thinking of working in CMYK for general art and illustration: unless you have a super specific use case, keep your work in RGB and deal with the CMYK conversion at the end, and/or let the print shop optimize things for the specific printer they’ll use.
Working in CMYK in Krita is a very bad idea. But if you have no other choice, check the settings in two places. I have the Polish version of Krita and I don’t speak English, so I might change the names a bit, but I’ll try.
Main menu – color space. Here, change the perceptual model to relative colorimetric.
And the same in the main Krita settings (main menu – settings – Krita settings): Color management – CMYK – change the perceptual model to relative colorimetric.
Probably, the issue is caused by the vectors in Krita being limited to sRGB. They also store sRGB colors, so there’s always going to be a slight difference due to rounding errors.