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Anonymous
Aug 28, 2013 4:00 PM UTC
Answered

Saving illustrator PDF seems to change the colours

Hi Guys,

I'm not sure if you can help at all - but for some inane reason, when I save the PDF the colours and blending modes seem to completely change.

Please see below.

Any help would be so greatly appreciated!

    emil emilCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    Aug 28, 2013 4:16 PM UTC

    I don't use a mac, but from the note on your screenshot I guess it could be that Mac app preview problem only. What other software you have tried?

    View reply

    26 replies

    Wallz
    Participant
    Jan 19, 2023 5:41 AM UTC

    Hey there, I was facing the same problem, here's what worked out for me:

    File > Save As > Adobe PDF > Output > Profile Inclusion Policy > Here I selected "Include All Profiles" and it worked like a charm! I have also attached a screenshot, hope that helps 🙂

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      Patrick YT
      Participant
      Feb 21, 2024 12:37 PM UTC

      Oh, Finally. You got the answer! Appreciate!

      [abuse removed by moderator]

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        TrevorMax
        Participant
        Mar 1, 2022 6:53 PM UTC

        Hello, this solution may have some relevance to this issue. I too found this thread because my PDF export colors were not matching the colors of me AI document. The solution that I found was that the print document was accidentally in RGB when it should had been in CMYK. Converting the document to CMYK fixed this issue. Note: My PDF export was under the "High Quality Print" setting which may have also caused the issue. Hopefully this helps and/or guides you towards finding your solution! 

         

        In response to the "Correct Answer", While working on a Mac, I viewed this issue in both Preview and Acrobat. May not be a mac exclusive issue although I have had issues with Preview showing innacurate artwork in the past. 

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        Geoffrey25435867f1pj
        Participant
        Jul 28, 2022 10:11 PM UTC

        I was having the same issue, with the colors changing when exporting a PDF from adobe illustrator. The solution that worked for me was opening the raw .ai file in preview, then using preview to export the PDF. Colors in the PDF matched the original .AI document then. 

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          Monika Gause
          Community Expert
          Monika GauseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          Jul 28, 2022 11:01 PM UTC

          Using Preview to get the colors right is never a solution.

          Preview is good when you want to check if there is something in your PDF at all.

           

          In order to get color right, you have to set up and use color management correctly and there's no shortcut to that.

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          LadyLuck3
          Participant
          Jan 31, 2019 1:23 AM UTC

          Hi,

          I'm having the same issues and saving for web or changing the destination colours. This is driving me crazy. How do I make sure the colours don't change from the 1st picture when exporting my PDF?  It keeps changing on me to the coloured version below.


          Thank you,

          Alex

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            Monika Gause
            Community Expert
            Monika GauseCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            Jan 31, 2019 11:16 AM UTC

            Nobody can see into your computer.

            Please post some relevant information.

            WHich version of Illustrator is this?

            What exactly is in the file? Is there a white rectangle in the background? And what exactly is applied to it? Check the appearance panel and inspect all your objects

            Is your document in RGB or CMYK?

            How is color management set up?

            How exactly are you exporting your file? Which settings?

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            drsdeg
            Participating Frequently
            Aug 17, 2015 1:34 AM UTC

            When I opened illustrator file in Acrobat - the color I used was still changed. Realized that in one of my gradations I was using a spot color and that was what was changing when saved as PDF. I changed it to CMYK and all better.

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              Rebekah Shook
              Participating Frequently
              Jun 15, 2021 2:49 AM UTC

              It happens to embeded images I place on my illustrator artboards as well. Extremely frustrating considering I'm trying to make a portfolio showcasing my work. I can't manipulate the CMYK color settings since they are images. 

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              Ton Frederiks
              Community Expert
              Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              Jun 15, 2021 7:05 AM UTC

              Rebekah, can you start a new post, this one started in 2013.

              And give some more details about document color mode, color settings and settings for saving as PDF.

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                emil emilCorrect answer
                Inspiring
                Aug 28, 2013 4:16 PM UTC

                I don't use a mac, but from the note on your screenshot I guess it could be that Mac app preview problem only. What other software you have tried?

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                  Anonymous
                  Aug 28, 2013 7:38 PM UTC

                  Actually, you're correct. I've just opened it up in adobe acrobat, and it's showing fine. I wonder why the preview app shows it differently then?

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                    Larry G. Schneider
                    Community Expert
                    Larry G. SchneiderCommunity Expert
                    Community Expert
                    Aug 28, 2013 7:53 PM UTC

                    Because Preview uses an older subset of the PDF specs.

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                      Mike_Gondek10189183
                      Community Expert
                      Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
                      Community Expert
                      Aug 28, 2013 4:10 PM UTC

                      I am sure we can help you with this. What pdf setting did you use, smallest file size?

                      Set color to "No Conversion", this will keep in cmyk and not go to RGB.

                      If this does not help, let us know about  your blending modes, and also make sure overprint preview in on in Illustrator, and in acrobat. Not sure what preview does with overprints.

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                        Anonymous
                        Aug 28, 2013 5:56 PM UTC

                        Hi Mike, thanks for the help but unfortunately that didn't work. It's really strange. When I save for web, the correct colours come up - it just doesn't seem to get the correct colours when I save to PDF and it's driving me nuts!

                        Any other ideas? All help is appreciated.

                        Thanks.

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                        emil emil
                        Inspiring
                        Aug 28, 2013 6:07 PM UTC

                        zo0tboy wrote:

                        ...

                        Any other ideas? All help is appreciated.

                        Thanks.

                        did you pay any attention to my input

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