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NightwatchNL
Participating Frequently
February 21, 2026
Question

Rich black isn't rich black

  • February 21, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 100 views

I got an PDF from a customer. I selected the black and gave it the value 30/30/30/100. and saved it back to a PDF.

After printing, the black was not black, but grey. When I opened the file in Acrobat, it was also grey. Opened back inIllustrator again, the black was as specified above.

What is going wrong?

You can check the file in the attachment, but only in version 30+. Lower versions import the PDF instead of opening it, and the grey wil show immediately.

 

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

    4 replies

    Brad @ Roaring Mouse
    Community Expert
    Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 23, 2026

    The original file was created in 2021 in v26 Illustrator, so no other program, and then again in v30.0 before it was saved as v30.2 for this file.

    My question is how did you change the colour? Did you just open the file directky in Illustrator v30.2 or something else.

    When you saved, did you do a “Save As” > PDF (and what settings did you use), or did you do a simple “Save”.

    I’ve tested a similar file all sorts of ways and am not getting the result you have experienced. Even if I started introducing color management in it (which it didn’t currently have)

     

    N
    NightwatchNLAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    February 25, 2026

    I just edited it from within Illustrator, using the Color tab (F6).
    Then ‘Save As’ and using our normal workflow settings (basic PDF without color profiles or any other bells and whistles).

    Brad @ Roaring Mouse
    Community Expert
    Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 25, 2026

    The reason I asked is that Illustrator PDFs that have the AI part attached have two “sides”, and if someone edits the PDF side, say with PitStop, those changes only apply to the PDF side (PitStop warns you about this). But, that doesn’t seem to be happening here, Your situation is the opposite, where you’ve changed a value in the AI side but it didn’t carry through to the PDF side, so I’m at a bit of a loss. So, back to my original question, when you got the PDF from the client, what was the original colour? So, can you share the original PDF?

    N
    NightwatchNLAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    February 22, 2026

    UPDATE
    When importing the PDF into an older version of Illustrator (29.1), the black will be 79%. When changing the black to 100% and save it again, the black wil be converted to 79% again. 🙁 

    I’m beginning to suspect the PDF  is not created with an Adobe product, and perhaps contains faulty PDF specs.

    PS. The original customer PDF was already CMYK, so no RGB to CMYK conversion was applied nor necessary.

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 22, 2026

    When I checked the PDF file’s properties in Adobe Acrobat it says it was produced in Illustrator 30.2 for Macintosh. Under the Advanced tab it says Adobe PDF Library 18.00.

    N
    NightwatchNLAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    February 22, 2026

    I too work on a Mac with AI v30.2, so that should rule out compatibility issues. 

    What then is going wrong?

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 21, 2026

    I can see in Acrobat that the black is 30/30/30/79.

    If I open your PDF in Illustrator, a profile is missing, and I can see 30/30/30/100.

    Saving a copy as PDF keeps those values.

    N
    NightwatchNLAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    February 22, 2026

    I Know. Even copy and paste the black background solves the problem. But I’m looking for an explanation of the original problem. If I can’t count on Illustrator to accurate save colors, it is not trustworthy. 

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 22, 2026

    The file has no color profile embedded. If that was supplied by a customer then probably they have not set up their color management correctly.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 21, 2026

    How did you save the PDF? Which color settings are set up in Illustrator? Which profile did you set when saving the PDF?

    N
    NightwatchNLAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    February 22, 2026

    Fogra39, for this is an European standard.

     

    I just opened the customer PDF, adjusted the color and saved it again. As you know, a PDF, opened in Illustrator will automatically saved als PDF again when saving.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 22, 2026

    And your color settings are? 

    And also when you select “Save as” and then go through all the PDF options, what is set up in the color handling?

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