Eckhard M. Jäger

CMYK Tiff 2 PDF for Gimp

Sunday, October 26, 2008 1:25:34 PM

color profiles, convert, seperate+, pdf, GIMP, cmyk, debian, print, color space, plugin

To complete my workflow using Seperate+ that generates CMYK Tiff images inside of Gimp i wrote a small Python plugin for Gimp that allows you to convert the saved CMYK Tiff image into a PDF for prepress.

The way it work is very easy, just follow these steps:
* Make sure you have installed the package "libtiff-tools" (or tiffcp and tif2pdf)
* Create your CMYK Tiff images with Seperate+ from RGB images (Ubuntu Ibex shiped with it, install package "gimp-plugin-registry")
* Start CMYK Tiff 2 PDF "<Image Window> > Image > Seperate > CMYK Tiff 2 PDF"
* Browse to your saved CMYK Tiff images (up to two)
* Setup the options you prefer
* In the same directory of your CMYK Tiff image a PDF using the given names is generated

This plugin allows you generate prepress PDF documents of your Inkscape illustrations too:
* Create your illustration in Inkscape
* Export it as PNG using 300dpi resolution and the required output size
* Open this PNG image into Gimp
* Use Seperate+ as desctibed here
* Use CMYK Tiff 2 PDF to convert it to a PDF document

The only limitation for prepress is that you have to add markers, overlapping, color scala etc. yourself. Any feedback is welcome.

» Download and copy it to

/home/#YourProfileName/.gimp-2.6/plug-ins

Make sure the file is marked as executable.

Synfig 0.61.09Pimp your Desk - again

Comments

Anonymous # Saturday, November 1, 2008 3:26:11 AM

ajabogado writes: Thank you so much. I will definitely try this one.

Anonymous # Saturday, November 1, 2008 5:35:35 AM

ajabogado writes: It works well. In my case, I changed the file permission first. It's really a great plug-in along with Separate+. Would this mean that GIMP will be ready for serious pre-press? Thanks again.

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Saturday, November 1, 2008 1:20:25 PM

@ajabogado

Thanx for the reply. Yes "CMYK Tiff 2 PDF" and "Seperate+" are a good team for prepress

Anonymous # Sunday, November 2, 2008 8:08:47 PM

Anonymous writes: I'd really love to have some control over the black generation. The separate plugin is great, but it still doesn't solve the cases when there is black text or grey areas. If the separate plugin would become something like the Photoshop's "custom profile" dialog it would be perfect and I centainly wouldn't touch Adobe software anymore. I woulnd't mind not having native CMYK separation if the separate plugin had that feature. That, or real CMYK and CMYK export in inkscape :-) I read some documentation about argyll some days ago, and I found that it already has some tools for black generation and GCR/UCR. I wonder if they can't be used for that purpose (I can only wonder, since I'm not a coder).

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Sunday, November 2, 2008 8:29:34 PM

Hi,
"when there is black text or grey areas" isn't it a question about the color profile you choose for the output?
At the moment i didn't get a complete Gimp 2.6.x version (including libgimp2.0-dev and gimp-dbg) to compile a fresh Seperate+ 0.5.3 that may solve that issues.

Anonymous # Sunday, November 2, 2008 9:02:25 PM

Gez writes: Hi, (I was the previous "anonymous") Yes, it's true. That is something that belongs to the color profile chosen for the separation, but generic profiles like Euroscale, Swop or ECI are more oriented to photos, and although they perform a very good separation for that purpose, it's generally not good enough for design, where you need more precise control over black generation, overprint and trapping. Separate+ is almost there. With some extra controls will be a great solution for designers. That or a good graphic utility for creating custom profiles.Do you know some tool that already allows that?

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Sunday, November 2, 2008 9:16:04 PM

what about little cms
http://www.littlecms.com/about.htm

A lot of color profiles can be found here too:
http://linux.vilars.com/

Anonymous # Monday, November 3, 2008 12:37:17 AM

Anonymous writes: As far as I know it's the same that happens with Argyll. The tools are there, the back-end is ready, but there isn't a graphical front-end for creating a custom profile. You have to do it using command line, and it's not a trivial task. Separate+ uses LCMS for the separations. Thank you for the other link! I didn't know that blog and there's a lot of interesting information. Straight to my RSS reader :)

Anonymous # Friday, November 14, 2008 6:16:24 PM

Anonymous writes: Placed the file into plug-ins directory, changed extgension to ".exe" but still no "Image > Seperate > CMYK Tiff 2 PDF" in Gimp. Any Suggestions? Runnig WinVista (Unfortunately)

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Friday, November 14, 2008 8:18:54 PM

This is a Python plugin, do not rename it as an *.exe. At the moment it still works on Linux. A Windows version will follow soon.

Anonymous # Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:47:23 PM

Anonymus writes: Is the function of markers, overlapping, color scala, not just what makes a prepress program a prepress program. Will I get in to trouble when I use import these tiffs in indesign or inkscape or scribus. And then make a pdf file for CYMK printing (press)??

Anonymous # Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:45:28 PM

Adam B. writes: I installed everything (properly, I think... noob) and I saved the file using the Separate+ plugin but when I attempt to convert it to PDF no file is generated. If I ask the software to delete the tiff file it will but no pdf is created in its place. Where did I go wrong? I am using gimp 2.6. Thanks!

Anonymous # Thursday, February 19, 2009 10:13:21 PM

Adam B. writes: Disregard, I had installed libtiff-tools wrong.

Anonymous # Friday, March 13, 2009 10:59:43 PM

bzed@debian.org writes: Hi, could you please add a license (like GPLv3 or later) to your script, so I can add it to the `gimp-plugin-registry' package in Debian? Thanks and best regards, Bernd

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Saturday, March 14, 2009 2:35:49 PM

Hello Bernd,

yes i can but i have to find a bug too.

Anonymous # Sunday, March 15, 2009 11:11:25 AM

bzed@debian.org writes: A missing copyright information and license is a bug, too ;) In theory nobody is allowed to use your script at the moment...

Anonymous # Friday, March 20, 2009 1:08:58 PM

jmaibaum writes: Hello, I just found your plugin and will definetly try it. You wrote that I will have to "add markers, overlapping, color scala etc." myself. As I am fairly new to editing images for prepress, could you perhaps tell me how to do so? Thanks in advance, Johannes Maibaum.

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Saturday, March 21, 2009 8:42:27 PM

@all

A New version is available:
http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/cmyk-tiff-2-pdf-for-gimp-update

Download the script again.

Anonymous # Monday, May 4, 2009 2:55:56 AM

Prophecy writes: Gracias por tu aporte lo estoy probando para un proyecto universitario de diseño grafico en Ecuador. Thanks for your gift, i use it for university's project in Ecuador in graphic design with free software. Robert.

Anonymous # Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:51:50 PM

Ufuk_k writes: Hello, it works nice although I haven't tried to print my work out yet. Thank you.

Anonymous # Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:49:05 AM

Anonymous writes: good

Anonymous # Friday, August 7, 2009 9:05:20 AM

brtkr writes: Where do I have to install this python script on Linux??? It does not appear in GIMP. I installed it to: ~/.gimp-2.6/plugins and ~/.gimp-2.6/scripts and I don't see it in GIMP. Separate+ works well. I installed it a year ago.

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Saturday, August 8, 2009 3:14:28 PM

@brtkr

Have you read the article?

Download and copy it to
/home/#YourProfileName/.gimp-2.6/plug-ins
Make sure the file is marked as executable.

Anonymous # Wednesday, October 28, 2009 9:54:04 AM

brtkr writes: Thanks, I was thinking about it. Problem resolved months ago. :)

Anonymous # Thursday, October 29, 2009 11:08:06 AM

Naish writes: I am using Gentoo. I just successfully created my first TIFF PDF with seperate+ and CMYK Tiff 2 PDF great tool. I myselve would not have needed it, because my part is screendesign, but I was asked by a friend using WINDOWS XP. Is ist already possible to Install CMYK Tiff 2 PDF on Windows?

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Saturday, October 31, 2009 6:42:15 PM

Sorry i will not longer support Windows.

Anonymous # Monday, February 8, 2010 5:12:09 AM

Anonymous writes: Thanks very much for the plugin :) I used both Separate+ and this. Really cool and happy to get everything done on free software. Cheers!

Anonymous # Thursday, March 25, 2010 2:33:38 PM

Antonio writes: I've tried using this on GIMP 2.7 and the menu isn't showing up. The original separate plugin still works though. Great stuff, thanks!

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Thursday, March 25, 2010 3:54:30 PM

i know that all my script did not work on GIMP 2.7, it seems they changed someting about the Python structure.

Anonymous # Wednesday, April 21, 2010 2:24:32 PM

linette writes: to get this script working in 2.7 I did the following: 1) copied the python dir as per these instructions: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9129490 2) I then had to put the new python directory in my python path as per: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=520835 (I ended up running the command: export PYTHONPATH=/usr/lib/gimp/2.0/python/) Hope this helps someone! :)

Anonymous # Tuesday, April 27, 2010 4:46:33 AM

Linette writes: I managed to get your excellent script working in 2.7. First I had to put the python directory in place, as per this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9129490 Then I had to put a python path in place pointing to the directory just added. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=520835 Then your scripts worked a treat, which saved my bacon when I needed a CMYK pdf!

Anonymous # Saturday, May 21, 2011 9:12:55 AM

geothpav writes: I have followed every instructions about separate+. the separated file that comes out is in gray white scale at every layer. Only proof image was in color but the image did not look like the RGB source image. Furthermore, after saving this separated image with separate, I closed its window and GIMP asked me if I wanted to save any changes in the file, I accepted, I chose "flatten image" randomly and saved the image. When I tried to see print previews of the image (GIMP, Scribus)it always was black and white. I have tried the "create CMYK pseudo-composite" option but the result does not look like the RGB source image. My post production process is: 1) Processing the RGB image 2) Converting to CMYK in order to be printed Is it correct? How can I make the CMYK image look like the RGB? The header of GIMP window of the separated image is "File name-CMYK.tif-2.0(RGB, 5 layers)" and after saving and reopening it turns to "File name-CMYK.tif-2.0(RGB, 1 layer)" Shoudn't it say CMYK instead of RGB? Unfortunately my home printer is a three color one and I can't check what the ral results look like. Please give more specific instructions. I am beginner and not a professional and it starts becoming confusing and annoying instead of being enjoying. I would like to know if there is any analytical manual for Separate+ in the web.

Eckhard M. Jägerarea42 # Sunday, May 22, 2011 8:23:06 AM

@geothpav
1: Not any print workflow requires CMYK images. You can work with ICC color profiles that convert the hole document including the RGB images to CMYK when you export it to an PDF.
2: CMYK images will only look near by RGB images when you enabling a CMYK or Prepress-Preview, because CMYK is different colorspace like RGB.
3: GIMP itself can't work with CMYK images
4: If you created a CMYK image wirh Seperate+ you must save the image via Seperate+ not via GIMP