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any alternatives to photoshop for CMYK?
The profile I’ve got on my RIP software produces flat colours when using RGB so ideally I think I need to be able to send a CMYK image directly to the RIP.
I really don’t want to and can’t justify renting photoshop or adobe CC at this moment in time.
I’ve read that CMYK on gimp using a plugin is not good, paint.net doesn’t seem to do it, most other programs (free or cheap) are mac only so I’m stuck there.
I’ve not used coreldraw before so how does that stack up?
Any ideas?
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6 Replies
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The software, be it PS or corel etc is one of the most important pieces of kit you need so get trial versions of each, see which one you prefer and buy it.
John -
Right now the issue is justification of the outlay for it, I’d be starting from scratch with it (I’m a structural engineer not a graphics artist) and this is being run as something just to keep the printer in service until I’ve got the main side project (wakeboard/waterski/snowboard building) underway.
Is it worth going down the route of just PS or full CC suite (i.e. indesign, illustrator & PS)? £9/month I obviously could deal with but £45/month would require further thought. If I was using it every day then I’d rent it in a heartbeat, but at the moment I’d probably only be using a few times a month so the cost per use is rather high. I currently pay double that for my main engineering software (and that’s after buying it – so just yearly subs) but I use it every day 6 days a week
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Hi Chris
How many images are you talking about? -
I honestly don’t know, it really depends on my other workload. PS is a skill I’d like to re-learn (I used to be pretty good at PS and Quark 12-15yrs ago)
I’ve got the trial version of PS now so I’m playing around with that, it’s so different to how I remember it! either that or in my "old" age I just can’t pick it up as quickly anymore! It works with my old LR3 so that’s a bonus
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Hi Chris.
I spent many years at Shell UK working as a senior technical support analyst. I dealt with some of the most common software out there and then I dealt with some software that I couldn’t even pronounce, let alone use. But my job was to fix problems with them, so I had to learn.
Anyway, getting back to the point I was trying to make, if you have had previous experience of a piece of software but are now using something that looks like a totally different application, follow a few basic rules.
Start with simple objects (squares, circles, rectangles etc) and just do basic things to them. Like aligning, welding, cutting one from the other and so on. While you are searching the help on how to do this, you start to pick up other little tips and tricks.
Once you’ve grasped the basics, try to reproduce a design you were familiar with in your earlier days. Basically, as you re-learn to do the things you used to do, you’ll pick them up quicker because you know the result you want and the terminology used to describe/search for how to do it. You can then start to add on the more specific/complex things later.
Personally, I use Coreldraw because it was the first package I was introduced to getting into the sign/design business. But if I could go back again, I would definitely have learned PS instead.
As to pricing, if you are going to buy outright, they are both fairly pricey for a short term use. I would probably go for the monthly lease of PS. Even the cost of 6 months use wouldn’t come close to buying the full application.Just my thoughts.
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Hi Chris
I was going to offer to do the conversions for you, while you get sorted in the short-term, as long as its not hundreds a month etc…
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