Hi everyone,I need help ASAP! I’m a graphic artist for a children’s clothing company, and I design print ads. My files look perfect in Illustrator and when opened as PDFs in Acrobat — but once they’re printed in magazines, the colors come out dull and darker.I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong, and I’d really appreciate any insight. Here’s my current process:Open Illustrator fileDocument Color Mode: CMYKColor Settings: North America Prepress (RGB: Adobe RGB 1998, CMYK: U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2)Assign Profile: U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2Prepare the main imageThe company sends me an image (the main part of the ad)I open it in Photoshop → Image > Mode > CMYK → Quick Export as PNGPlace the image in IllustratorFile > Place → Insert the photoAdd graphics and text on top of the photoExportFile > Save As → PDF/X-1a:2001If anyone can spot where I might be going wrong, I’d be so grateful. Also, if it would help to see my files let me know. Thank you in advance!

Known Participant

Question

ILLUSTRATOR PRINT AD HELP Why do my magazine ads print dull and dark?

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
October 24, 2025
2 replies
163 views

Hi everyone,

I need help ASAP! I’m a graphic artist for a children’s clothing company, and I design print ads. My files look perfect in Illustrator and when opened as PDFs in Acrobat — but once they’re printed in magazines, the colors come out dull and darker.

I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong, and I’d really appreciate any insight. Here’s my current process:

Open Illustrator file
- Document Color Mode: CMYK
- Color Settings: North America Prepress (RGB: Adobe RGB 1998, CMYK: U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2)
- Assign Profile: U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2
Prepare the main image
- The company sends me an image (the main part of the ad)
- I open it in Photoshop → Image > Mode > CMYK → Quick Export as PNG
Place the image in Illustrator
- File > Place → Insert the photo
Add graphics and text on top of the photo
Export
- File > Save As → PDF/X-1a:2001

If anyone can spot where I might be going wrong, I’d be so grateful. Also, if it would help to see my files let me know.

Thank you in advance!

B

Bobby Henderson

Community Expert

In addition to what Ton said about using PNG images, are the magazine publishers specifically asking for PDF files saved with the PDF/X-1a:2001 preset? I would want to know what color profile they're using in their work flow. Also, are the magazines being published on glossy paper? If the paper stock is something else, such as newsprint, the total ink number in CMYK color values could be a problem; a RGB image would be really bad. Hopefully the publisher has an artwork submission guidelines document.

S

simcha5C73Author

Known Participant

thank u! The magazines are published on glossy paper. its published in 12 magazines, I asked them all for what preset they prefer, most just said CMYK with no other details, 2 said PDF/X-1a:2001. is there a better option?

Could there be an issue with my color settings in photoshop too?

B

Bobby Henderson

Community Expert

If the magazines are published on glossy stock and a couple of the publishers are asking for PDF/X-1a:2001 standard PDF files then the source of the problem could be the PNG files you're exporting. I'd follow Ton's advice and take the images the company is providing to you and save them as Photoshop PSD files to place into Illustrator. I would not use the PNG format.

BTW, I have a question to ask about the image files the company is providing. What format are they (TIFF, JPEG, etc)? Are the images CMYK or RGB?

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

There are a couple of things that could go wrong.

"I open it in Photoshop → Image > Mode > CMYK → Quick Export as PNG"

What kind of image does your client give you? RGB? Does it have a Color Profile?

If it is a CMYK image, exporting it to PNG will convert it to RGB (CMYK is not supported in PNG).

Better would be to save the document as PSD and place that in Illustrator.

Quick Export as PNG will also export the PNG without a color profile, so Illustrator does not know what kind of RGB to use and will assume the Adobe RGB from your color settings, which could be (and probably is) the wrong profile.

S

simcha5C73Author

Known Participant

thanks! How do I know if the image has a color profile? The image is an ai image generated by an artist in china the file is requested as in CMYK but idk how to check if it is

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

In Photoshop in the lower left corner of your document you can set it to show the color profile.

But important is, after converting to CMYK, to keep those values and don't convert it back to RGB by using the quick png export. Use .psd.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded