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Color difference between CPU/GPU previews

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
November 4, 2022
68 replies
37115 views

Hi,

I have a big color problem between CPU/GPU previews.
In GPU preview, the colors become dull, bland. I didn't have this issue before the latest updates when switching between the two.
I tried to reinstall an older version, but the problem persists.
I am having the problem on both indesign and illustrator.
Do you have a solution ?

Correct answer Anshul_Saini

I have the same problem with my 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 MAX w/ 32GB running Ventura 13.0.1 (22A400). On both the laptop and external monitors, GPU preview is dull, especially noticable when dealing with colors outside CMYK gamut. Color picker colors are correct, but when shown on the artboard, they are dull and washed out.

Hi Jeff,

Sorry for the trouble! This issue has been fixed in the Ventura update, v13.1. Many users have reported that this update has resolved the color difference between CPU/GPU previews on the internal MacBook display.

I suggest that you update your Ventura to the latest version and see if it resolves the issue for you as well.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to ask.

Best,

Anshul Saini

anders f

Participating Frequently

I am seeing a closely related GPU/CPU color-preview discrepancy in Photoshop, specifically when converting from Adobe RGB (1998) to Lab.

System:

16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Pro
macOS 26.6.2, build 25G83
Photoshop 27.9.1
16-bit Adobe RGB document with a single rasterized pixel layer
The issue occurs on both the internal MacBook display and a calibrated external Eizo ColorEdge display

After converting the document to Lab Color, highly saturated test patches appear slightly duller when GPU acceleration is enabled. A photograph with less saturated colors looks almost unchanged.

The issue disappears completely when “Use Graphics Processor” is disabled and Photoshop is restarted. Disabling only OpenCL, GPU Compositing, and Anti-Alias Guides and Paths does not resolve it. Proof Colors is off, and converting the same document to ProPhoto RGB does not produce the same visible change.

I have submitted a detailed Photoshop bug report here:

Can anyone confirm the same GPU-related color shift when converting an Adobe RGB document to Lab in Photoshop on an Apple-silicon Mac?

Harshika Verma

Community Manager

Hi anders f,

Thank you for reaching out. It seems that you are having trouble in Photoshop and have already shared it on the Photoshop community. Could you please let us know if you would like to inquire whether the same issue exists in Illustrator, which is why you also posted it in the Illustrator community?

We will be happy to help you.

Thanks,

Harshika

anders f

Participating Frequently

Hi Harshika,

Thank you for clarifying. My issue is specifically in Photoshop, not Illustrator (I’m not using Illustrator). I posted in this thread because the GPU/CPU preview discrepancy on Apple-silicon Macs seemed closely related to what I am seeing in Photoshop.

In my case, saturated colors appear slightly duller after converting an RGB document to Lab when GPU acceleration is enabled. The difference disappears when I disable “Use Graphics Processor” completely.

I wanted to ask whether anyone who experienced the Illustrator/InDesign issue has also noticed similar behavior in Photoshop. I have submitted a separate Photoshop bug report here: https://community.adobe.com/bug%2Dreports%2D711/gpu%2Dpreview%2Ddesaturates%2Dsaturated%2Dcolors%2Dafter%2Dadobe%2Drgb%2Dto%2Dlab%2Dconversion%2Don%2Dapple%2Dm1%2Dpro%2D1638745

Thanks,

Anders

CraigWhiteLA

Known Participant

Not sure if this is still relevant, but I finally got this to work on my iMac with the latest 2024 version of Illustrator. I used Bridge to sync the color setting across Adobe products. Bridge>Edit>Color Settings> North American Prepress2. This seems to have fixed the GPU/CPU color discrepancy.

marcelk96723337

Participant

Hi @Anubhav M,

I'm still getting this issue:

Macbook M1 Pro

Sonoma 14.7.1

Indesign 20.2

It happens on the Macbook screen and an external LG monitor,

Any advice would be very welcome

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @marcelk96723337,

Could you try recalibrating your monitor(s) for sRGB (https://adobe.ly/4cmmbdJ), restarting your computer, and then relaunching Illustrator to see if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

D

DutchAlex

Inspiring

I have the same problem on windows 10 with Illustrator 28.2 (64bit) GPU/CPU Preview change the colors.

Other colors i see when use preview GPU (Nivida) then with CPU.

This is a big bug. Please help.

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @DutchAlex,

Sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind trying the suggestions shared in this community post (https://adobe.ly/3SV2D80) and checking if they help?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

AXXXXXXXXX

Inspiring

Still happening for me!

Macbook Pro M1 MAX

Ventura 13.1

Ai 2023

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @AXXXXXXXXX,

We understand how frustrating it can be to experience issues with color consistency in Illustrator, especially when working across multiple monitors. I hope the suggestions shared above helped resolve the problem. If not, we may need to troubleshoot this on a live session. Please head here (https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen) and select the chat button in the lower-right corner of the page. We can help troubleshoot faster that way.

Thanks,

Anubhav

M

mlleCooke

Participating Frequently

Hi, I have the same problem. I updated everything last night (Adobe and OS) but it doesn't change anything.

The dull colors can be seen when switching from GPU to CPU on the external screen, on the main inbuilt screen it's fine.

Macbook Pro 14 M1 Max

Ventura 13.3.1

Illustrator 27.4

External Apple LED Cinema Display

Please advise,

aleny51244259

Participant

Hi, I have the same problem.

The dull colors can be seen when switching from GPU to CPU on the external screen and the main inbuilt screen.

Macbook Pro 6 M2 Max

Ventura 13.4.1

Illustrator 27.6.1

External Apple Studio Display

Please advise,

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @aleny51244259,

We understand how difficult it can be to work in Illustrator when colors are inconsistent. Would you mind trying the following steps and checking if it helps:

Close all Adobe applications
Recalibrate both the internal and external display for sRGB (https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/calibrate-your-display-mchlp1109/mac)
Restart the computer
Relaunch Illustrator

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

B

Ben & Ana

Participant

Problem still persists in v27.2!

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @byfima,

I'm sorry to hear that you're still having trouble with v27.2. Would you mind confirming if you see the dull colors in the GPU preview on a Macbook display or external monitor(s) display? Also, please confirm the Mac specification, the exact version of macOS, and external monitor make & mode, if you are using any.

I will be looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

Jeff Wine

Participant

I have the same problem with my 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 MAX w/ 32GB running Ventura 13.0.1 (22A400). On both the laptop and external monitors, GPU preview is dull, especially noticable when dealing with colors outside CMYK gamut. Color picker colors are correct, but when shown on the artboard, they are dull and washed out.

B

byfima

Participant

Same issue with GPU mode

MacOS 13.1 / Intel based MBP / Illustrator 2022 and latest 2023

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @byfima,

We are sorry for the trouble. Would you mind confirming if you see the dull colors in the GPU preview on a Macbook display or external monitor(s) display?

I will be looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

B

byfima

Participant

Both, Macbook display and external 5K monitor.

But problem starting randomly over work time, i find some workaround:
In mac: System prefs — Displays — Color profile, change color profile to any and back to previous one

That fix the problem for me

Emmanuel van der Sloot

Participant

Hi,

I just updated to the latest Mac OS (Ventura 13.1) and the problem seems to be fixed. There is no longer a difference between CPU/GPU previews in Illustrator and Indesign. Hallelujah!

Allan Deas

Participant

Finally!

Allan Deas

Participant

Dissapointing to see the latest update today has still not resolved this colour issue.

It's becoming a joke. I'm working on a brand new computer I bought this year and the latest operating system.

Adobe! This should not be happening.

Allan Deas

Participant

Updated OS Ventura to the latest release 13.1 today and this seems to have resolved the colour issue in illustrator. Atleast on M1 Pro chip, MacBook Pro 2021.

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Mouchet0D4C @Dmitrymoi,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing the details. We have investigated the issue, and it has been found reproducible on our end on Apple Silicon Mac running on macOS Ventura only. This is acknowledged and will be worked on by developers in future updates.

Currently, workarounds to this are to use CPU preview or run the app using rosetta or open as Intel or as @Mouchet0D4C suggested rolling back to macOS Monterey will work.