Choosing a suitable RGB workspace

The RGB space you choose to edit with can certainly influence the outcome of your CMYK conversions, which is why you should choose your RGB workspace carefully. The default sRGB color space is widely regarded as an unsuitable space for photographic work because the color gamut of sRGB is in some ways smaller than the color gamut of CMYK (and most inkjet printers). If you choose a color space like Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB, you’ll be working with a color space that can adequately convert from RGB to CMYK without significantly clipping the CMYK colors. Figure 12.39 highlights the deficiencies of editing in sRGB compared to editing in Adobe RGB.

Figure 12.39. This example shows what happened to a Lab mode color image that was converted to CMYK once via Adobe RGB and once via sRGB. The green to cyan color gradient was deliberately chosen to highlight the differences between these two RGB color spaces. As you can see, if you compare the separations shown above, the sRGB version is weaker at handling cyans and greens and there is also a slight boost in warmth to the skin tones.