Interactive PDF in CMYK inDesign

Question

Does anyone know of how you would export an interactive PDF as CMYK? Using Indesign 2022. It always wants to change the colour profile to RGB when I export?

Laubender · Accepted Answer

Hi ccarey1,you can create what you want, but it requires some extra steps. [1] Export to PDF Interactive ( where of course all colors are converted to RGB )[2] Export another PDF to Print where all colors stay intact or are converted to CMYK. [3] Open the PDF from [1] in Acrobat Pro.[4] Go to category Organize Pages[5] Use the button command Replace to replace all pages from that PDF with the ones from [2].The interactive elements will be maintained.Save the result PDF to a new name. Regards,Uwe Laubender( ACP )

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Answer

An interactive PDF is intended for use on screens, not for printing (other than printing to a desktop laser printer for personal use, not commercial printing). The "Interactive" part means the user must be able to click or do something with the PDF file, like fill in a form, access it for accessibility purposes, make comments, or sign a document. Digital screens are only RGB.  CMYK is for printing devices, especially commercial printing presses. As @Frans v.d. Geest said, you'll never find CMYK or other color profiles in interactive PDF. If you need CMYK color, then use Export / PDF (Print) instead, but the PDF will not have any interactive features. Designers who create layouts that are destined for both printing and online / screen viewing make 2 separate PDFs from their INDD layout: one for print, and a second for interactive. The print version will most likely have the CMYK color space and be sent to a print shop, while the interactive version will use RGB and be posted on a website or distributed electronically such as via email. Although both PDFs will look identical, each is custom-made for its specific purpose, print or digital (and never both).

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.