Topic: Inserting photos in Publisher

Hi,
I apologize if this is a trivial question:
In a CMYK Publisher document, is it better to insert RGB photos and let the program convert them to CMYK when producing the PDF, or is it better to insert the photos directly in CMYK?

Thank you so much for your time...

Imac 27" macOs Monterey 12.7.6     
Affinity Suite 2.6.5    Affinity Studio V3

sorry for my English.

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

street79 wrote:

Hi,
I apologize if this is a trivial question:
In a CMYK Publisher document, is it better to insert RGB photos and let the program convert them to CMYK when producing the PDF, or is it better to insert the photos directly in CMYK?

Thank you so much for your time...

I would say yes, You should convert images from RGB to CMYK in photo before importing to Publisher.
Especially as you may also be changing resolution and format.

www.JAmedia.uk, primarily an Affinity Publisher V2 user for books and magazines.
[ Win 11 home | AMD Ryzen 5950X 16 Core CPU ]
[128GB Ram | NVIDIA 3080TI 2GB | MB ASUS ProArt B550| ]

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

JAmedia wrote:

I would say yes, You should convert images from RGB to CMYK in photo before importing to Publisher.
Especially as you may also be changing resolution and format.

Thanks for the quick reply, which gives me a new perspective on the topic...

Have a good week... smile

Imac 27" macOs Monterey 12.7.6     
Affinity Suite 2.6.5    Affinity Studio V3

sorry for my English.

4 (edited by JAmedia 2025-10-20 17:20:21)

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

street79 wrote:
JAmedia wrote:

I would say yes, You should convert images from RGB to CMYK in photo before importing to Publisher.
Especially as you may also be changing resolution and format.

Thanks for the quick reply, which gives me a new perspective on the topic...

Have a good week... smile

Just to add a curved ball.... As Photo, Publisher and Designer share a lot of code it might be the same SW in both Photo and Publisher that does the RGB-CMYK converting... however I would still use Photo to set up the images correctly for use in Publisher.

www.JAmedia.uk, primarily an Affinity Publisher V2 user for books and magazines.
[ Win 11 home | AMD Ryzen 5950X 16 Core CPU ]
[128GB Ram | NVIDIA 3080TI 2GB | MB ASUS ProArt B550| ]

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

JAmedia wrote:

As Photo, Publisher and Designer share a lot of code it might be the same SW in both Photo and Publisher that does the RGB-CMYK converting

Yes, it will be. The core code is shared between all three apps, and then there’s a UI layer on top that exposes different parts of that code to the user.

however I would still use Photo to set up the images correctly for use in Publisher

Agreed. If you have it, you might as well use the image editor for setting up the images correctly.

“Welcome to the present moment. Here. Now. The only moment there ever is.”
― Eckhart Tolle

6 (edited by street79 2025-10-21 05:13:35)

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

@JAmedia @Alfredo

perfect! ...thanks again  smile

Imac 27" macOs Monterey 12.7.6     
Affinity Suite 2.6.5    Affinity Studio V3

sorry for my English.

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

@street79

Prego. https://punster.me/images/smile.gif

“Welcome to the present moment. Here. Now. The only moment there ever is.”
― Eckhart Tolle

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

I agree with the other comments, as long as you are only printing. If you also need to produce a PDF for online use, the answer is more complicated. This my situation when I produce a neighborhood newsletter. It's not a big deal for me, as the images are mostly basic photos and color fidelity is not critical, so I mostly leave the photos as RGB and count on Publisher to do the conversion on export. I have separate export presets for print and for online.

I see the brevity of truth.

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

Perhaps going off-topic, yet maybe worth mentioning here.

https://gracesgiclee.co.uk/apps/help-ce … ifications

The concept that one needs to send CMYK if a PDF document is to be printed seems to not necessarily always be what is needed.

I am not an expert on all of this, I just knew of what is in the linked page and so I have posted the link in case it might be relevant.

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

Perhaps going off-topic, yet maybe worth mentioning here.

https://gracesgiclee.co.uk/apps/help-ce … ifications

The concept that one needs to send CMYK if a PDF document is to be printed seems to not necessarily always be what is needed.

Did you really mean to say that the concept may not always be what is needed? https://punster.me/images/unsure.gif

I am not an expert on all of this, I just knew of what is in the linked page and so I have posted the link in case it might be relevant.

It’s clearly relevant to that particular print shop, but I think this merely serves to underline the fact that you shouldn’t make assumptions. If there’s anything you’re unsure about, ask for guidance from the printer that you intend to use.

“Welcome to the present moment. Here. Now. The only moment there ever is.”
― Eckhart Tolle

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

Alfred wrote:

...

The concept that one needs to send CMYK if a PDF document is to be printed seems to not necessarily always be what is needed.

Did you really mean to say that the concept may not always be what is needed? https://punster.me/images/unsure.gif

Yes.

If I have got it wrong, I am happy to learn why.

Re: Inserting photos in Publisher

William wrote:
Alfred wrote:

...

The concept that one needs to send CMYK if a PDF document is to be printed seems to not necessarily always be what is needed.

Did you really mean to say that the concept may not always be what is needed? https://punster.me/images/unsure.gif

Yes.

If I have got it wrong, I am happy to learn why.

I’m not saying you’ve got it wrong, William, I’m simply saying I don’t understand the … er … concept of a concept being needed (or not).

“Welcome to the present moment. Here. Now. The only moment there ever is.”
― Eckhart Tolle