Image RGB or CMYK profile to print on HP Z3100

[dage007]

I read somewhere that if I am painting in CS5, that I shoudl keep the image in RGB and only at teh end convert the image in to cmyk.  Does anyone know if I shoudl be painting in RGB or CMYK right off the bat?  I am printing to an HP z3100.  I jsut have no idea what the profile shoudl be as I tipycally keep it at sRGB.

Any suggestions?  If I select CMYK, then what is teh normal profile to select?

thanks.

David

[Alan Goldhammer]

Inkjet printers are RGB.

[dage007]

Thanks very much.  For years I was told that my inkjet was cmyk and monitor was rbg so that if I wanted to print I had to convert all my paintings to cmyk before printing.

I will just leave my source profile to srgb then.

thanks again.

[Pat Herold]

You might be referring to this article from several years ago:
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/ColorNews_No._4_-_Color_Workflow

While many points are still valid, it assumes the reader is working in a press room environment.  Nowadays, with the prevalence of inkjet printers, you have the ability to "stay" in RGB space clear through your printing.  Technically speaking, your Z3100 uses cmyk inks, but it is still considered an "RGB" device if you print using the HP driver.  (The driver only allows access to control RGB, and the conversion to cmyk happens under the hood.)   Another way to say this is that the printer driver does the "conversion to cmyk" for  you.

[Scott Martin]

Just to clarify, inkjet OEM printer drivers manage color in RGB while most inkjet RIPs manage color in CMYK. So the use of driver or RIP dictates your color mode usage for color management. Clearly, these printers are neither RGB nor CMYK, and the final 6-12 multicolor conversion is performed on the printer's processor on the fly while printing.

Your working space should be large enough to cover the gamut of your final printing process. sRGB is likely to be too small, while AdobeRGB and ProPhotoRGB are probably better choices.

As always, there should be a strong focus on determining the optimal paper choice for your needs and acquiring an excellent profile for it.