How can I to export a CMYK image in the TIFF-format using the PRINT command in MATLAB 7.7 (R2008b)?

I am trying to export a TIFF-file in the CMYK colorspace as follows

surf(peaks);

print -r600 -dtiff -cmyk xxyyzz

However, I have verified that I always get an RGB image from the above call.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The PRINT command only supports the export of 24-bit TIFF-files. CMYK images require 32-bit depths. Thus the “-cmyk” flag is ignored by the PRINT command.

To workaround this one can export an RGB image and then use Image Processing Toolbox functionalities to convert this RGB image to a CMYK image. Here is an example

surf(peaks);

print -dtiff tempfig.tif %24-bit TIFF

rgb = imread('tempfig.tif');

cform = makecform('srgb2cmyk');

lab = applycform(rgb,cform); 

imwrite(lab,'newfig.tif');

[Walter Roberson]

See https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.soft-sys.matlab/VwiCOEuwoTk for a description of why RGB to CMYK is difficult.