Illustrator Color Modes

Why is their only CMYK & RGB and not Greyscale in Adobe Illustrator?

Because in print, grayscale is just black. If that's what you're looking for, just build your art in CMYK using various shades of process K and you've got "grayscale" art when printing to a standard press.
... Or build in full color and then go up to filter> color> convert to grayscale. (this only works on gradients and gradient mesh in CS3)
Keep in mind that Illustrator is not Photoshop. The way vectors handle color is different from the way a traditional image editor does it.

Similar Messages

My illustrator CS6 crashes when i try to open an AI file with RGB color mode

My illustrator CS6 crashes when i try to open an AI file with RGB color mode. I worked on this file yesterday and changed it to RGB mode. Today i tried to open the file again but illustrator won't open it and crashes. It does work when i want to open a file with CMYK color mode.
Anyone know how to fix this ?

Have you tried trashing the prefs?

Why does my Bridge read RGB or B&W for the Color Mode on a file, when in Illustrator I have set it to CMYK?

I'm kind of stumped and this has been a question of mine for some time. I did some further digging on it, and did find that what it's reading is the Photoshop Color Mode XMP data, which is odd since the files were never in Photoshop, and were created in Illustrator. Is there a way to remove this info? How do I fix it?

Probably can be chalked up to one of Illustrators mysterious color issues.
Therefor it might be best to drop this question in the AI forum itself. I know to less of AI but just tried a bit with a new document, you can't convert to a new color profile like used to in PS, only select CMYK or RGB and assign a profile but that is not the same as converting.
Also in color settings it says by default to preserve numbers in stead of the profile itself.
And yes, mysteries are common at Adobe, although being one company one doubts often if they are even aware of the existence of Bridge and even other applications in the suites. Not even all file types of Adobe seem to be fully supported in Bridge…

Illustrator CC: Changing Document Color Mode + Edit Colors

Let's say I'm going to export a PNG.
If I switch the Document Color Mode from CMYK to RGB, IS IT THEN NECESSARY to also Edit/Edit Colors/Convert to RGB, if I'm just going to select each element and assign specific RGB values anyway?
In other words, is simply switching the Document Color Mode to RGB sufficient before manually assigning specific RGB values?
I'm thinking Edit/Edit Colors/Convert to RGB or CMYK is just relying on Illustrator's best judgment. Am I correct?

Color management needs to be set up in a way that it works as you want it to. Don't turn it off.
BTW: actually you can't turn it off. It is so deeply integrated in modern software that it will always work somehow.
Have all the numbers you set up in your colors be transferred correctly into the PNGs? Then don't worry.
When converting your document from CMYK to RGB all color values get converted: object colors as well as swatches. No need to use the Edit colors function.
When using File > convert to RGB resp CMYK document color mode, Illustrator applies the rules you have set up in Edit > color settings. That is: the profiles, the conversion engine, the intent.
Change one of the settings and you get different colors.
If you need to use specific RGB values, first convert the document color mode, then set up the color swatches and apply them to the objects.

Illustrator CS2 Start up - Convert color mode dialog box

Using Illustrator CS2, on opening, the usual loading prescreen appears, after which a dialog box appears showing the following text
"Convert Color Mode"
"The document contains objects using both CMYK and RGB color modes. Illustrator allow only one color mode per document. Which color mode would you like to use? (RGB and CMYK appear as option boxes)"
This dialog box appears every time I open Illustrator, even though I'm not actually opening a document.
I've tried adjusting the Color Settings (Edit> Color Settings) but this hasn't affected the dialog box appearing.
I've checked all the usual sources of help but can't identify any cures.
I want to be able to change this so the dialog box no longer appears as it tends to "hide" behind all the other applications I have open at the time and can be difficult to get to, meaning opening Illustrator is a 5 minute battle.
Any ideas?
Thanks

You haven't messed with the startup .ai files have you?
You might try deleting the ai prefs file (see FAQ), though that might be a reach in this case.

Unsupported color mode in Illustrator

When a tif fle (color mode - lab) is placed in Illustator, an error message is displayed 'Unsupported color mode or depth. Only RGB, CMYK, Grayscale and Bitmap are supported'. How to avoid such errors and is there any property to accept tif files with color mode as Lab in Illustrator.
Please let me have any solution.
regards,
Sashi

No. Convert to CMYK or RGB in Photoshop using pertinent profile settings.
Mylenium

Is it ok in the long run to placing a RGB photoshop eps file into a Illustrator CS2 CMYK color mode

Is it ok in the long run to placing a RGB photoshop eps file into a Illustrator CS2 CMYK color mode document ?
I am using windows XP with Adobe Creative suite 2.
In both Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 have the same color settings.
If I take a RGB file that was created in Photoshop CS2 and place this file in a CMYK color mode document in Illustrator CS2, does this cause a problem for the output of the document ?
If you look at the ''Document Info'' window you can now see that the RGB file is now a CMYK file. Is this a good working habit ?
Thanks in advance. :)

>Is it ok in the long run to placing a RGB photoshop eps file into a Illustrator CS2 CMYK color mode document ?
Please explain why you would do such a thing? (Why RGB, and why EPS.)
>If I take a RGB file that was created in Photoshop CS2 and place this file in a CMYK color mode document in Illustrator CS2, does this cause a problem for the output of the document ?
Yes.
You are working in CMYK mode presumably because your Illustrator document is destined for output on a PostScript device -- e.g., a printing press. That means that your RGB image will undergo a space conversion somewhere in the process, and the questions are when and how?
The issue is compounded by the fact that Illustrator ignores color profiles embedded in EPS files by Photoshop. (Just another reason not to use EPS.)
By performing the conversion yourself in Photoshop, you take control of the process and ensure predictable color.

Problem Lab color mode in Illustrator CC 2014

What is the best way to choose a CMYK color mode in Illustrator? When I want to import a file from Illustrator to InDesign it will automatically be converted to a Lab color mode and I can not change the CMYK values. All colors from Illustrator are therefore in a Lab color mode. I work with Illustrator CC 2014, thank you very much!

Thank you I think I understand what you mean. I added a Illustrator and Indesign picture to show you what happens. I made a file in Illustrator with the right values and saved it as a eps file. Then I imported in to Indesign and the second picture shows what happens. I never had this problem but since the new CC version I can't change it.

Illustrator CS6 color mode default CMYK opening CS5 files as RGB

Hi.
Having a bit of trouble as Illustrator CS6 (that I've set to a default color mode of CMYK) is opening CS5 CMYK files as RGB color profile. I don't get a choice. And so it is messing with my color palettes when I convert back to a CMYK color profile.
Can anyone help? I can't find any answers when I search.
Any assistance appreciated. It's potentially going to kill a lot of time if I can't fix this.
Thanks

Hi Rachel,
You can not set a default color mode to make Illustrator open all files in a certain color mode. A file opens in the mode it was saved.
What makes you think that the CS5 files that open as RGB were CMYK and not RGB?

Can't see color mode in .ai files

Is Bridge not supposed to show detailed information about illustrator files?
I'm trying to view the color mode of ai files, but I can't get them to show.
I would think that it being a long-standing Adobe app that Bridge would allow it.
Any ideas?

You'll need to provide some better specifics.
I brought it in from final cut 6 as a quicktime output.
Did you use the Send To Color command from within Final Cut?
I'm going to suspect that your problems are a result of using a Mac Mini. Color requires the use of a graphics card, not an integrated graphics chipset (like those found in Mac Minis and MacBooks).
Quote from the Final Cut Studio Requirements page:
An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)

I am new to scripting & I need Script for Document color mode

Hi,
Please help me to create a script which should find the Document color mode. I am new to scripting. And please let me know how to use the same.
Balaji

Are you using the Extendscript Toolkit Editor (ESTK)? In the Help menu you can find all the properties for Document that can be queried/changed.
(Personally, I don't use ESTK, because I really really hate it. But I don't want to miss the Help, so I made my own version. I have Illustrator CS4, and it's possible your version doesn't have this, but under Document I find:
documentColorSpace
DocumentColorSpace:
DocumentColorSpace.RGB
DocumentColorSpace.CMYK
readonly
The color space used for the document.
For the how-to-use I glady refer you to Adobe's own Starting With Scripting guides.)

Color mode for exporting to EPS to be printed as CMYK or spot

I have a couple illustrations I need to export to use in a Quark file. Some of my Quark pages will be printed in CMYK, and others in spot colors. How do I create and/or export the illustrations for both color modes?
Thanks.
~Valerie

I'm still on Illustrator 12. On my copy it's called Process Color.
I have no idea why there's a button to convert to a process colour and another to convert to CMYK, since they're the same thing and both buttons produce the same result. Maybe they're rying both out while the program's still in Beta. Illustrator has been in Beta for about eight years.

Standard overprint vs. illustrator overprint mode

I am somewhat new in working via the PDF workflow, Adobe Acrobat 7.0.7, MAC OS Tiger
Can someone tell me what the differences are between the standard overprint mode (OPM 0) versus illustrator overprint mode (OPM 1) from the Adobe Pitstop Inspector plug-in; prepress tab to overprint tab. Thanks

Hi Debra
Illustrator overprint mode (OPM) is an addition to the standard overprinting (OP).
If OP is 1, the object on top overprint the object underneath. So far so good.
Unfortunately this does NOT work if both Objects are of type DeviceCMYK.
Example: You have a black text that is defined in 0/0/0/100 and is set to overprint, it still knocks out the CMY channel of the object from underneath. Only if the object underneath is of type Device-N (e.g. SpotColor), than the color underneath is not knocked out. You can very easy see that in the output preview.
If you want that the black text on top does not knock out the CMY color of the object underneath, you have to specify OPM=1.
Info: Only those color channels from the object underneath are not knocked out, the are defined as 0% in the object above. if your black was define 1/1/1/100, then overprinting would not make any difference, since the is no channel with 0%. Again - define such objects and check in the Acrobat Output Preview.
In other words: if you have 2 DeviceCMYK objects and you want the one on top to overprint the one underneath, you have to activate OPM. You could also name it CMYK-overprint. since this is a behaviour that you would expect OPM should always be 1.
There is actually much more that you can read and see for yourself if you download the Altona Testsuite package, that is freely avaliable at www.eci.org (search in the donwload section).
BTW: PitStop is from Enfocus, not from Adobe.
rgds
Peter Kleinheider

Executemenucommand for Document Color Mode

How to executemenucommand for Document Color Mode in illustrator using Javscript

Are you using the Extendscript Toolkit Editor (ESTK)? In the Help menu you can find all the properties for Document that can be queried/changed.
(Personally, I don't use ESTK, because I really really hate it. But I don't want to miss the Help, so I made my own version. I have Illustrator CS4, and it's possible your version doesn't have this, but under Document I find:
documentColorSpace
DocumentColorSpace:
DocumentColorSpace.RGB
DocumentColorSpace.CMYK
readonly
The color space used for the document.
For the how-to-use I glady refer you to Adobe's own Starting With Scripting guides.)

ACR color mode defaults

raw captures do not use the camera settings. It records them in the EXIF data.
ACR uses the EXIF data when opening a raw capture. This is painfully obvious when it comes to white balance if it has not been set properly at capture time. Not a problem, that can be modified the EXIF WB is the starting point.
The questions concerns the color mode:
If set at sRGB at the time of capture, does ACR uses the camera EXIF setting (sRGB) as it does for the white balance?
If so, should not color mode be a choice BEFORE opening the raw capture in ACR?
The 'no question asked', EXIF color mode data opening is troubling as sRGB cuts the gamut quite a bit. All edits are made in the sRGB mode. Setting the 'open as 16 bit RGB' only opens a 16 bit sRGB image as if it was a 16 bit RGB, meaning there is no color in the suddenly re-opened gamut space since the original color data has been killed when opening the file.
Last question:
What am I missing here?
Message was edited by: Jacques V, 'wording'

The answer is bad....
This is the transcript. It confirms what I suspected.
Thank you for contacting Adobe.
A representative will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with Abhishek Joshi.
Abhishek Joshi: Hello. Welcome to Adobe Technical Support.
Jacques V: This is a two pronged question that concerns ACR and raw. Background A raw capture does not use the camera settings but records them, including white balance and color mode. ACR uses that recorded data to import the raw image as illustrated by the 'default' that reflects the original color balance. Questions: Does ACR uses the color mode recorded as camera setting when importing the image? If so, is there a way to override that import setting in ACR? My concern is that if ACR defaults to the camera settings the potential color gamut is ignored and one of the advantage of the raw format is severely limited by ACR as the raw format allows for a color mode change.
Abhishek Joshi: I will check it first
Abhishek Joshi: I am checking on this please provide me 2 minutes
Jacques V: Ok
Abhishek Joshi: Thankyou
Abhishek Joshi: Thank you for your time and patience
Abhishek Joshi: ACR information is derived from your RAW picture
Abhishek Joshi: If you do ACR default it will take the picture to the original state
Jacques V: Meaning it will use sRGB?
Jacques V: (as it was the camera setting, even if not used when recording the raw caprture)
Abhishek Joshi: You clicked the picture in sRGB ?
Abhishek Joshi: What ever the profile you chose in camera while capturing the picture
Jacques V: Ok then. In this case we eidt the raw file in sRGB and the export to PS CC is whatever is set in the option link in ACR. Am I correct?
Abhishek Joshi: Correct
Jacques V: Thank you. Not good news but a good information to have.
Jacques V: Good bye.
Abhishek Joshi: Your welcome
Abhishek Joshi: BBye

Illustrator Color Modes

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