Tech help...ink density (cmyk)

[Nanls]

My ink density is too high (by a whopping 2-3%) in an area on a postcard where the indesia will be printed, and also where the barcodes go to comply to postal regualtions. Question: If the ink density is too high in an area, and I change to lab and use a curves adjustment layer , will there be any loss by going to lab and then going back to CMYK? Or is it better to just stay in CMYK for all adjustments? I like the way you can lighten the image with curves in lab mode without changing the colors.
Thanks in advance,
~Nancy~

[Kraellin]

sorry, but what is 'indesia'?

craig

[BobJones]

Nancy meant "indicia", the markings on mailings which substitute for stamps or cancellations.

[Doug Nelson]

1. Moving from CMYK to Lab and back should be safe (Lab is a much larger space)

2. Reducing ink density is more normally done via the color management dialog, where you can specify exactly what your maximum ink density will be. Google 'cmyk ink density' (no quotes) for lots of info on this.

[Nanls]

Originally Posted by Doug Nelson

2. Reducing ink density is more normally done via the color management dialog, where you can specify exactly what your maximum ink density will be. Google 'cmyk ink density' (no quotes) for lots of info on this.

Sorry 'bou the typo Craig. Thanks for the info Doug, however, the problem is not the max density, of the entire image. It is the max ink density of certain areas of the image. For example: the bottom 5/8" of a 6x11 postcard cannot have an ink density of more than 7% - this is where the barcode is printed; same as the area where the "indicia" will be printed. right now that area has anywhere from 9 -11% ink density. I not sure that this little bit really makes a difference however, the people who are printing the project are sticklers for following postal regulations. ggeeez. Good to know about the conversion to lab and back. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

~Nancy~

[KR1156]

Mask that area, apply a channel mixer adjusment layer, and adjust the "percentage" of each color channel.

Place the eyedropper over the area and use your info palet to see the color percentages go down until you hit 7% (total).

On your info palet, you can change the options to show a "total ink amount"

[Nanls]

Originally Posted by KR1156

Mask that area, apply a channel mixer adjusment layer, and adjust the "percentage" of each color channel.

Place the eyedropper over the area and use your info palet to see the color percentages go down until you hit 7% (total).

On your info palet, you can change the options to show a "total ink amount"

thanks for the help. question: Do you decress each output channel equally? Sorry if it sounds like a dumb question.
~Nancy~

[KR1156]

No question is dumb!

You use your INFO palet to guide you on how much to decrease, per channel.

watch the numbers ("ink percentage") in the info palet as you decrease the colors, if it's CMYK, you can have a breakdown like c2,m2,y2,k1 which will give you a total density of 7, maybe you only want 7% black and no other color. All depends on your design!

your main objective is to decrease enough ink to leave you with no more than 7% total ink density in that area.

Hope this helps, kinda hard to type out the explanation!

[Nanls]

Originally Posted by KR1156

No question is dumb!

You use your INFO palet to guide you on how much to decrease, per channel.

watch the numbers ("ink percentage") in the info palet as you decrease the colors, if it's CMYK, you can have a breakdown like c2,m2,y2,k1 which will give you a total density of 7, maybe you only want 7% black and no other color. All depends on your design!

your main objective is to decrease enough ink to leave you with no more than 7% total ink density in that area.

Hope this helps, kinda hard to type out the explanation!

Got ya thanks. I was watching my info pallet and kwas 0% so I figured I would decress CMY equally, but wanted to make sure that was a good strategy. After I did, I ran a Gblur on the layer mask and that worked well.
Thanks again.
~Nancy~