CMYK proofing comes to Pixelmator Pro

Discuss the latest Pixelmator news.
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2019-10-25 15:09:29

Good news, everyone! We’ve just shipped a smaller Pixelmator Pro update with a big new feature called Soft Proof Colors. This one’s for all you print designers out there.
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CMYK Proofing
Soft proofing lets you see what an image would look like when reproduced on a different output device — for example on a different monitor or when printed. And for most Pixelmator Pro users, the most important thing is being able to soft proof images with CMYK color profiles when working on designs that will be printed. As Pixelmator Pro already had the ability to convert to CMYK when exporting, with soft proofing, it becomes an even more powerful image editor for those of you creating designs for print.
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A few days ago, we also started the Pixelmator Pro Upgrade Sale to encourage any original Pixelmator users to give Pixelmator Pro a chance and it’s been a great couple of days in many different ways! More on that later, but the sale ends on Tuesday, October 29th, so you have a few more days to take advantage of it — it really is a fantastic offer.

While we get back to working on Pixelmator Pro 2.0 (oh yes, we’ve already started and it’s going to be an amazing free upgrade), feel free to check out the full release notes for this update by visiting our What’s New page or just go ahead and view Pixelmator Pro 1.5.1 on the Mac App Store.

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2019-10-25 15:49:26

:grin:
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2019-10-25 16:11:26

by st3f 2019-10-25 12:49:54 :grin:
I'm excited that you're excited! (That is excitement, right? :grinning:)
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2019-10-25 16:41:05

Great update With the soft proofing stuff. I like also that you worked on “reduced used resources” and improved speed.
Very caring, not only add features but also enhanced the not so “obvious” usability.

Pixelmator Pro 2.0.
Really excited what that upgrade brings...
I reckon type on path, adjustment layers, detachable tools, secondary display support and some surprises...
I would feel, it would be magic to have a tight integration with 3rd party photo services, but I know that this is “just a nice feature to have”. 😔😀

On the way to 2.0, Do you guys skip some 0.1 steps along the way? I am really excited to see the biggest update to Pixelmator pro. I reckon that this update could take a year or two until it’s released?
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2019-10-25 17:35:44

by Andrius 2019-10-25 16:11:26 I'm excited that you're excited! (That is excitement, right? :grinning: )
Absolutely. That print project that prompted me to look into how CMYK works got shelved. I may go poke it with a stick and see if it has some life left in it.
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2019-10-29 08:49:59

by ResLes 2019-10-25 16:41:05 On the way to 2.0, Do you guys skip some 0.1 steps along the way? I am really excited to see the biggest update to Pixelmator pro. I reckon that this update could take a year or two until it’s released?
The steps are totally arbitrary — we decide what update is 1.x, 1.x.x, or x.0. The next major update is most likely going to be 2.0. :raised_hands:
by st3f 2019-10-25 17:35:44 Absolutely. That print project that prompted me to look into how CMYK works got shelved. I may go poke it with a stick and see if it has some life left in it.
Cool! As ever, we'd love to know how it goes.
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2019-12-01 13:59:04

Hi there! I've just downloaded Pixelmator Pro but can't seem to locate the Soft Proof Colours image feature under View.

Also referred to the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NNrFn-7EaM but can't seem to locate the option as well.

Any help would be appreciated! :) Thanks
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2019-12-01 19:12:22

It's here for me (v1.5.2):
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What do you see?
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2019-12-02 15:18:47

Due to its Metal-only pipeline, Soft Proof Colors requires Mojave or Catalina — is it possible you're using High Sierra? If so, upgrading to at least Mojave (if possible) should make the feature appear for you.
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2019-12-26 15:49:06

Thanks Andrius! It works now after I've upgraded to Catalina! :smile:
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2019-12-27 11:10:45

by Adeline Thanks Andrius! It works now after I've upgraded to Catalina! :smile:
That's great — hope you're enjoying the new feature (and the refreshed, more native UI should be a nice little bonus too). :pray:
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2020-02-15 23:19:45

Hi,

Seriously, for a mid-consumer like me, Pixelmator PRO is almost a non sense app. Evertyhing is hidden. Intuitively doing things is dead. The fun is gone and I keep using my noble pixelmator. Love to keeping up with people whose talent is placed at the level of practically everyone. But this was not the case. But is probably my probem. As always, I am here to help. Best wishes.

Ricardo
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2020-02-17 13:49:56

Hey Ricardo, thanks for taking the time to share your comments! On the whole, Pixelmator Pro in its current state looks to be very well received by our users. Now, that's not to say it's perfect (far from it — we have so many ideas for improvements) but when it seems that lots of people really like the app, it wouldn't make sense to make any particularly drastic decisions based on comments like "everything is hidden and unintuitive".

Put simply — it's difficult for us to know exactly what you find frustrating. Yes, Pixelmator Pro has a more modular interface and I can guess that it would be nice for you to have certain things always visible but those things would be different to different people, so if you want us to take your comments into account, it would be great if you could tell us specifically which tools/parts of the interface you want to keep visible and what actions were quick and easy in the original Pixelmator but are not as quick and easy in Pixelmator Pro. That way, we'd also be able to provide more specific answers about why things are the way they are and whether we plan to change them.
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2020-06-12 22:06:36

Hello,
I have used Soft Proofing before on my Mac (Catalina), but with this image I can't enable it because the menu option is greyed out (please see the attached screenshot). Would you know why?
Thanks,
Seon Joo

Image
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2020-06-16 08:49:58

Not sure, to be honest! Would you be able to share that image with us? You can upload it to upload.pixelmator.com, then copy and paste the link in your reply here. Or, if you prefer, you can email it straight to me at andriusg@pixelmator.com. Thanks in advance!
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2020-06-20 03:08:38

Here we go. Thank you for looking into it!
http://upload-cdn.pixelmator.com/Screen ... .38-PM.png
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2020-06-22 08:22:41

by seonjoo 2020-06-20 03:08:38 Here we go. Thank you for looking into it!
http://upload-cdn.pixelmator.com/Screen ... .38-PM.png
My apologies, I meant the original image for which CMYK proofing isn't working (or the Pixelmator Pro file) rather than the screenshot you shared. I'd like to test that file and see whether Soft Proof Colors will not work for me either.
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2020-06-22 19:06:32

Oops, sorry for the misunderstanding. Here is one image, but it's not showing for any of the images, including the ones for which the menus was shown before.

http://upload-cdn.pixelmator.com/radian ... xp.pxd.zip
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2020-06-23 14:48:39

Awesome, thanks for sharing the image! I can see it currently doesn't have a color profile assigned to it (in Image > Color Profile), which is why the options in the Soft Proof Colors menu are disabled. To be able to soft proof its colors, the image has to have a color profile assigned — without one, the RGB codes could represent some quite drastically different colors. Were those images exported using Export for Web, by any chance? If so, you can assign the sRGB profile as that's most likely the original/default profile.
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2020-06-23 18:54:13

Thank you SO much, it worked!
It's weird though because I'm just noticing the color profile of the images that I had been able to view soft proofing before (thus presumably had assigned the color profile) has somehow been set to "none." Is there a certain action that would shift the color profile from assigned to none?

Also- yes, I have exported the images for web, and I have also exported them as PDF for printing. In either case, is "Universal" the best/safest choice for the color profile?

I have another question on print quality but will post it under the viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16671Designing for Print thread. Should I use the same link (upload.pixelmator.com) to upload an image related to another post/question?

Thank you!
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2020-06-24 08:41:40

by seonjoo It's weird though because I'm just noticing the color profile of the images that I had been able to view soft proofing before (thus presumably had assigned the color profile) has somehow been set to "none." Is there a certain action that would shift the color profile from assigned to none?
Export for web has an option called "Convert to sRGB", which converts the image to the colors most often used on the web (sRGB) and removes the color profile because browsers assume unprofiled images use that particular profile. If you'd like to keep the color profile, you can simply turn that option off when using Export for Web. Here's a screenshot of where to find it:
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by seonjoo I have another question on print quality but will post it under the viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16671Designing for Print thread. Should I use the same link (upload.pixelmator.com) to upload an image related to another post/question?

Thank you!
You can post there or you can also create a new thread. And yes, feel free to use our upload server for sharing any images with us!
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2020-06-24 15:03:18

Ohh! I had assumed that checkbox meant the conversion would happen in the exported file, not the original file :sweat:
Maybe this conversion was contributing to the print quality, since I have been exporting the original file to print after exporting for web.

For future users, I wonder if it'd be clearer if you add ".. of the original file" in the description.. just a thought.
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2020-06-24 16:32:57

I’m not at my computer right now so I can’t double-check whether this is happening, but the original file shouldn’t be affected by this, you’re right... So, after exporting, does soft proofing stop working in the PXD file?
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2020-06-27 17:38:50

Actually I'm not sure exactly what stopped soft proofing (or what took away the color profile from an image) because the color profile seems to have been automatically assigned to - or changed from - some images but not others. I have several versions of the images so can't precisely track down the origin.. but at least now I know when soft proofing stops working I should double check the color profile, which is very helpful info. I'll let you know if I see the automatic shift in the color profile again and can narrow down the causal action. Thanks!
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2020-06-29 09:08:04

by seonjoo 2020-06-27 17:38:50 I'll let you know if I see the automatic shift in the color profile again and can narrow down the causal action. Thanks!
Awesome, that would be much appreciated!