Could you modify the images so that the image is actually the full size of the card+bleed, rather than an image on top of a black background? The one with the brush doesn’t /look/ like it would be too hard since it’s just pure black.

The thought crossed my mind, but it would still be a bizarre and inconsistent mixture across the cards.

brush no. 1 there, the Background is (82,74,73,95)
while brush no. 2 is (75,68,76,90)

If you could get the black selected you could use a Channel Mixer adjustment layer in PS to get where you want to go. Or could float the layer and delete the black info then put it on your rich black background. Depending on the source material and how good of a selection you can make (Color Range being the first thing I would try) one of these methods will work quite well. If it’s a good enough selection I would probably use solution #2.

Looks to me on this example you could get a pretty good selection using Color Range to select the black then deleting the black background.

Best of luck!

pbc

Are you sure you don’t mean 75,68,67,90? That would be the default value for rich black in the SWOP V2 color space. The discrepancies you are seeing are probably from the conversions or lack thereof.

pbc

75,68,67,90 - Ah, you are correct - is this the default conversion to CMYK from RGB (0,0,0)? If so, how can this help (please excuse my ignorance on this one)?

Also, after a bit more digging, only the first image is anything other than (75,68,67,90) - I have not yet found the source files for these CMYK images, and doubt that I will - but if I did and they are likely RGB - what would be my best course from there?

Well, I found the originals, RGB, but layered beautifully - virtually nothing to worry about now. phew.

In the event that I hadn’t found them, I think I would have tried #2 of your suggestions Paul.

For What It’s Worth:

You might try determining a target rich black that is a good compromise of all the backgrounds, then use Image > Adjustments > Selective Color… on the Blacks to try to push each of them toward a single target. Keep an eye on the Info palette with your cursor in a variety of edge locations. Using Method=Absolute will move values more quickly. Depending upon the image, Selective Color should stick pretty much to your background, but keep an eye on any shadows or dark neutrals just in case.

You’re not likely to be able to get to your ideal 30.30.30.100, but you could get the images close to each other. Then you might stand a chance of using the compromise rich black build as a background and get them all to be cohesive.

Might work.

— K.

[EDIT: Oops, looks like you found a better solution while I was typing.]

It’s not as hairy as it sounds - use it all the time. It’s a paranoid workflow I need to have since I cannot possible have conversations with all the printers who output my stuff. I had to work on an Ozzy ad recently and here’s the result - it looks totally natural on the rich black I mixed up - the right is what is actually left of the photo:

pbc

Despite my luck of stumbling onto the originals, all of this advice is indispensable and will definitely come in handy in future projects.

Thanks all,

I think your first suggestion is the better one, It take time, but you will have exactly what you expect. Make a close cut of the object, keep a small feather, save it as a psd file and paste it over a black color you will choose in your page layout software (Indesign works well with psd file).