HELP!!! Color Management + CMYK + Deadline

[spider-t]

Oh boy, I've put off my submission until the last minute and now I'm in trouble.

I'm getting a small image published in a glossy brochure and I have to submit a file by May 12th.

I just had a look at the guidelines and I don't really know what they are talking about.

--- from the GUIDELINES (http://fs8.formsite.com/artspan/publication/index.html) -------------------------------------
The image you upload will be used in The Guide and on the SF Open Studios Web site. Please note that due to the nature of balancing number images on one page, exact color matching is NOT guaranteed.
Digital submissions must be in TIFF format at 300 dpi to preserve the highest quality of the image.
i deleted bullets i understood from here...
Use Adobe Gamma to calibrate your monitor BEFORE attempting color correction.
CMYK mode: Highlight 4c, 2m, 2y, 0k; shadow 80c, 70m, 70y, 90k (what's is this?!?!)
Please DO NOT:
- Use JPEG or GIF files to create your TIFF
- Use LZW compression
--------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what I've done so far:

1.) i did not use Adobe Gamma to calibrate my monitor
2.) opened my jpg image in photoshop CS
3.) image > mode > CMYK
4.) image > image size > 2.5 inches / 300 dpi
5.) saved as using LZW compression (next time, no compression, i just re-read the guidlines (http://fs8.formsite.com/artspan/publication/index.html))
6.) uploaded it here (http://www.spider-t.com/images/trishtunney-car.tif) for you to view

I don't know what they are asking me to do with all that CMYK highlight shadow numbers?

When I look at the file in photoshop, it looks fine. When I view it locally on my computer in picassa it also looks fine. When I look at it via my web browser at that link (http://www.spider-t.com/images/trishtunney-car.tif) it looks totally wrong. All green and dark and strange colored. It actually looks pretty cool. But it makes me concerned I've done something wrong.

Crap! I knew I should have done this last week when I had more time. This seems like a lot of file handling for a dumb old 2.5" image.

Thanks in advance for any advice you'd like to throw my way!!
Trish

[SteveLongPhoto]

CMYK mode: Highlight 4c, 2m, 2y, 0k; shadow 80c, 70m, 70y, 90k

These are the percentages of each ink in the highlight and the shadow. In offset four color printing the image is made of four inks printing on top of one another in gradient percentages between 1 - 100. In the set up above, they would like the brightest highlight in your picture to be made up of 4% Cyan, 2% Magenta, 2% Yellow and 0% Black. The darkest shadow in your picture should be made up of 80% Cyan, 70% Magenta, 70% Yellow and 90% Black.

You can see what the percentages are by running the eyedropper over the image to the highlight and shadow areas. You can set these numbers by using the curves. Change your Cyan input 0 to 4 and 100 to 80, Change your Magenta input from 0 to 2 and your 100 to 70, Same for Yellow, on Black change only the 100 to 90.

This will adjust your image to match the dot gain and reflectance of the press they are going to print on. Now, if your monitor is calibrated, you can adjust the colors to make it look right and you will be reasonably sure of getting close to what it will print like.

Don't worry if it doesn't look right on the web, the web doesn't do cymk.

-Steve

[Dee]

I think what Steve means is to select the "white" eye dropper and enter those values for it.

Then select the "black" eye dropper and enter the black values.

When you adjust those will be the lightest and darkest photoshop will let your highlights and shadows be.

Am I right Steve?

For Grayscale images we used to set the white eyedropper for 5% and the black eyedropper for 95%.

It is really good that they tell you the values you need right away, rather than have to be guessing and get it wrong for the press/stock (paper) being used.

[spider-t]

Thanks so much both of you!!!

I just submitted.

cheers!
Trish