RGB color consistency issue

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m586/illinois429/1251.jpg
Excuse the poor image quality. There is a green icon on the top right hand side of the document. When it's alone on the page the icon appears as it is meant to appear: R 69 G 255 B 0.
As soon as any other image is placed on the screen, the green icon gets much duller. Why is this?
The transparency blend space is set to RGB. Everything is being exported as the high quality preset PDF.
Thanks for the help.

Indeed the color is out of gamut, but as Peter noted, I cannot (with 2 minutes trying) force ID to switch to Overprint Preview simply by placing a graphic.

Similar Messages

RGB Color management between Illustrator and Photoshop

Hi,
I have a color management issue when exporting JPGs from Illustrator and opening them in Photoshop:
In Illustrator (file is in RGB mode), I have a logo which has the color RGB 0/0/153 and I export a JPG. When I open the file in Photoshop, the color is RGB 1/0154.
I have activated Adobe CC Color Manegement via Adobe Bridge (option "Europe, Universal 3"), which should produce consistent results in all Adobe applications.
So which is the color that is actually in the file? And what do I have to do to get the color I want (0/0/153) actually exported from Illustrator? I need this color to comply with corporate design specifications of my client.
Since I have to produce a lot of files it is not possible to readjust all colors in Photoshop ...
Thank you!
Michael

First, check to make sure that the RGB working colorspace is the same for both Illustrator and Photoshop.
When exporting the jpeg from Illustrator make sure the 'embed' color profile is selected, and it is the color profile that is required for your client. If this is for web use, then sRGB is your best choice.
When you open the exported image in Photoshop, make sure that the color settings for Photoshop are set to 'Preserve Embedded Profiles'. After you open the image in Photoshop, you can double check by going to Edit > Convert to Profile... The source profile should match the embedded exported profile from Illustrator. If these match, your RGB color values from Illustrator and Photoshop should also match.
If the source profile does not match, cancel out of the 'Convert to Profile" and go to 'Assign Profile". Assign the profile that you embedded when exporting from Illustrator. Now Photoshop should have the same values as Illustrator.

Color Space Issue: One Black On Screen But Two Blacks When Printed

I work at a print shop (using Windows 7 and Adobe Acrobat X) and often receive PDFs from customers that were created from PowerPoint. These PowerPoint PDFs often present a printing issue when there are black objects in the file.
On screen, there will be only one consistent shade of black but when the document is printed, it becomes evident that there are actually two different blacks in the file, one darker than the other.
I have done a lot of online research (including these forums) in an attempt to find a complete solution that will always work for these problem-files but have yet to find one.
I know that the issue stems from the fact that PowerPoint uses RGB colors and not CMYK like printers but trying to manually convert color spaces in Adobe Acrobat Pro to be uniform did not help. Whether I convert the entire document's color space to CMYK or just individual objects, I always get the two shades of black when printing. Can anyone explain why this isn't working for me?
I have used the Output Preview tool to determine that the two blacks in the documents are almost always C0-M0-Y0-K100 and C75-M68-Y67-K90. I have read that a custom Preflight fix can be created to seek out all instances of one black and convert it to the other but I did not have success when trying this method. I must be doing something wrong. After running my fix, I always get a message about how no issues are found. If someone can post a step-by-step guide on how to create a Preflight fix that will resolve this issue, I would really appreciate it.
I have uploaded three sample PDFs that I'm currently working with. Please feel free to review and troubleshoot them. My goal is to uncover a solution that I can apply to all three files to get them to print with one consistent black.
https://workspaces.acrobat.com/?w=j3nHuvLCo9XWHliKEpNX-A
Thank you all so much in advance for any insight you can offer.

So sorry about that. I have Published all three files now so they should be accessible to the public.
ColorSpace1.pdf
https://workspaces.acrobat.com/?d=W9QuI9UZSYRmGYnvoaS44w
ColorSpace2.pdf
https://workspaces.acrobat.com/?d=-AQHyT*HMSawAW-swQ9SVA
ColorSpace3.pdf
https://workspaces.acrobat.com/?d=DWuc0Dp-M8SKqnX6mTNnfw
Thank you for the reply!

Color Consistency Across Macs and PCs?

We have an encoding and creative workflow that is entirely mac/FC Studio base, but authoring is done on a PC.
We have run into a very peculiar problem involving color shifting...
M2Vs and Still Images (Tiffs) are exported from Motion Projects using Compressor. The last frame of the m2v is identical to the Still Image.
When opened in quicktime the colors appear identical.
When brought into DVD studio pro and Authored, the jump from the M2V to the Still Image is seamless in terms of color.
Now when that M2V and Still Image is brought into our PC authoring Software, there is a noticeable shift in color between the two. The still image is significantly darker than the M2V. (A HUGE PROBLEM)
So the above is based on exporting a still image and an M2v from Motion Projects, what if we simply exported the last frame of the M2V from quicktime or compressor as a still image. SAME EXACT RESULTS.
Next I brought the M2V into After Effects and Exported the last frame as a Tiff. In DVD Studio Pro that Tiff appears significantly BRIGHTER than the M2V, but when brought over to our PC there is NO shift at all!!
For a number of reason our workflow can not accommodate a dependency on After Effects to provide us with color consistent Still Images for our PC Authoring Software.
Is there anyone out there, a guru in the ways of color management perhaps, that can lend some insight into how I can ensure that the Still Images I export from Quicktime/Final Cut Studio will not display a shift in color from the M2Vs on the PC?
Thank you so much,
ryan

Ryan,
Your issue is primarily related to gamma, and also related to color space conversion issues. If you search these very forums, and google, you will find extensive threads discussing this.
Managing gamma in a FCS-based post workflow that involves still images, multiple platforms, and multiple color spaces, requires special attention.
The various applications inside FCS deal with gamma and color spaces in different ways. There are a LOT of intricacies, from Final Cut's bypassing of ColorSync, to default gamma settings for RGB content, to DVDSP's handling of still image color space conversion. You'll need to sit down and spend some time building the knowledge you'll need to navigate the waters.
Start with these links, and go from there:
http://www.poynton.com/notes/colourandgamma/GammaFAQ.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93794
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7384256
http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=23956
The very short version of your problem is related to the fact that Mac uses a default display gamma of 1.8, and just about everything else in the world related to your video pipeline (including your PC) uses 2.2 to 2.5. It's more complex than that, but the links above will get into detail.
On the bright side, your problem is completely solvable once you learn the gamma side of things, and carefully maintain proper gamma from start to finish in the workflow.
-Matt

A different take on the "Save For Web" color shift issue...

Ok, everyone who has fussed much with photoshop and "Save For Web" knows about the color shift issue. If you want your colors to look right after you "save for web", you have to work in the sRGB colorspace, and have Proof Colors checked (soft proofing on) and the proof color setup set to Monitor RGB, otherwise what you get looks terrible when displayed in a browser.
But of course if you are editing for print, this is exactly what you DON'T want to do. Well, I work in both. In fact, often the same images, and I want them to appear as close as reasonably possible in both print and web formats, and without a lot of fussing on my part. And I'm pickiest about the print mode, since I have the most control there, so that's the way I want to edit by default.
Nothing new here.
Now comes the interesting part (in my mind, anyway). Obviously there is a known remapping -- because PhotoShop DOES it when you select Proof Colors. So the inverse mapping must also be known (with some gamut issues, but I'm not concerned with those, because, after all, I'm VIEWING it on a monitor anyway!). What I want is a plug-in that automatically applies that inverse mapping so that, when I do a Save For Web, I end up with the colors I've been viewing all the time when setting the shot up in print mode. Then, too, I don't have to worry about what mode I'm in when I'm editing -- it just fixes it when doing a save-for-web.
Again, I want to edit in my normal print mode (typically ProPhoto colorspace, and with soft-proofing off or set to the printer/medium combination I expect to use), then do a single operation (might be a multi-step action) to "screw up" my colors so that when I then do a "Save-For-Web", the resulting image, when viewed on the average color-stupid browser, looks like the image I've been seeing in Photoshop.
Anyone know of such a beast?   I would gladly pay for a plug-in that really works and fixes the problem.
And if you have other solutions, I'm interested, but the absolute requirement is that it I do one single edit pass for my colors for both print and web use, and I get what I see on the screen in PS on both the prints and on the web display (i.e., working in sRGB/Monitor RGB mode all the time won't cut it). And PREFERABLY, let me do all my editing work in the ProPhoto (or at least AdobeRGB) colorspace so I have a gamut closer to what the printer can do.
Anyone got a decent solution for this?

Sorry, I think I'm being unclear. This has nothing to do with individual monitor profiles. In Proof Setup, "Monitor RGB" amounts to turning off ALL color management, and simply letting the monitor do what it will. It is what the vast majority of web browsers do (even if the operating system provides color management, the browsers don't take advantage of it), so that is what you need to consider for images that will be viewed on a web browser. If you convert your image to sRGB, select Monitor RGB in Proof Set up, and turn on Proof Colors, you will see the image as it would appear on a web browser (after you save it as a jpg or use "Save For Web/Devices" to save it as a jpg).   Since almost everyone is running different uncalibrated monitors, there will be lots of variation in how it will look to them, so precise control of the color is unimportant.
That said, I would expect the color on a calibrated monitor (such as the one I use when editing) to be reasonably close to the colors I am seeing while editing in PS. To the extent a monitor deviates from "calibrated", those colors will vary, but a good monitor should show good colors.   Unfortunately, this is NOT the case, as my previous post shows. The colors produced by the steps above are oversaturated and significantly shifted in hue. There is, to my mind, anyway, no reason for this. Adobe clearly knows what the mapping is between the colors as it displays them in PS and the un-controlled "Monitor RGB" -- that is, it is the color map they are using during normal editing display. If they were to reverse-apply that map prior to saving it as a jpg, then the image would appear on a browser on that same (presumably calibrated) monitor very similar to what you set up when editing. Anyone else viewing the image on a web browser with a calibrated monitor would also see good colors. To the extent other viewers' monitors are out of calibration, their colors will suck, but there's nothing you can do about that.
I guess in some sense I AM "asking for a Color-Mamangement-solution for a "non-Color-Management-situation", but specifically I'm asking for PS Color Management to do the best it can for non-Color-Managed situations that we all face every day.
Does that make more sense?

Looking for a better solution to the "Save for web" color shift issue

Ok, everyone who has fussed much with photoshop and "Save For Web" knows about the color shift issue. If you want your colors to look right after you "save for web", you have to work in the sRGB colorspace, and have Proof Colors checked (soft proofing on) and the proof color setup set to Monitor RGB, otherwise what you get looks terrible when displayed in a browser.
But of course if you are editing for print, this is exactly what you DON'T want to do. Well, I work in both. In fact, often the same images, and I want them to appear as close as reasonably possible in both print and web formats, and without a lot of fussing on my part. And I'm pickiest about the print mode, since I have the most control there, so that's the way I want to edit by default.
Nothing new here.
Now comes the interesting part (in my mind, anyway). Obviously there is a known remapping -- because PhotoShop DOES it when you select Proof Colors. So the inverse mapping must also be known (with some gamut issues, but I'm not concerned with those, because, after all, I'm VIEWING it on a monitor anyway!). What I want is a plug-in that automatically applies that inverse mapping so that, when I do a Save For Web, I end up with the colors I've been viewing all the time when setting the shot up in print mode. Then, too, I don't have to worry about what mode I'm in when I'm editing -- it just fixes it when doing a save-for-web.
Again, I want to edit in my normal print mode (typically ProPhoto colorspace, and with soft-proofing off or set to the printer/medium combination I expect to use), then do a single operation (might be a multi-step action) to "screw up" my colors so that when I then do a "Save-For-Web", the resulting image, when viewed on the average color-stupid browser, looks like the image I've been seeing in Photoshop.
Anyone know of such a beast? I would gladly pay for a plug-in that really works and fixes the problem.
And if you have other solutions, I'm interested, but the absolute requirement is that it I do one single edit pass for my colors for both print and web use, and I get what I see on the screen in PS on both the prints and on the web display (i.e., working in sRGB/Monitor RGB mode all the time won't cut it). And PREFERABLY, let me do all my editing work in the ProPhoto (or at least AdobeRGB) colorspace so I have a gamut closer to what the printer can do.
Anyone got a decent solution for this?

Chris
I spent all day Googling and doing side by side comparisons of my old and new systems.
My display is a Dell U2410. It has several presets, including sRGB and Adobe RGB. I've been using sRGB.
On my OLD system, (Win XP, PsCS2, DwCS4) there seems to be no distinction between color managed and non color managed apps, even on this wide gamut display. I could capture (digital camera) in Adobe RGB, open and edit in PsCS2, save as .psd, convert to CMYK for print, or convert to sRGB for SFW. All images looked identical and they printed and displayed perfectly. I thought this was normal, and seemed logical. This also seems to be the source of my incorrect assumptions. I was trying to get my new machine to behave like my old one.
So I get this new machine (Windows 7, PsCS5, DwCS5) and now (still in sRGB display mode) all color managed apps appear de-saturated. Non color managed apps are OK. If I switch the display to Adobe RGB, color managed apps are OK, but non color managed apps are way too saturated. From my investigation, I believe this is normal behavior on a wide gamut display. I've tried changing the Control Panel > Display > Screen Resolution > Advanced settings > Color Management options, but to no avail. Either I'm missing something, or Windows 7 is doing color management differently.
It seems my only option now is to use Adobe RGB display setting for Ps, etc. and switch to sRGB for Dw and non color managed apps. Or, have 2 separate files for print and web. I've Googled 'til my eyes are numb and still not sure I'm getting this. Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, I don't see an edit function here, so I can't remove my previous incorrect reply. Moderator, please feel free to do so.
Thanks

Color management issue from Photoshop Acrobat

I'm having an issue that I believe has been isolated to Acrobat X related to Color Management, but was referred to this Photoshop forum because more experts in color management tend to read here. My thread in the Acrobat forum with several updates on tests is here: http://forums.adobe.com/message/4646650#4646650
The short version is that any RGB image I create in any app (including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, a non-Adobe app with Word, and Acrobat's own PDF from Screen Capture feature) displays in both Acrobat X and Adobe Reader with dull colors, very similar (if not identical) to how an RGB file with full intensity colors (i.e. R255 or G255) looks when converted to CMYK.
I've tried numerous settings in the Color Management system, and have Synchronized my Color Settings via Bridge across all Adobe CS6 apps. I've tried synchronizing to both the default North American General Purpose 2, and the (sometimes suggested) Monitor Color, using a calibrated profile for my Dell display from OS X's built-in tool. Have also tried various settings of Preserving Embedded Profiles, ignoring them, Assigning a new Color Profile to a document, turning off color management completely, etc. No change in result.
I have a multi-monitor setup (3 external Dell displays connected to a Macbook Pro, 2 of them via USB video devices), but I've also tried making each display (including the laptop's built-in display) my Primary monitor and can see the color shift on each one, so it doesn't appear to be a calibration issue.
This issue is on my Mac at the office. I have a similar setup at home (albeit a MacPro 1,1 vs. a laptop) but with the same Dell monitors and CS6 software installation, and I can take the same document (whether it's InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop), make a PDF of it, and it displays with 100% accurate colors when viewed in Acrobat X.
In addition to the tests mentioned in my original thread, I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling both Acrobat X and Adobe Reader.
I believe the issue is related to Acrobat, as I can repeat the issue with no other apps than Acrobat in the workflow: if I display a full-intensity RGB image on screen, then use Acrobat X to create a PDF from Screen Capture, the resulting PDF immediately shifts to the dull colors.
Have also thoroughly checked through Acrobat's preferences, as it seems almost as if there's a setting somewhere along the lines of "View all PDFs in CMYK color gamut", but no such setting exists. I did a complete uninstall of Acrobat X as well, which I imagine would also dump its Preferences, so it would be a clean reinstall.
Another interesting note: Apple's Preview app seems to display the PDF with accurate RGB colors, so I know the PDF actually has the correct color definitions intact. But the same PDF opened in Acrobat X or Reader side-by-side displays the dull colors.
Any thoughts?
-R

i wasn't able to follow your lengthy post, and the color management chain is too complicated (for me) to address here other to say Acrobat reads tagged elements and converts their colors to Monitor RGB (so you must have stripped the profiles in the PDF, and the Acrobat CMS is applying or passing through the wrong profile)
further, if you don't want to rely on profiles, your safest bet (for screen viewing) is to CONVERT everything to sRGB (but i would still include the profile in case someone wants to display or print the document 'accurately'
Here is a look at a several critical color setting in Export to Acrobat that control: Downsampling, Compression, Color Conversions, Destination, and Tagging (click on image for blowup):
PS:
these panels were grabbed from an InDesign Export PDF process, but Photoshop should have similar options somewhere

RGB colors become dull in Acrobat PDFs

I'm using CS6 and when I create a PDF, the RGB colors appear much duller than the original source file. The shift is about (if not exactly) what you would see if you converted an RGB document with bright colors to CMYK.
I'm on a Mac using the latest update to OS X. My typical process for creating a PDF is by starting with Photoshop JPEGs and using the "Combine Files in a Single PDF" function, or by exporting an InDesign document (with RGB art) directly to a PDF.
If I open the exported PDF in either Adobe Acrobat Pro (10.1.4) or the latest version of Adobe Reader, the bright, saturated RGB colors in the original document appears noticeably dull in the PDF.
I've experimented with several different Color Settings to no avail, including different RGB settings (sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998), etc.). Currently my settings are using Bridge to Synchronize my Color Settings across my CS6 apps (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat) and have confirmed they are all reporting a Synchronized state.
My overall Color Setting is "Monitor Color" (though I've also tried others, including the default North American General Purpose). My RGB Workspace for all apps is set to the Profile of my Dell monitor, which was created with Apple's built-in calibration tool (not the best, I know, but wouldn't account for a difference as dramatic as this.) And my Color Management Policies under these Syncronized settings are all automatically set to "Off".
As a test, if I export my RGB InDesign document to a JPEG and open that file back in Photoshop, the colors are fine—unchanged from the original look as they originally appeared in Photoshop. It's only when I go to Acrobat that the colors shift to a duller version.
I keep looking in Acrobat preferences for a "Display PDF with Embedded Profile" or something along those lines, but Acrobat Color Management settings are the same as all my other CS6 apps.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
R

Yes, I too suspect OS X 10.8 being the problem.
Apple's Preview shows the colors fine. I also opened the PDF in Photoshop - fine.
I even converted the colors in Acrobat X to a different color space (ProPhoto RGB). Still looks bad in Acrobat, still looks fine everywhere else. Also single images in the ProPhoto RGB PDF sent from Acrobat to Photoshop look fine and show the correct profile.
Just like you I happen to see this the first time on Mountain Lion. It also seems to be connected to the monitor's profile somehow. Here's why I think so:
Photo Mechanic by Camerabits (www.camerabits.com, a professional image viewing and rating program recently had issues with colors. They looked way over saturated or very dull, depending on whether the programs CMM was off or on. But the effect looked different on three different machines I checked.
A Mac Pro with NEC PA271 and NEC Multi Profiler
A Mac Pro with NEC 2690WUXi and NEC Spectraview II
A MacBook Pro 17", calibrated with Datacolor Spyder 3 Pro
All Machines on OS X 10.8.x
On one machine the reds got over exaggerated, on the other it had a orange-green tint. And so on.
The developer of Photo Mechanic gave me a special error logging version and with the log I sent him he eventually was able to fix it. Seems to say a lot if you ask me ...

How can I preserve RGB color within Adobe PDF?

I'm using Acrobat Pro 9.3.1, OS 10.6, and I'm creating PDF output from Keynote, strictly for on-screen viewing. I would like to use Acrobat Pro to create a compact PDF file with screen-resolution graphics, however I keep running into problems with color changes applied by Acrobat.
The document contains bright RGB colors. It also contains images, some of which are high DPI resolution.
* If I use the OS X "Save As PDF..." feature, the generated file is about 32 MB. Opening the resulting file with Preview, the file looks fine. Opening the resulting file with Acrobat, though, shows the bright colors in the file as very drab-- almost as though it's been compressed into CMYK space. Once it's in Acrobat, I can use the PDF Optimizer and save it as a mostly-adequate 10 MB file, but the color issue is annoying.
* If I use the "Save as Adobe PDF" feature, and save the file with "standard" settings, the resulting PDF file is 27 MB. If opened in Acrobat, it shows the same CYMK-like color compression, and if opened in Preview, it shows the bright colors.
* If I use the "Save as Adobe PDF" feature, and save the file with "PDF/A-1b:2005 (RGB)" settings, the resulting PDF file is 50 MB. In both Acrobat and Preview, it shows up with full and correct colors. So obviously Acrobat is capable of handling RGB after all. But this format is not really compatible-- it throws a warning about viewing in that format, and has all kinds of graphical glitches. And, the file is even larger than I started with.
So, what I would like to know is this: How can I set up acrobat to let me produce those nice 10 MB files, without showing the funny color compression?

p taz wrote:
Ummm... not quite sure where you get that from, colour managed means converted as per settings in the device or application. Acrobat preset for PDFX/1a specs a conversion to cmyk. Other presets include RGB or unconverted and these are chosen by the app or user.
This is where your problem is, something inside Keynote is applying a conversion. I was just eliminating the obvious, not just for you but for other, less knowledgeable readers.
Preview will use the monitor or sRGB profile and the only way to make sRGB or equivalents look flat is to feed it an untagged file that belonged to a very different gamut.
3. Yes, conversion is happening. That's what I'm trying to prevent.
By definition, not converting means UNmanaged.. what you were calling unmanaged before is actually MISmanaged.
As mentioned, Acrobat, to my knowledge does not convert without being told to. That instruction comes from the built-in actions of the application in question or a user choice and you may not be able to address the former. If the former was the case then you might be able to work around by preparing your original file in a small gamut like sRGB and then it doesn't matter what Acrobat does unless you chose an unsuitable conversion at the user level.
> Acrobat preset for PDFX/1a specs a conversion to cmyk.
Okay. That confirms what's going on. Is there a way to turn this setting off, open the file, and then save it?
>This is where your problem is, something inside Keynote is applying a conversion.
No, actually keynote is irrelevant. You can blame it and its color mismanagement all day, but the fact is that the change happens when it's opened in Acrobat with the default settings. We know this because PS or PDF generated by keynote shows up okay in Preview or in that RGB PDF generated by distiller. It's absolutely unambiguous. I know that Acrobat is capable of converting the file without converting the color because it can make that RGB PDF. I know that my monitor isn't totally whacked because if I view that same "RGB PDF" on a different machine and/or OS, it look fine there too. But what I want to know is how to create that "RGB PDF" without the crazy bloat and iffy file format. There must be some settings that can be applied in Distiller to get this done.
From the suggestions that have been made here, it sounds like not many people have actually used recent versions of Acrobat Pro or Distiller on the Mac. (Options like "Email Files" and "PDFX4 2008" aren't there, converting PS files appears to broken, print to PDF is broken....) That's okay, I don't expect you to know everything about this. But, telling me just to not use the color blue or that my other programs are to blame isn't exactly helpful either. Am I asking the questions in the right place? Is there some Adobe tech support venue that's more appropriate?

Problems with RGB colors in Illustrator

Hello,
i have a problem with saving my artwork which is done in illustrator in PDF file. This artwork needs to be saved in PDF in RGB colors. It seams that I cannot do this. Originaly artwork was done in CMYK. Option Edit/Edit Colors/conver to RBG is not working that is this option is not possible.
Any suggestions please. Printing company cannot process it if PDF is not in RGB colors.
Thank you in advance.

But there is no difference in either case as the file will not be overwritten.
True that the file will not be overwritten if you're careful not to do a regular save, but there is a difference.
When you switch from CMYK to RGB document mode in Illustrator, AI simply converts to whatever you've set as your RGB working space. Yes, of course, you can go into Color Settings and change your workspace profile if need be, but now you're monkeying with settings that you might not want to be changing frequently.
Why not, instead, take advantage of a feature that's there specifically to deal with workflow issues like this?
If the printer requires a specific RGB space that's different from your normal working space, it's much easier to select it from the destination color dropdown during PDF creation. If you'll be creating more files for this particular printer, simply record a custom PDF (job options) preset.
Even if one chooses to do it the Wade Zimmerman way, one should make sure to look at the color panel during PDF creation to make sure no unwanted space conversions are taking place.

Preserving RGB color in PDFs

Bare with me because my lack of knowledge on this topic is alarming...
I teach online photography classes and make my lessons (originally created in Word for MAC) available to my students via downloadable PDFs.
In the past, some students have had problems downloading the PDFs so it was suggested to me to go through the following process to create more compatible PDFs:
1. From Word select 'print'
2. Select 'save as postscript'
3. open file in distiller to create my PDF
This process seemed to cure the compatibility issues students were having.
Recently though, I added a new cover page to each lesson that contains images that need to be kept in an RGB color space (otherwise the colors look terrible.) However, the process I described above (and every other process I have tried) seems to desaturate the colors. I'm assuming it's being converted to CYMK and that's the problem.
How can I preserve my RBG color AND make sure the PDFs are still compatible for my students to download?
The image on the left is my Word document (with the correct blue coloring) and the image on the right is my PDF (with the inaccurate blue coloring.)
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide - I'm stumped!

I wanted to add that I did search this topic in advance but (perhaps it's my lack of knowledge on the subject) was still unable to figure out a solution.

No Color Consistency

I'm on the verge of giving up any hope of CS3's color management
working consistently. But I'm tenacious, so let's give this one more
go. Exhibit A:
http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=colorsquaresou2.png
Here's what I did. I created filled square in PS (1), exported it as a PS
PDF and viewed it in Acrobat (2), placed said PDF in an ID document
(3) and finally exported that ID document as another PDF which was
viewed in Acrobat (4).
The squares you see in the image above have been screengrabbed
whilst viewing in PS, ID, and Acrobat at each stage (1-4) described
above. Contrary to the claim below, I get different visible results in
all three applications.
"[...] colors created in Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator CS3 match the
colors you see in InDesign CS3, Acrobat 8 Professional, and Reader 8."
- http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/creativesuite/articles/cs3ap_colorworkflows_03.html
More details:
The Japan Web Coated (Ad) ICC profile was used for the working space
space during PS editing. Color settings were synchronized through Bridge.
Embedded profiles preserved. RGB working space: sRGB. CMYK working
space: Japan Web Coated (Ad). No conversion was used for exported PDFs.
All embedded profiles were included. Simulate black ink and overprint off in
Acrobat. No weird soft-proofing setups. Etc etc.
There are a million and one settings so I won't list them all.
Any explanation of this inconsistency would be much appreciated.

> Setting your monitor profile to sRGB is always a mistake.
Ok, let's accept that for a moment.
> Unlike non-color-managed applications, Photoshop uses your monitor
> profile to convert the data it sends to your monitor. If you have a
> properly, accurately, and often calibrated and profiled monitor,
> then you and others can get an accurate rendition of your file.
I agree with all that.
> Setting two different uncalibrated and non-profiled monitors to
> sRGB does in no way, shape or form mean the image is going to look
> the same on both monitors.
No problem with that either. If you think I meant that before, then
obviously I did not explain myself clearly enough.
> If you don't understand that, you have not even begun to wrap your
> head around color management.
> Since you're more interested in arguing than in learning or solving
> your problem, there's not much that others can do to help you.
That's your assumption, rather confrontationally put, and it's
untrue.
Perhaps what I've written is ambiguous and is being taken the
wrong way. Let me try to put it better.
My basic point (it may well be wrong and I'd love to know why
if it is) is this:
If Illustrator and Photoshop are using the same color management
techniques, then they should open the same jpeg file, say, and
it would look the same in both programs. Each of the two programs
would perform a gamut mapping from the *same* working space
(synchronized with Bridge) to the *same* monitor profile space
(sRGB or any other) and in the *same* way. Given this identical
mapping, the operating system would receive from each program
the same RGB color values for each image.
According to this hypothesis, which may or may not be correct,
the particular monitor profile chosen has no effect on whether
the image in one program resembles the image in the other.
An analogy: suppose I have two pairs of spectacles made by
two opticians. Unfortunately the prescription is wrong, but
both opticians are given the same wrong prescription. And
let's suppose the glasses are made precisely according to
that prescription. In this analogy the prescription is a
bit like (not too much though) an inaccurate monitor profile.
Now, if I look at something with one pair, it is blurred or
distorted. If I look at that same thing with the other pair,
it is also blurred and distorted, but in the same way. The
scene looks identical. Of course, that's not what I want
to see, a blurred scene, but at least I know the opticians
did the same thing, functionally speaking. At least I know
there is some consistency in the way these opticians work.
So, at the risk of unnecessary repetition: I'm not interested
in the absolute accuracy of colors at this point. I'm merely
trying to get an understanding of why one Adobe color-managed
program is producing different on-screen results to another:
same input + same color mapping functions =/= same output?
By the way, I have discovered something that is different
about Illustrator. Monitor profile changes apparently have
no effect until Illustrator is restarted. In Photoshop the
changes have immediate effect.

Color consistency from Photoshop to AI?

I created a new logo recently. All the text was created in Illustrator and one element (radio antenna waves) was built in Photoshop. I've set the color to PMS 464 but when I bring the 'waves' into AI, the color is darker. I've tried adjusting different settings in Photoshop, playing with transparency in AI, etc. Is there a color setting I've missed? Below is the web version with an 85% opacity on the waves, but you can see the difference in colors.
Thanks. Sarah

I have looked at is and the only conclusion I can come to is that using the pantone colors is a good idea for print and not a good idea for the web.
If you use the pantone colors then you have to turn on Overprint preview to see the proper output for press and you will see a pretty close match when you have overprint preview on.
If you try this for the save for the web you will get a very inconsistent color.
However if your only concern is color consistency and one of the objects is vector you can probably use the Edit>Edit Colors>Adjust Color Balance and Saturation to adjust the color.
I would say a wiser way to do this is to color the art in an rgb environment for the web and not use spot colors swatches that were designed to work in a cmyk for print.
If you turn on Overprint preview you will see what I mean, then though it is matched and you do a save for the web you will see the conversion is not working well for that environment
I would save the paths and use swatches you create yourself because this was not intended to work this way and is probably part of the problem.
Overprint preview will show you what you will get in print but the consistency for the web well I would say there is something wrong .
this shows what you can get with adjusting the colors and you will get this for save for the web by doing so this and if you don't adjust the colors but turn on overprint preview you get this as well
This is what you get without overprint preview turned on and what you would get for save for the web if you do not adjust the colors.
I have no idea why there should be so big a difference except to say they are going about this in the wrong way and it needs to be corrected.
There seems to be no reason for this to be. PMS 464 should be PMS 464 if it is in the same environment.
Now of course if one had it as rgb in photoshop and brought it into Illustrator for a cmyk document then there is going to a conversion which you might not like and if you create a cmyk document with art that was convert from rgb to cmyk in transport and are trying to match objects from the different applications that probably would not work.
I really do not know why this is happening in my opinion it is a bug. This is so long an explanation because I really do not have an explanation for it.
Perhaps someone else does.

Printing RGB colors - Conversion to CMYK?

Hi,
I have been working for a little while in converting my old RGB colors to CMYK printer friendly colors.
However, I carefully choosed my printing friendly CMYK colors to be as close as possible to the RGB colors but the prints are dull !
On the other hand, when I print my file withj RGB colors using the PDF Distiller tagged with Adobe1998 profile and send the file to the printer, colors look smarter !
It means that the CMYK colors I picked myself are not good enough anf the Color Managment in Adobe PDF or Illustrator are better than me ! As follows:
- In Illustrator -> Print -> Color Management tab -> Color Handling: Let Illustrator determine colors
- in Acrobat Reader -> Print -> Color Management tab of the plotter: Application managed colors
Both ouput similar quality prints, and better than my own CMYK colors !
Are the Application Color Management engines in Illustrator and in Adobe Reader similar in their conversion?
How can I find out which are the CMYK colors printed when the application (Reader or Illustrator) manages colors, from my initial RGB colors? I would like to use them directly in my document...
Thanks

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I put these color issues on hold because I had no time to search more on that recently...
However, I have still lots of questions about color conversion!
When I said "carefully choose" CMYK colors, it means CMYK colors printable and which look similar to my old RGB colors on-screen. But of course, screen is not enough!
What I noticed is that when I print my old RGB colors (not in printer color space), Adobe Reader or Illustrator were able to make good conversion to CMYK for printing.
Now, I would like to find out to which CMYK color codes Adobe Reader or Illustrator converted my RGB colors? Then, I would be able to use these CMYK color codes directly in my application...
Is there any way to find out that?
Cheers

Color shift (color management) issues in Mavericks

Noticed color management lacking for Safari and Dock icons just after Maverick update, but was unable to check it with recalibration. Today X-Rite issued an update for i1 Display PRO and i was able to recalibrate my display, but the problem unsurprisingly wasn't in the display profile.
Bellow are two screenshots of Safari vs. Chrome and FF vs. Chrome respectively.
Color difference is seen with the naked eye, but gray and blue fields' values are also annotated (Safari is on the left, Chrome is on the right).
These are FF (on the left) and Chrome (on the right) with no color difference, both browsers are color-managed.

Issues here too: 2013 Mac Pro, latest Mavericks/browser versions (OS X 10.9.4), and Dell UP2414Q display (known for good color—not to mention the only retina display money can buy).
Safari seems fine: web sites with no color profiles in the images look very much as I am used to from OS X Lion and Windows on other machines (some variation from screen to screen is just life). CSS colors match image colors when they should.
Firefox is ultra-saturated: web sites the look fine in Firefox--and identical to Safari--under OS X Lion (on a different Mac/display anyway) but on the new Mavericks system, colors are eye-burningly saturated! That's CSS and images alike (without color profiles). CSS and image colors still match—but both are WAY oversaturated.
Note: images dragged from Safari and Firefox to my desktop both look fine when opened in Quick Look or Preview. Both (again, images without profiles) look super-saturated like Firefox when opened in Photoshop CC—despite Photoshop having the same settings I'm used to using (color management Off for RGB, working space set to Monitor) on my old Mac with PS CS6 under Lion. Yet the color values in PS CC do register as correct despite looking so bad (same goes when opening my own RGB source PSDs that generated the web sites to begin with).
Shouldn't Safari and Firefox out of the box look alike, since they do in earlier OS versions? (Even if some workaround is found, "out of the box" a new Mac with default Firefox installation now looks terrible.)
Separate but complicating issues, in case it helps to diagnose this:
a) The Dell display's default calibration looks quite good to me; but if I run Apple's visual calibration steps which I would normally do on a new Mac, everything gets very dark. (So I went back to the default calibration, which is supplied by Apple and called "Dell UP2414Q"; Apple clearly supports this display specifically, since I never installed any Dell software.)
b) When I take an OS X screenshot of Safari, despite it looking "right" everywhere (Preview and Photoshop CC alike), values are way off. (Regardless of whether I strip the color profile or not when importing the screenshot into Photoshop CC.) When I take a screenshot off Firefox, the screenshot looks "right" (no longer oversaturated!) in Preview and Quicklook. When imported into Photoshop CC, Firefox screenshots behave just like drag-saved images from Firefox: they appear super-saturated just like in the browser, BUT the color values at least register correctly.
c) No setting I can find for Photoshop CC will make exported images look right (and match CSS colors) in ANY browser unless I accept them being super-saturated while I work on them (which of course is untenable). I'll deal with that separately: I've abandoned the new Mac Pro for Photoshop work and gone back to my old Mac (and PS CS6)--but this I assume to be Adobe's fault. I mention it only in case it's some kind of clue.
For what it's worth, here's my interpretation: Firefox and Photoshop are using the full gamut of the display, while Safari is not—and Safari looks GOOD not using the full gamut. (And at least with this Dell display, it looks "correct" that way.) Pure primary red #FF0000 (images and CSS alike) which appears normal to me in Safari and Preview and Quicklook turns to eye-burning neon red in Firefox and Photoshop (with management Off and working space set to Monitor). It's kind of amazing that the display can show a red even more brilliant than I have ever seen on a computer before, BUT it doesn't help me design web sites for the rest of the world who has a more ordinary gamut.
Maybe this is just a long-standing Firefox bug, revealed to me now that I have a large-gamut display? (But that wouldn't explain why other people have seen colors MORE saturated in Safari then Firefox.)

RGB color consistency issue

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