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CCUMarketing
Participating Frequently
May 31, 2022
Answered

Illustrator: PNGs turn negative after saving then reopening

  • May 31, 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 12308 views

I'm running version 26.3.1, my operating system is Windows 10 Pro version 21H1.

Every time I place a PNG into an illustrator doc, either CMYK or RGB color space, it turns negative when I reopen the document to work on it. I've made sure it's an 8 bit PNG, doesn't happen to any other image format, and it doesn't matter if the PNG is transparent or not. It happens to both downloaded PNGs and the ones I make myself either in photoshop to remove a background or if I'm exporting a vector image as a PNG to place in a different doc.

I've attached a before screenshot, one where I'm looking at the preview from file explorer, and another of what happens to the document when I open it. Any ideas on how to fix it? My work around for the moment is placing PSD files, but with only having so much storage I rather place PNGs.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Anshul_Saini

Hi All,

 

Sorry for the delayed update on this issue status.

This issue has been resolved with Ai v27.0.1. After updating, ensure you relink all the images in order to resolve the issue in the existing files. Let us know if the issue persists after updating & relinking images or if you encounter this issue in new documents.

 

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

6 replies

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
February 2, 2023

Hi All,

 

Sorry for the delayed update on this issue status.

This issue has been resolved with Ai v27.0.1. After updating, ensure you relink all the images in order to resolve the issue in the existing files. Let us know if the issue persists after updating & relinking images or if you encounter this issue in new documents.

 

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

Z
Zuzanna5D4A
Participant
November 28, 2024

What about an IPad version? I wanted to upload a PNG file now and there is still this problem

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
November 28, 2024

Hi @Zuzanna5D4A,

 

The issue you mentioned was reported around two years ago and primarily occurred on the desktop version of Illustrator. If you’re experiencing something similar on the iPad version, it could be due to a different cause.

 

Could you please:

1. Share a screen recording demonstrating the issue.

2. Provide the PNG file and the AI file you’re working with?

 

This will help us test the files on our end using the iPad version of Illustrator and better understand what might be going wrong. Looking forward to your response so we can assist further!

 

Best,

Anshul Saini

J
Jim Wiley
Inspiring
June 6, 2022

I have 8-100 linked ext. files - PNGs and SVGs. This is a non starter. How could you release the feature change that destroys your customer work??? I don't have any time for this !!!!!!! Every person who touches the files with a new version destroys my work!!! 20 -40 per project!!! And it pollutes the file too with additional paths and groupings. Do I have to tell 40 some people to back out Illustrator updates?????

Very irresponsible. 

 

    G
    Gabriele_Radvila
    Participant
    July 15, 2022

    Exactly! So annoying, so many files went corrupt this way, and I am 100% sure, that even after update they won't turn normal, as the files gets changed, all kind of image clipping happens and weird grouping occurs. So now I can't open any files! And Adobe suggesting taking holidays till new update???? And it's not 5 PNG's to replace or embed... Grrr

    Anshul_Saini
    Community Manager
    Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 2, 2022

    Hi @Suzanne246063073qwp @CCUMarketing @icanino @David245882293csg,

     

    We are sorry for the trouble. We are able to reproduce the issue at our end. We have already logged a bug with the product team, and they are currently investigating the issue.

    This is happening with the Ai file, which has linked images. While saving, when the "Include linked files " option is selected and then reopened, the Ai file images get inverted, or yellow color can be seen.

     

    To avoid this, you may try the following steps:

    • Embed the images in the document
    • Uncheck the "Include linked files"
    • Downgrade to an older version of Illustrator 

     

    Let us know if this works for you or not.

     

    Thanks & Regards,

    Anshul Saini

    S
    Suzanne246063073qwp
    Participating Frequently
    June 2, 2022

    Thank you Anshul for the information. I will try it.

    Best regards,
    Suzanne Walters

      Ton Frederiks
      Community Expert
      Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 1, 2022

      There are a lot more similar posts here:

      https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/need-help-not-sure-what-is-going-on/m-p/12966323#M323033

      It may be usefull to report it here:

      https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

        C
        CCUMarketingAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        I reported it a couple of days ago on uservoice: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/45228802-illustrator-turning-all-pngs-into-negatives-after

        S
        Suzanne246063073qwp
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        I'm having the same problem and I'm working on a MacBook Pro Monteray version 12.4. I don't know how to fix it. If I save it as a PDF instead of AI file, it works. Hope Adobe will fix this or tell me what to do!

        S
        Suzanne246063073qwp
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        Here is a screenshot of what I get when I reopen the file to edit it. How do I fix this? 

        In the meantime, I have to start from the beginnng and will save it as a PDF.

        Not happy for the extra time I'm needing. 

        D
        David245882293csg
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        Relink the image so that it can go back to the correct colors, then go to Object >> Rasterize or Object >> Flatten Transparency, then save. This should fix the issue. It's tedious, but it works. Hope Adobe can fix this bug.

        D
        David245882293csg
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        Hey there! I've been having the same issue. I found that if you do "rasterize" or "flatten transparency" on the image it will fix this issue. Apparently this is a bug that appeared recently. Hope this helped!

         

        Re: PNG Images Are Inverted Colors When Opening Sa... - Adobe Support Community - 12963366

        C
        CCUMarketingAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        June 1, 2022

        That works because it embeds the image, which is my current work around. I rather link the image then later I'd package the illustrator doc up to hand off to our print vendor where all the links would be in their own folder.

        I just got done talking to adobe support and their solution was putting the PNG into photoshop and exporting it at 8 bit depth. It worked with one PNG image, but is still turning most negative after saving them in an illustrator doc! And if I export an illustrator doc as a PNG then place that PNG into another doc it still turns negative! Seems it exports all PNGs at 32 bit depth.

        What's the point of the link option if I'm forced to embed anyway?

        marliton
        Community Expert
        marlitonCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 1, 2022

        Hi. Maybe if you work with a previous version of Illustrator that works fine. At least until Adobe fixes that issue.

         

         

        Marlon Ceballos
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