Color question (Pantone to PDF)

This is probably more of an Adobe Distiller question, but
I'll ask
anyways...
I whipped up a logo design for a client and they love it. I
just eyeballed
on-screen colors and told them that they'll have to sit down
with the
Pantone Swatch book and pick the specific colors they want to
use.
They ended up matching the swatches to the on-screen colors I
picked and
that's what I used.
I then created a PDF (press optimized) of said FH file. Now
the colors look
completely different on-screen (though, obviously, they are
the correct
pantone colors and as long as the printer isn't an idiot,
they'll look fine
on the t-shirts).
The question I have is why do on-screen matched pantone
colors not actually
match on screen when used?
-Darrel

As you requested Darrel, here is my best answer to this
question. (I
didn't answer before because I'm not 100% able to back up my
answer with
facts and typically leave it up people who are.)
The colors are not matching simply because all applications
render
colors differently. I can open up the same PDF in Acrobat 4
and 8 as
well as Preview and get three different color schemes. Each
program has
it's own method of rendering colors on screen. Now you
transfer that
same PDF to someone else's computer with a different monitor,
different
video card and different operating system and you've got a
real mess.
There is not guaranteed way to deliver color on screen. If
you spend
some money and a lot of time you may be able to get FreeHand,
Photoshop
and your desktop printer to agree (more or less) but you can
forget
about much else.
Moral of the story? Never buy clothes online that you haven't
seen in
person.
Rich
P.S. Even on press, Pantone or process, you are going to get
color
variations. If you are printing a t-shirt it better be white,
because
the colors will vary just by virtue of the color they are
printed on and
even just LOOK different because of the color next to it.
darrel wrote:
> This is probably more of an Adobe Distiller question,
but I'll ask
> anyways...
>
> I whipped up a logo design for a client and they love
it. I just eyeballed
> on-screen colors and told them that they'll have to sit
down with the
> Pantone Swatch book and pick the specific colors they
want to use.
>
> They ended up matching the swatches to the on-screen
colors I picked and
> that's what I used.
>
> I then created a PDF (press optimized) of said FH file.
Now the colors look
> completely different on-screen (though, obviously, they
are the correct
> pantone colors and as long as the printer isn't an
idiot, they'll look fine
> on the t-shirts).
>
> The question I have is why do on-screen matched pantone
colors not actually
> match on screen when used?
>
> -Darrel
>
>

Similar Messages

Controlling color on export to PDF

Hi, I have another Quark to InDesign question:
I just exported a file from InDesign that uses the same Pantone color (287C) as a file in Quark, but the two look very different (the colors in the InDesign PDF look faded/lighter/washed out compared to the Quark colors).Left is InDesign, right is Quark. Does anyone have any thoughts on why these are different/how to get the Quark color in InDesign?
This is for web-distribution, not print.
Thanks,
SH

Why use a spot color for this? Just use an RGB version if it's going to be viewed on screen.
Although this is for web use now, I used a spot color because it will later be made available in print, so it seemed easier to stick with one consistent color for both uses.
For print purposes you might want to go into the ink manager and set spots to display with Lab color.
I think that did the trick.
Thanks everyone!

Hello question about certified pdf

Hello,
I have a question about certified pdf.
My client wants to have a certified pdf , when I make a high resolution PDF in CMYK is this oke for print media?
Or do I need to do somthing els??
Ton

As Dov says, it's very likely that what they actually mean is a PDF/X file - some flavors of which you can make from InDesign using the Export > PDF (Print) dialog presets, and some you can make using Acrobat Pro.
However it's very important to find out exactly what they want:
There a couple of versions of PDF/X (the older PDF/X-1a is very widely supported but can only cope with CMYK - the newer PDF/X-4 is more flexible and handles things like spot colors, but is often not printable on older hardware).
When exporting to CMYK you have to choose a color profile - and that will depend on the printer's hardware and proofing systems. You may have to choose exactly the right one, or they may be able to convert back from any profile - until you find out you're working in the dark.
Of course you also need to know the printer's rules about bleed, TAC, etc.

How can I convert a pages color document to a PDF Black and White doc.

How can I convert a pages color document to a PDF Black and White doc. Or, covert the color to B&W in a new doc?

> How can I convert a pages color document to a PDF Black and White doc. Or, covert the color to B&W in a new doc?
The general idea is that you colour correct photographs once, archive, and convert with or without colour changes. The archived photograph is unchanged - or we would be colour correcting the same photographs again and again and again.
If you have a photograph with a corrected exposure, you can open the photograph in the Apple ColorSync Utility, apply a colour space conversion to a grayscale appearance using the preinstalled ICC profile, save the photograph under another name, and place that in your pagination.
If you have a paginated document with corrected exposures, and any such non-scalable bitmap or scalable spline graphics as you have chosen to add, you can render the pagination as a whole to PDF through the same ICC profile, carrying out the same colour space conversion on any and all objects.
Caveat: If you intend the pagination for certain processes, in particular offset lithography, then you are probably expected not to render the type to grayscale, but rather to render it to single ink solid black. No software can determine what printing process you intend, you have to understand a bit about printing, and how to set up general colour space conversions in software. Ask your prepress provider, and if the answer is not prompt and proficient, pick another provider.
/hh

How to change background color of text in pdf based by font name

Hi
How to change the background color of text in PDF based by font name. Is there any option in Javascript. e.g: If PDF containing ARIAL font, the ARIAL text background color needs to be changed in red color for all pages. Same for all fonts with different different color in the PDF.
Thanks in Advance

Hi
1) Is there any possibilities to highlight with different color based on font using javascript
2) list of font used in PDF using javascript
3) How to hilight the text using javascript
Thanks in Advance

Get colors used in a PDF file via Plug-in

Hi.
I have a PDF file with some texts color red, some texts color blue, and some texts color ...
I want to get how many colors used in the PDF file.
I only think of getting color list with checking every character in the file.
It will take long time.
Is there any idea to get colors easier ?
Best regard.
erieru103

Hi, lrosenth.
Thank you for your reply.
I'll check the text runs.
I'm a begginer of plug-in, so ...
can you tell me what's the 11 different METHODS (colorspaces)?
Best regard.
erieru103

How to detect color pages in a PDF?

I am using a C++ Acrobat plug-in do read/edit a PDF file.
I need to get the total number of pages in the PDF as well as the page numbers of color pages.
So far I have been able to get the total number of pages using PDDocGetNumPages() without any trouble.
However, I cant seem to find an API that lets me know whether a particular page is color or not. Is there a way to do this?
Thanks in advance!

But what if there is RGB data that means black or gray (R == G == B), does that mean black or RGB?
There is some sample code in the SDK for iterating over the content in the PDF, and then you can get the colorspace and the color of each object.
But you really need to do some background research on colors & colorspaces to properly achieve this goal.
From: Sachintha81 <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Reply-To: "[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:57:10 -0800
To: Leonard Rosenthol <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: How to detect color pages in a PDF?
Re: How to detect color pages in a PDF?
created by Sachintha81<http://forums.adobe.com/people/Sachintha81> in Acrobat SDK - View the full discussion<http://forums.adobe.com/message/4194889#4194889

[AS][INDCC] How to set Color Conversion field to No Color Conversion when creating PDF Export preset

How can i set Color Conversion field in Export to PDF dialog to No Color Conversion when creating PDF Export preset? i have done a bit of searching and have found where it has been recommended to set effective pdf destination profile to use no profile but it doesn't seem to be producting the expected results.

Yes, it seems that i had to make the change after creation, not while creating the preset. thank you.
tell application "Adobe InDesign CC"
     set newPreset to make new PDF export preset with properties ¬
          {name:"preset name", standards compliance:none, acrobat compatibility:acrobat 7}
     tell newPreset to set PDF color space to unchanged color space
end tell

Question RE Editable PDF

My problem is ...
I am working with a Nightingale-Conant program from Garrett Gunderson called "New Rules To Get Rich," which has a PDF workbook to download. However, after having copied the workbook to my computer as instructed (twice now) when I return to work on my plan, the document will not let me pick up where I have left off.
I get a message when I reopen the workbook that says, "This document enabled extended features in Adobe Reader. The document has been changed since it was created and use of extended features is no longer available. Please contact the author for the original version of this document."
What do I need to do to have the workbook respond to continuous editing as I do the exercises?

Using Version X at the moment.
In a message dated 2/2/2012 3:00:38 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
Re: Question RE Editable PDF
created by George Johnson
(http://forums.adobe.com/people/George_Johnson) in Adobe Reader - View the full discussion
(http://forums.adobe.com/message/4182082#4182082)

About Java 2 opaque font color question, help needed!

About Java 2 opaque font color question, help needed!
I was trying to test opaque font (the string has a foreground color and a background color), but i can't find the method for doing that.
i can change foreground by Graphics2D.setPaint(Color.black).
Anybody know how to change the background of the string?
Thanks!

Hi. The way I'd do it would be to use the font metrics to find the length of a string and draw a rectangle and then drawstring over the rectangle. If you want an example, I can post it although I suspect theres a better way.

Color shift in dynamic PDF

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone has noticed the variation in the rendering of RGB colors between a Static PDF and Dynamic PDF saved from Designer. I created a simple 1 page file in Designer with a rectangle and the following custom fill:
R: 28
G: 227
B: 182
Then, I saved the file as a dynamic PDF and then re-opened and saved as a static PDF. When I opened them both in Acrobat, the color difference was very noticeable. The dynamic PDF muted the color and made it appear almost blue. Interestingly, this color is closer to a CMYK equivalent, but I can't imagine that dynamic PDFs are rendered against a CMYK profile.
Any insight into how the color works and how to control it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Nissan
Sr. Technical Architect
SmartDoc Technologies
http://www.smartdoctech.com
*New* Adobe User Group for LiveCycle Developers in the NY Metro Area
http://groups.adobe.com/join/newyorkmetrolivecycle

Hi Nissan,
Fair play to your eyesight. We tried replicating that here and the difference is subtle. If anything the dynamic forms display the colours correctly (82,227,182) while the static PDF colours are offset slightly (43,228,184). This is on Acrobat Pro v9 on a Mac.
We then tried opening the files in Acrobat Pro Extended v9 on Windows and all colours were correct.
Interesting, but can't explain ;-)

Prepress question: Pantone colors set as Lab colors?

We sent a native InDesign file to a commercial printer, built in 2 PMS spot inks and CMYK images, for CMYK printing. (normally we send a PDF but they said that would make us responsible for the CMYK conversion so safer to send the native InDD files...) We get the printed proof, and the PMS inks are a bad match. The printer says, our file was set for Lab values for the spot inks, and they charge us for another round of proofs. I researched and found where the settings are for this, and we hadn't touched anything in that panel (output / separations preview / ink manager /checkbox: use standard Lab values for spots, we had not clicked the box). Isn't the printer responsible for setting their output preferences for their setup? How could this happen, how can we prevent it from happening again? Thanks in CT.

Technically, as Peter said, Lab definitions for Pantones are best. The problem is hardly anyone uses the Lab approach when building colors (unless they are in Photoshop). That's why your printer said what he said.
One problem when defining the color as Lab is you get different results when using different CMYK destinations. This confuses people, especially people who subscribe to "book values" (but which book? STP? Bridge? Your guess is as good as mine). Also, Lab may introduce the gray component. A blue may end up with yellow to darken for example. In theory this is not a problem, but it can contaminate the saturation of the color.
My advice is to push the Pantone Solids out of the equation. These are for spot color printing. The whole idea of trying to match special inks using 4C process is, well, a little bit crazy.
Calibrate and profile your monitor. Obtain a CMYK ICC profile from the printer or get him to recommend one. Pick a Pantone Process swatch. The ones that start with DS. Use a properly profiled display to render these colors in the color space of the CMYK print condition (also called destination or target color).
In Pantone Process there are thousands and thousands of colors to choose from (a LOT more than in the other libraries). It is much better to use this library, instead of the others that try to simulate the solids. Those (Solid to Process, Bridge) are confusing and amount to a bunch of nonsense. Why the builds are touted as "matches" when they don't match is beyond me. Sometimes the color is so far off it's laughable (293).
Use Photoshop to map your spot to Pantone Process. The colors are very straightforward. I must emphasize you will most likely not get a match to the Pantone Solid, it may not even be very close. But in this library there is 4C, and only 4C. You eliminate a lot of confusion that way and the colors are cleaner.

Pantone color question

Hi, Could someone help me with this please? My printer wants me to switch the text I used in Illustrator to Pantone. I use Illustrator 10 and am wondering how I would go about switching the CMYK font to PMS. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

hrggroup,
Presuming you have unstroked live Type, you may:
1) Select the Type and click the Color box at the bottom (left) of the Toolbox; this should show you the current CMYK value of the Type (fill) in the Color palette;
2) Click Window>Swatch Libraries>PANTONE whichever relevant (you may have to ask the printer which to choose (maybe solid coated/uncoated)); this should open the relevant set of PANTONE swatches;
3) Click the desired swatch; this should now show in the Color palette.
This should change the colour of the Type as desired.

Modify a color into Pantone with JS

Hi.
I'm working on a application in Javascript. My claim is to manage the colors in my document. So, for example, I have to change some specific colors in "spot" or "process" model.
if (value==1){
app.activeDocument.colors.item(7).model=ColorModel.spot
It works!
My question is this: how can I say "app.activeDocument.colors.item(7)" have to be the "PANTONE 200 C"?
I tried to use "importAdobeSwatchbookSpotColor" like this:
app.activeDocument.importAdobeSwatchbookSpotColor("PANTONE 200 C")
but it's useful just to add new Pantone colors, while I don't know how to change an existing color into a specific Pantone
Thank you very much
Enzo

Thank you. I use Pantone Color because a lot of publications that I manage are in 2 colors: usually black and a specific Pantone defined by the client. It's faster (and more precise) to link the Pantone colors by my javascript application instead to find the CMYK values before. My application has a pop-up where you insert the Pantone code, after that it exports a pdf file with the selected color, creating before aliases on the Pantone if there are other colors different by the black.
Anyway, the Dave's suggestion works.
Thank you very much
Enzo

Proper Color Management from Indesign- PDF- Printer

I can't get my head around this problem and it's been bugging me for a very long time. Maybe you can enlighten me on this?
Right, I know (heard), that when sending a PDF document into Offset Printer, it shouldn't have embeded ICC profiles (for whatever reasons). Here comes my problem: my Indesign is set to AdobeRGB for RGB and ISO Coated v2 (ECI) for CMYK images. When I create a new document and place in three same TIFF files, but each one with a different ICC profile (AdobeRGB/sRGB/ISO Coated V2) and then export this document into PDF (Acrobat 4 PDF 1.3, no color conversion and no profile embedding (in Output tab)), only the image with AdobeRGB looks exactly like I saw it in Indesign. The image in sRGB is more saturated and the CMYK image is different as well). This is also visible after printing out this document on Xerox 700.
Now, if I export the same document into PDF and choose to embed the ICC profiles, all three images look pretty much like they do in Indesign (and even as each other, except the CMYK one being a little bit off).
I looked into color settings in my Acrobat and found a strange thing. The working color profile for RGB space is AdobeRGB (which is correct), but for CMYK it is "Monitor RGB - sRGB IEC.....) - and when I try to change this to ISO Coated V2, hit OK, close Acrobat and open the PDF file again, it is set back to "Monitor RGB - sRGB IEC...." for CMYK color space.
So now I am confused, why images in PDF file that has no embeded ICC profiles look different from what I see in Indesign - is it normal? Or is my Color settings wrong? What would be the proper settings then?
And my other question: When I place a grayscale image into Indesign, it looks a lot darker than it looked in Photoshop. But when I enable the Overprint preview, they look OK. Now my concern is, what is correct? I don't want the images to come out so dark from print, but I can't really brighten them up any more in Photoshop, because there they look all right.

I try to stay optimistic about Adobe color management, but it really is broken. This thread is just another example of the problem.
Monitor profiles aside, the issue is the destination CMYK matching the print condition. Here we need a conversion to ISO Coated v2 (ECI).
Or do we? If the original PDF is all CMYK, Adobe's default answer is "No Conversion Necessary". You could have US Web Coated SWOP v2 going in, it doesn't matter. If this gets placed in the new InDesign, then re-output PDF/X with ISO Coated v2 Output Intent, you essentially have a false output intent in the new PDF that does not correlate with the original file.
Then, when you soft proof the original and the new on-screen, there is an appearance shift. But don't worry, it's OK, the numbers are the same. Which begs the question – if the numbers are OK, which appearance is correct?
So let's switch gears. Start all over, and this time try to maintain color appearance. That means the US Web Coated SWOP numbers will change in the conversion to ISO Coated. Incoming is PDF/X-1a, with US Web Output Intent. This is placed in InDesign and imposed. Now re-output to PDF again, this time "Convert to Destination", NOT preserving numbers.
Open up the PDF. We still have the blasted appearance shift! InDesign doesn't recognize the Output Intent in the original. All of the CMYK color in the original is Device, so InDesign leaves all the number values alone.
Back to the original PDF, in Acrobat. Since InDesign can't do the conversion, it has to be done here. Is it easy? Depends on your definition of easy. True, the PDF has the Output Intent. The problem is PDF/X-1a is not a format that is meant to be refried. If the Acrobat working space is ISO Coated, it will treat the entire PDF as source CMYK ISO coated, because – don't forget – it's Device color. Device = Uncalibrated. Convert to ISO, no CMYK values will change.
That means you have to change Acrobat CMYK working space to US Web. Now convert to the new Output Intent – ISO Coated. Don't forget to enable Preserve Black. Finally! A conversion. Let's just hope any JPEGs in the PDF survive getting refried.
The PDF can now be placed and imposed in InDesign. Just remember to reset your Acrobat Color Settings now that you've fixed the broken PDF.
Confused yet? It gets a lot better than that. What if whoever produced the original PDF didn't bother with PDF/X, or including profiles. Then you have mystery meat.
Mystery = broken. You can't go anywhere because you don't know where to start. Sure, the Acrobat CMYK working is the assumed color space of CMYK content in the PDF. But is that really the correct CMYK?
Probably not.

Color question (Pantone to PDF)

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for