Changing color modes in bitmaps

Changing an image to another color mode, such as RGB, CMYK or Grayscale, changes a bitmap’s color structure.

In this section, you’ll learn about

•changing the color mode of bitmaps

•changing bitmaps to black-and-white images

Changing the color mode of bitmaps

The colors of the images that you work with in CorelDRAW are based on color modes. Color modes define the color characteristics of images and are described by their component colors. The CMYK color mode is composed of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black values and the RGB color mode is composed of red, green, and blue values.

Although you may not be able to see the difference between an image in the CMYK color mode and an image in the RGB color mode on screen, the images are quite different. For the same image dimensions, an RGB image has a smaller file size than a CMYK image and the RGB color space, or gamut, can display more colors. Therefore, images intended for the Web or desktop printers, which require accurate color fidelity, are generally in RGB mode. Where accurate print reproduction is needed, such as on a commercial printing press, images are generally created in CMYK mode. Paletted color images attempt to preserve color fidelity while reducing the small file size, making them ideal for on-screen uses.

Each time you convert an image, you may lose color information. For this reason, you should save an edited image before you change it to a different color mode. For more information about color modes, see “Working with color” on page 153.

CorelDRAW supports the following color modes:

Color