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InDesign PDFs and colour output???

A

Amphersand

macrumors member
Original poster
May 25, 2006
51
0
Have been saving PDFs straight out of InDesign. No problems, the InDesign file is CMYK, as are all the images etc. When i set up my export options im setting the colour option to either Unchanged or CMYK, but the corresponding PDF as over saturated colours??? When i save it as RGB it doesnt seem to be a problem, looks how it should etc.

Any help at all is much appreciated as this is driving me up the wall!!!!!!!
 
Also - some colours i appear to be able to delete and replace, but others i cant? They appear locked? Not sure why????
 
Try changing your soft-proofing view in Acrobat.

Menu: Advanced>Proof Setup to Simulate Ink Black... and then try selecting just beneath that 'Proof Colours' (Apple-Y).

Simulate Paper White can be quite good sometimes depending on your setup in full-screen mode (Apple-L) or you can try your own custom proof setup.

The locked colours are in InDesign, right? Are they process colours or spots bought in with an EPS or PDF? What colours are they?
 
Its not just an 'on screen' proofing problem, when i print the document the colours come out saturated then aswell.

I dont have the problem at all when saving as RGB. Is it posible to convert a PDF from RGB to CMYK in Acrobat? Im sure i could do it in photoshop but im guessing it would take forever!

Cheers
A.
 
Well, then it's a printer description/software/print problem. Check your Print options carefully.
 
Amphersand said:
Its not just an 'on screen' proofing problem, when i print the document the colours come out saturated then aswell.

I dont have the problem at all when saving as RGB. Is it posible to convert a PDF from RGB to CMYK in Acrobat? Im sure i could do it in photoshop but im guessing it would take forever!

Cheers
A.
Click to expand...

Yes you can convert them to CMYK in Acrobat if you resave and choose a different colour space I believe.

But You could convert the placed images to CMYK in PS first, then import them into inDesign - try that - won't take too long and you can see if the conversion over saturates the colours.
 
Have had a go at resaving the PDF but it doesnt appear to give me any colour options, just the usual file extension options.

All the images in the InDesign document are already CMYK as are all the colours. When i export it from InDesign to PDF and save it as RGB it looks fine, when i export it as CMYK, the colours all become saturated. It looks like the contrast has been turned right up! I can see this on screen and in the print outs. Its altering the file in some way.

Is it a simple case of something not being clicked, somewhere along the line????

Its driving me mental!!!!!:mad: :eek: :confused:
 
Try using a PDFX1a or PDFX3 export setting from InDesign avoiding all colour profile embedding.
 
Had a crack at that and i seem to get the same problem, i dont know what its defaulting to? But it has exactly the same effect.:confused:
 
But is it altering the file?

Take some colour samples of the troublesome areas in your TIFFs or source image files, write their CMYK splits down and then sample the same areas in Acrobat running the pointer over them in separation preview.

Also, try printing postscript to disk and using Distiller. Same problem?
 
Are you using Press quality?

In Output try:

Color conversion: Convert to Desitination
Destination: Document CMYK - US Web Cated Swop..
Profile inclusion policy: Don't include profiles

Works for me.
 
eyup said:
In Output try:

Color conversion: Convert to Desitination
Destination: Document CMYK - US Web Cated Swop..
Profile inclusion policy: Don't include profiles

Works for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its all at press quality, but the problem occurs at screen quality too.

When you say 'Output' do you mean in InDesign, or Acrobat? Or Acrobat Distiller????
 
Amphersand said:
Yeah, its all at press quality, but the problem occurs at screen quality too.

When you say 'Output' do you mean in InDesign, or Acrobat? Or Acrobat Distiller????
Click to expand...


I mean Output in the InDesign pdf dialogue box (it comes up after you point the file to a directory) - try it on those settings I posted...

I presume you do this:

File > Adobe PDF Presets > [Press Quality] > Save > Output (it's on the left side) try:
Color conversion: Convert to Desitination
Destination: Document CMYK - US Web Coated SWOP v2
Profile inclusion policy: Don't include profiles

Let us know what happens...

You shouldn't have to bother with Acrobat or Distiller.
 
Im only using InDesign CS not CS2 and i have different options to those which you listed.

I think i can do something similar in distiller tho. Ill have a crack and let you know.

Cheers
A.
 
Nah! Didnt get me anywhere im affraid! Thanks for the advice tho.

Im not sure what it is im doing wrong, there must be something im either not clicking on, or a setting somewhere ive got wrong????

Cheers all.
Amp.
 
Amphersand said:
Im only using InDesign CS not CS2 and i have different options to those which you listed.

I think i can do something similar in distiller tho. Ill have a crack and let you know.

Cheers
A.
Click to expand...

Oh - well in that case - I presume you do this eh? :-

File > Adobe PDF Presets > [Press Quality] > Save > Advanced (it's on the left side): Color: CMYK

It would be interesting to see the result - can you attach a pdf page?
 
Yeah, thats essentialy what i was doing and thats where the problem was occuring. The job has now gone to the printers, ive had a word with them and hopefully they can sort it or tell me where im going wrong.

Ill see if i can attach some images to illustrate where its all going tits up. But its friday evening so ill do it monday... ish....;)

Cheers again everyone.
Amp.
 
I hope I didn't overlook any posts, but try this. In InDesign, you can try (2) things:

1. Save your file as an EPS then drop that file into Distiller using the settings you want (x1a, press quality, etc.) OR

2. Save your file as .PS then drop that file into Distiller.

Good luck! :)
 
It appears that my Colour Management wasnt enabled, hence the problem. I now have the Colour Management enabled and set to none. Seems to be fixed!

Just wondering which setting everybody else uses for this option???

Cheers
Amp.
 
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