CS3 PMS Colors Inaccurate...

i originally created some artwork in CMYK, the printer suggested i make it a 2 color job to get better color (some of my cmyk colors were out of their press' gamut).
Since i don't have a Pantone's Tints Book, i had to rely on photoshop for matching the CMYK version to pantone equivalents.
For some reason, photoshop isn't displaying PMS colors as accurate as Illustrator.
In photoshop, the Spot Channel version matches pretty close to the CMYK version, but once it is placed in illustrator it's obvious that it doesn't match the CMYK version at all. Which is weird because when i place CMYK photoshop files into illustrator they match perfectly.
I am using the same color settings across CS3 (set in bridge).
Sample of Files:
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5010/duotonezp1.jpg
Sample of Random PMS colors:
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/4328/spotcomparesb2.jpg

Silence,
Some notes, which I hope are helpful here...
>(some of my cmyk colors were out of their press' gamut)
If the are CMYK, they are, by their very definition, within press gamuts. If your colors are out of gamut, they've been defined in some other color space, such as RGB, which has a considerably larger gamut.
> i don't have a Pantone's Tints Book
You need to purchase a current Pantone spot color to process swatch book. If you are doing work for print reproduction, it is as important as a calibrated monitor. If nothing else, it will quickly show you which colors will and which colors will not be accurately translated to standard four-color process colors.
>For some reason, photoshop isn't displaying PMS colors as accurate as Illustrator.
You do not have your color spaces synchronized across your CS3 apps. If you are using the same-level versions (particularly CS3), this is easy to accomplish in your app's preferences. Or you are using different color spaces for your different images.
Neil

Similar Messages

Why are my PMS colors different in CS3 & CS6?

I originally created a label in CS3, and just had to make a new one a different size. When I did the new art in CS6, the PMS colors are way different! I basically copied and pasted the old art into the new file. I have replaced all PMS colors, but they still do not match the old version. What's up?? Can anyone shed some light on this? The original version (in CS3) is on the left and the new art in CS6 is on the right. Thanks!

Thanks Monika, but, OMG, I feel a headache coming on! =( So, is it better to stay with the new Pantone Plus colors, or convert to the older version? How will this effect reprinting of jobs, if the client makes changes and I resave the file in CS6? Will the color be different now, if saved in the Pantone Plus? Maybe I need to do more reading up on this!

Deleting unused PMS color

I can't seem to get rid of a PMS color. I've tried exporting the document to IDML and opening it, selecting all Unused colors and deleting, going through all of the styles to make sure it's not in there, checking all imported graphics to make sure it's not in there— nothing gets rid of the PMS color.

Hi,
could you inform us, on which version of InDesign you are using?
With which version was this document created initially?
I ask, because I remember an issue, but very long ago, which did not allow to delete spot colors, even if the document was empty. But this should not be an issue with versions later than CS3.
If the spot color was imported by some kind of EPS or PDF files, you are not able to delete it in the document, nor to do so in the EPS or PDF file unless you have Illustrator and these files were created in Illustrator. (Or you have Freehand and these files were created in Freehand, same with other drawing applications.) Opening these kind in a different editor might cause damage.
In these circumstances you could use the ink manager (you find it in the Swatch Panel Menu) and target the spot colors, all or some selected, to process color or to a different spot color.

PMS colors show as CMYK when using Device N

I have just upgraded to the CS3 Suite recently and am trying to send a PDF through the system using Device N. I use Quark Xpress 6.5 (haven't been able to talk the boss into converting to InDesign yet) and so when I have a project that uses PMS colors, of course I choose Device n when I create the PDF. When I send the PDF through, the PMS colors have separated into CMYK. I use the Creo Distiller Assistant that's supposed to help with color seps. We've got a computer to plate system so this really creates havoc with our impositioner. This version is Acrobat 8 Professional. I was using Acrobat 7 Pro and it worked fine with the Creo distiller assistant and all. Can someone tell me what's going on?

I checking the colors 1st in illustrator, than in indesign with separations preview (so far so good), and then in acrobat with output preview... and here is where it goes wrong... both for certified as well as uncertified.
I have now found the problem, but am unsure how to deal with it in the future (color management hell) : something to do with our synchronized profiles that basically say: adjust to match current color settings, placed content:keep existing assignments. I don't know how clear this is? If iI disable the profile so I can override the existing assignment (which must have originally been to preserve appearance rather than numbers) it all works out.
I suppose it is an internal agency issue as to what to do. The idea is too stick synchronised as to provide consistent color, but there all these hidden profiles stuck in files from who knows who, when or where.
If you can follow, and have any suggestions,?

Determine closest PMS color from CMYK values?

In Illustrator CS3 is there a way to determine CMYK values to the closest PMS color? I know how to do it in Photoshop but cannot find a solution in Illy Forums, Illy Help, or from any intelligent person I might happen to know.
Thanks to anyone!

I use un script to know what PMS values is closet to a certain CMYK,
on the other way, what CMYK is close to certain PMS, just doble click on the PMS on the swatches palete and convert it to CMYK process..
A quick way to do it, may be there is some more technical method out there..
If you wish, here you can download the script wich is not mine, dont remember the author...sorry.
http://marizmendi.googlepages.com/index322

PMS colors in Photoshop to be used in InDesign?

Hi,
I have a logo file that I'm doing in Photoshop that I want to throw into my InDesign document (a gift certificate - I like using ID so that the text is crisp), and this will be printed in 2 PMS colors (metallic gold 873 and green 330) on an offset printer. If I want to print my logo in PMS gold 873, is it better to use the Pantone library in Photoshop and save as a CMYK file (is that correct?) and then place that file into my ID document? Or someone told me to make the logo document a grayscale file, up the black in Levels and make sure the K in Info is 100%, flatten and save as a TIFF, place it in ID, then using the direct selection tool, pick the Pantone 873 in ID's swatches to color it in. When I ask which is "better," I mean final print quality-wise. The latter route looks a bit "fuzzy" to me when I blow it up in the PDF on-screen, whereas the first route looked sharper to me.
Thanks,
Jen

Unless your logo requires a photographic element, Photoshop is really one of the worst tools to be using to create a logo, especially if you are having issues with fuzziness.
Illustrator is more often used for logo creation.
If you do not have Illustrator, you can use InDesign to create a logo and export/save the page as an EPS file that can be re-placed in another InDesign document and scaled to any size without fuzziness.

How do I save PMS colors in a PDF file?

I am trying to save my illustrator file as a PDF. I am using PMS colors in the file, and when I save it as a pdf those colors turn gray. However, when I export it to a jpg the colors show up fine. Does anyone know how to fix this or what is causing it?

What destination and document colorspace are you using?

Coverting PMS Colors to CMYK or RGB

HI there, I have been given some PSM colors to use for a
website but cant find how to convert them to CMYK or RGB. Does
anyone know anything about PMS colors and how I would go about
converting?
1. Example: PMS 8520 Metallic Light Brown
Cheers
Mally

quote:
Originally posted by:
MalRom
HI there, I have been given some PSM colors to use for a
website but cant find how to convert them to CMYK or RGB. Does
anyone know anything about PMS colors and how I would go about
converting?
1. Example: PMS 8520 Metallic Light Brown
Cheers
Mally
Years ago, Pantone made a product called ColorWeb Pro that
had software and also a fan of ink samples and Pantone's
recommendations for CMYK and RGB (Web) values that would be the
best representation for each ink. For the Web, they'd researched
the ink colors and tried to account for variations in graphics
card, monitor, and printer hardware. Because of that variation,
there's really no hard and fast conversion you can use. (Plus, the
RGB colors that are best for the Web won't be the same as the CMYK
colors that are best for print.)
Pantone has a number of current products for color matching.
You might be better off contacting them and getting advice on what
product would work best for you.
Pantone Web site
For a metallic color, you might want to use a subtle gradient
to simulate a reflective effect, though.
Good luck!

How to convert PMS colors to CMYK?

I am not an Illustrator user but need to know how to change PMS colors to CMYK colors in an AI file. It would also be helpful to know how to change the colors as well as how to convert them. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Scott. I actually figured that out just after posting. I am a Photoshop
and Lightroom user who has never opened AI before today. I just needed to
modify an AI file that a designer created for me. My apologies for the dumb
question.
Joel Pickford
PICKFORD PICTURES
1920 N. Echo Ave
Fresno, CA 93704
(510) 386-1506
http://joelpickford.com/

How do you switch out PMS colors in CS5

I am trying to swap out PMS colors in a complicated Illustrator file--my client just changed all the colors. I remember being able to double click the color swatch and the list of Pantone colors would come up--and you could just select a new one--maybe I'm wrong and confusing it with InDesign? But when I double-click on the PMS swatch--the PMS name/spot color is greyed out--and I get a choice of "Book Color", but no listing of colors. I read that I can hold down option and move the new swatch over the one I want it to replace...It works, but changes the color to process, which I don't want.
Thank you for your help!

I may have answered my own question...selecting the color you want and the shift-selecting the other color, choosing merge. Seems like a round-about way, so I'm open if I'm missing something easier. Thanks

PMS color changes to CMYK when file is closed and reopened

I got a .psb-document with a adjustmentlayer>solid color as a background. The color is a Pantone 354-C. When I save my document (CMYK), and then reopen it, I no longer get the Pantone color library but the default color picker box. I see no visible change in color though so I'm not sure if the color changes. If I click the color library button in my adjustment layer, it automatically pics the PMS color beneth the 354-C (that is 355 C) and I see a change in color. So I have to repick 354-C again.
Anyone knows what's going on here?

Spot Colors have no real connection to individual Layers in Photoshop (as of CS6).
If you want to use them you need to employ Spot Channels.
Edit: And your intended color is probably simply out of gamut for that color space.

How do I mix 2 pms colors to achieve a 3rd color?

I'm running Illustrator CS6 on a Win 64 bit PC. Seems there was a time, in earlier versions when I could pick a pms blue and a pms yellow and achieve a rudimentary green by mixing 20% pms blue and 60% pms yellow, as an example.
I'm having a whale of a time figuring out to do this in the current version. I've been futzing around in edit/edit colors using the two pms colors I've chosen and although I can get tints of each color I can't seem to figure out how to get blends of the tints of each color.
Can anyone help out there? Please?

No reason to expand the spot color gradient they separate fine.
The explanation about overprint and it being an older persons tool is that many younger professionals are not taught production, the idea of overprint is totally foreign to them amongst other production wise work flow.
There are users in their forties that have production experience. That does not mean all young people are ignorant of their craft but it is less of an issue for them as other people take up the slack.
We see it all the time on the forum, unusual things like users not converting RGB image files to cmyk in photoshop before placing them into an Illustrator file nd wondering why the color is off.
They often confuse dpi for ppi. the do not know the difference between spot colors and process color equivalent, don't know the difference between vector and raster! the list goes on.
They don't understand why you can't overprint to cmyk process colors.
There aree really an interesting lack of apprentiship in the filed these days.
However even the less eexperience do know heir trade as it is today and oftebn surprise us with interesting techniques and knowledge of software and hardware issues.
They say you are as young as you feel and i don't feel a day over 67 which is amazing since i am 67. I guess all that expercise has paid off. I am really tired.

PMS colors in Pages?

Does anyone know if there is a way that I can select/use PMS colors in my Pages ('09) documents? We have quite a few forms/documents that have been previously created in Quark. As we update them, I am recreating them in Pages, and I want the colors to be consistent with what we've had before. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jay

I'm not so much concerned about print production issues as I am about document-creation issues.
So document preparation is nothing to do with print production?? That's new.
I want to at least be able to match PMS colors because our logos and other graphic elements are specific PMS colors, and I'd like to be able to do more that just eyeball them to get the same colors when I recreate the documents in Pages.
Do you want to match the COLOUR or do you want to print a custom COLOURANT? You will not match the COLOUR if you print a custom COLOURANT, that is, you will not match the colour of your Pantone swatch if you specify a Pantone in your document.
Surprised? Don't be. Pantone is specified for 100% solid ink, a certain tone value increase, and a certain lightness and tint of paper. If you don't print 100% solid, on the same paper, with the same tone value increase, you don't get the colour match.
If you want to match the COLOUR, first, determine and download the ICC PRTR Printer profile for your intended printing condition, and second, determine the closest process combination using the CIELa*b for the Pantone solid in a colourimetric match.
You have been able to do this for a decade with the free download of the functioning ColorPicker in GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker 4 and higher or GretagMacbeth Eye-One Match. Before that you could do something of the same with the X-Rite ColorShop software.
Adobe Photoshop has had CIELa*b data for solid Pantones for some time, too.
If you design with Pantones and save into Adobe page description models whether Encapsulated PostScript or Portable Document Format, the Pantones will be name-referenced in the page descriptions and will stay that way when placed in Apple Pages.
But whether you would want Pantones in the first place is another matter.
/hh

Mesh and PMS colors

Is it possible that a mesh doesn't support PMS color separations?
We have a Illustrator CS4 logo containing a mesh with a spot,
but when imported in Indesign CS4, the spot color from illustrator doesn't show up
and the color turns out CMYK in color separation.
What do I do wrong?
Thanks
CS4
iMac Leopard

As far as transparency in Illustrator that goes way back before Adobe
brought such support. I had a plug in from Hotdoors I think as far
back as version 8 and I believe the plug in pre dates 6.
The bug problem was convincing them to bring it into ID and to
convince Quark as well for Xpress. They told me they were not certain
it could be done in a layout program, vector programs were different.
Vector programs were different. I pointed out that they had vector
tools in the layout programs, they agreed but still said it was the
only request for it they have ever had so you are correct I can be a
victim of they same thing they suffered from and cannot see the
possibility that sits right in front of me.
I would be very interested in seeing this for architectural
photography and presentation of designs in a photomontage project this
could be useful and very billable.

PMS Colors in AI/PDF files and Mac OS X 10.8 Preview

As you might know, either Adobe or Pantone changed the default definitions or color built of Pantone Coated library to LAB in CS6 instead of CYMK. This change did not break anything on Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion), but it did break how PMS colors previews in Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountaion Lion). All PMS Colors looks black in Mac OS X 10.8. Does anyone knows if there is going to be a fix for this?

This is because as of CS6, Adobe is now saving Lab alternatives to PMS colors, rather than CMYK builds. This is the right thing to do because Lab colors match more accurately, while Pantone colors can be out of the CMYK spectrum. Apple just needs to support Lab colors in Preview and QuickLook.
Complain here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

CS3 PMS Colors Inaccurate...

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for