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Accessing Grayed-Out Filters In CMYK

 

One of the bad things about converting from RGB mode to CMYK mode (under the Image menu) is that many of Photoshop’s coolest filters can only be applied in RGB mode, and once you’re in CMYK mode, many of them are grayed out in the Filter menu, so they can’t be accessed. So what do you do if you really want to use one of those filters? (Whatever you do, don’t convert back to RGB mode, then back to CMYK. That’s image suicide.) Instead, try this tip: In the Channels palette, click on the Cyan channel. Go to the Filters menu and you’ll notice that all those grayed-out filters are now suddenly available. All you have to do now is apply the filter you want to each channel individually (once each on Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and finally the Black channel), and the filter will appear as though you applied it to the entire image (in reality, you did—you just did it the more laborious way). One way to speed up this process is to create an action that will do it all for you with one click of the mouse.

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Once You’re In CMYK Mode, Stay There

You’ve read some techniques in this chapter that require you to be in either RGB mode or Lab Color mode; however, if for any reason your image is already in CMYK mode, do not (I repeat, do not) convert to RGB or Lab mode for any reason. Once you’ve converted to CMYK mode, the data loss from the conversion has already occurred, and switching back to RGB mode won’t bring back those lost colors. What’s worse is, if you switch from CMYK to RGB (or Lab), when you convert back to CMYK mode, you’ll go through another CMYK conversion and damage your image even more. The moral of this story is-once you’re in CMYK mode, stay there.

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