CMYKTool
CMYKTool is a new utility intended to build on the functionality of my old CMYK separation plugin for the GIMP. The key features I needed and couldn't find elsewhere in a convenient single package are as follows:
- Convert images between ICC profiles.
- Support RGB and CMYK images as both input and output.
- When converting from RGB to CMYK, preserve pure black, preserve pure grey, or attempt to underfill black to give a fake "overprint" effect.
- Images and their individual channels can be inspected
- As well as "inspect" mode, a soft proof mode to show how an image would look when printed.
- Easy comparison of multiple images. This means it must be possible to flip between them with minimal screen redrawing, and zoom-and-pan settings must be synchronized between multiple images.
- Save JPEG, TIFF (8- and 16-bit) with or without embedded profiles.
In the fullness of time I also intend to add the functionality of ImgTarget to CMYKTool (or merge the two projects) since the side-by-side comparison of images produced with different settings would be particularly useful when experimenting with devicelinks.
CMYKTool 0.1.6-pre1
2011-01-25
There aren't many user-visible changes to this first development release of 0.1.6, but I wanted to get the headline new feature out there for testing purposes.
- CMYKTool is now capable of preserving clipping paths in TIFF images. (It does this by preserving the entire Photoshop Image Resource Block, if found). The Image Resource Block can be loaded from JPEG images, too, but not yet saved in jPEGs.
- There are some major under-the-hood changes to resource tracking and allocation, which will hopefully improve stability in the long run, but for now may have the opposite effect, so be warned!
Source code - .tar.gz
Windows Binary - .zip
Please note: the Windows build requires an existing GTK+ installation - the easiest way to get this is to install either Inkscape or GIMP version 2.6 or earlier.
CMYKTool 0.1.5
2010-12-31
Just in time for the New Year, CMYKTool 0.1.5 is released. Highlights since the 0.1.4 release include:
- Better support for greyscale images, and an embedded greyscale profile will no longer cause an error.
- Optional dithering of images when saving in 8-bit formats. This can help if you have an image with very smooth gradients that end up visibly contoured once the image is saved. (But note that it won't help get rid of contouring in the original image!)
- DeviceLink profiles can now be exported for use in other programs.
- The Win32 build now bundles a couple of CMYK profiles from the openicc-data package, which can be found here.
Source code - .tar.gz
Ubuntu PPA - ppa:amr/blackfiveimaging
Windows Binary - .zip
Please note: the Windows build requires an existing GTK+ installation - the easiest way to get this is to install either Inkscape or GIMP version 2.6 or earlier.
Read more...
CMYKTool 0.1.5-pre2
2010-10-24
Another hurried pre-release, this time bringing a couple of minor bug fixes, and updated translations - with thanks as always to Alexandre Prokoudine and Guillermo Espertino.
Source code - .tar.gz
Windows Binary - .zip
Please note: the Windows build requires an existing GTK+ installation - the easiest way to get this is to install either Inkscape or GIMP version 2.6 or earlier.
Read more...
CMYKTool Devicelink Tutorial Screencast
2010-12-31
In my last video i mentioned that CMYKTool's Devicelink support probably deserved a video to itself. That video has finally arrived - hope you find it helpful!
Read more...
CMYKTool 0.1.5-rc1
2010-11-28
At long last, a release candidate for CMYKTool 0.1.5. Apart from a few bug fixes, there are just a handful of significant new features.
- Firstly, greyscale images are now better supported, and an embedded greyscale profile will no longer cause an error.
- Secondly, images can now be dithered when saving in 8-bit formats. This can help if you have an image with very smooth gradients that end up visibly contoured once the image is saved. (But note that it won't help get rid of contouring in the original image!)
- The Win32 build now bundles a couple of CMYK profiles from the openicc-data package, which can be found here.
Assuming no show-stopping bugs crop up in the meantime, I hope I'll be able to make a final release of 0.1.5 soon.
There are a few new strings, a couple to do with the output dithering, and a couple of new error messages. Updated translations gratefully received, as always, and I shall make sure they make it into the final release.
Source code - .tar.gz
Windows Binary - .zip
Please note: the Windows build requires an existing GTK+ installation - the easiest way to get this is to install either Inkscape or GIMP version 2.6 or earlier.
CMYKTool 0.1.5-pre1 and DuoToner
2010-10-11
Apologies for the lack of updates - time pressures continue to be a problem for me, which is why I'm pushing out this pre-release. Apologies to the translators for not giving them any warning of this release - I'll try and push out a -pre2 in the near future with any updated translations I receive.
The big news this time is that the CMYKTool package now includes a second utility, DuoToner - this is something I needed in a hurry at work so it's rough around the edges, but it does what I need it to. CMYKTool also has a number of improvements - probably not enough to warrant a full release, but since it's likely to be some weeks before i can spend any more time on it, I'm hurrying out this pre-release while I can!
Source code - .tar.gz
Windows Binary - .zip
Please note: the Windows build requires an existing GTK+ installation - since the newest version of GIMP uses a newer and incompatible GTK Installation, Inkscape is now the GTK-donor of choice! Gimp up to 2.6 will still work, however.
