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RJNMS
Known Participant
Mar 27, 2024 9:17 AM UTC
Question

Colours appear different when saving as PDF

Hi all,

 

Since the latest update of Illustrator(v28.4) and Acrobat (unsure where to confirm version, but it now has AI integrated), I am having an issue with colours from my artboard being fairly more vibrant, almost as if they are RGB values, despite using CMYK swatches and using CMYK workspace. 

 

This issue doesn't occur when Printing as PDF however, or when actually being printed and the CMYK result is accurate.

 

I have noticed it appear particularly more obvious when the print is blue, but does seem to affect all colours.

 

Has anyone else incured this before?

 

I have attached a screenshot with an example of my Artboard next to my result with Save as PDF

    6 replies

    cksteiner
    Participating Frequently
    Jul 29, 2024 3:48 PM UTC

    I am having this same problem - last 3 weeks or so. I have tried "Save As," "Save A Copy," and "Print to File" to save as PDF from Illustrator and my colors are so skewed the pdf is unusable. So far my reds and greens are so hot/bright/neon (haven't had an instance to use blue) it's blinding (and embarrassing). I am using CMYK color, in a CMYK environment, and output to Document CMYK - U.S. Web Coated (SWOP)v2 like I always have. And it is NOT a monitor issue because the colors are fine in Illustrator. So frustrating! You have any luck with an answer?

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    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Jul 29, 2024 3:55 PM UTC

    Can you share an example PDF?

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    RJNMSAuthor
    Known Participant
    Mar 27, 2024 9:23 AM UTC

    Sorry I forgot to mention that this is when viewing the "Save as PDF" result in Adobe Acrobat and when previewing on Windows. However, opening the PDF back up with Illustrator, the colour values are as the original artwork!

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    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 27, 2024 10:15 AM UTC

    Did you set up the Acrobat color management correctly for your workflow?

    Maybe ask over in the Acrobat or the color management forum whether there are known issues with Acrobat.

    https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/ct-p/ct-acrobat?page=1&sort=latest_replies&lang=all&tabid=all

    https://community.adobe.com/t5/color-management/ct-p/ct-Color-Management?page=1&sort=latest_replies&lang=all&tabid=all 

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    Anubhav M
    Community Manager
    Anubhav MCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Apr 2, 2024 7:08 PM UTC

    Hello @RJNMS,

    Thanks for reaching out. I hope the suggestions Monika shared helped resolve the problem. If not, kindly try recalibrating your monitor(s) for sRGB (https://adobe.ly/3U4Ylf2), restarting your computer and then checking to see if it helps.

    Looking forward to hearing from you.

     

    Thanks,

    Anubhav

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