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Participant
August 6, 2026
Question

Illustrator color discrepancy between GPU and CPU Preview

  • August 6, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 11 views

I’m experiencing a color inconsistency in Adobe Illustrator between GPU Preview and CPU Preview.

My color settings are synchronized through Adobe Bridge. I’m working with Adobe RGB (1998) for RGB and U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 for CMYK. True Tone and Night Shift are both turned off on my Mac.

When GPU Preview is enabled, the colors in my artwork appear different from how they look in CPU Preview and in the exported PNG or PDF. CPU Preview appears to display the color more accurately, but switching to CPU Preview disables Animated Zoom, which makes it difficult to work efficiently.

I would also appreciate guidance on which preview should be trusted as the most accurate representation of the exported artwork.

    2 replies

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2026

    @SallyClark CPU Preview gives the most correct representation of your artwork and is used for export. GPU is fast but less accurate. You can always switch temporarely between the two using Cmd E.

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2026

    Can you post screenshots highlighting the differences in the color? Could you also provide details as to what exact version of Illustrator and operating system that you are using? Do you get the same results in an exported pdf for each of the Preview modes?