Operation Manual

Working with bitmap color modes | 563
Working with bitmap color modes
Changing an image to another color mode, such as RGB, CMYK, or Grayscale, changes a bitmap’s color structure.
This section contains the following topics:
• “Changing the color mode of bitmaps” (page 563)
• “Changing bitmaps to black-and-white images” (page 564)
• “Changing bitmaps to duotones” (page 565)
• “Changing bitmaps to the paletted color mode” (page 566)
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; 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 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 281.
CorelDRAW supports the following color modes:
• Black and White (1-bit)
• Duotone (8-bit)
• Grayscale (8-bit)
• Paletted (8-bit)
• RGB Color (24-bit)
• Lab Color (24-bit)
• CMYK Color (32-bit)