How to change the value of a spot color in Acrobat?

[JGStyle007]

My use case is as such:

It's my job to collect double-sided files (created by several different production artists) to create layouts for printing using Esko iCut Layout.

I export the pdf layouts from iCut, and I like to do a once-over of the layouts in Acrobat before I send them to the RIP.

Unfortunately, many of the layouts use a spot white color, and it usually is set to appear white in the file.

This means when I want to see the overprints in the Output Preview, I actually can't see any effect of the overprint, because it's on white.

In these cases I usually try to map the spot white to another spot color in the document via the Ink Manager, just to check. But there is not always another spot  color handy in the document.

If not, I am forced to drag in a pdf I made of a spot color, then save the document and reopen it so the new spot is available for me to map to in the ink manager. It ends up taking quite a bit of time when you have 15-25 layouts to go through per job.

It would be better if I could simply change the value of the spot from white to magenta or some other CMYK value.

Is there a way to accomplish this? Or any better way to view my overprints when the colors are overprinting on white?

[Brycesteiner]

I think you need to look into get a professional plugin like Enfocus Pitstop. it is much more suited for the prepress working you are looking to accomplish.

[S. S · Accepted solution]

Hi @Brycesteiner,

Hope you are doing well. Thanks for writing in!

While you already have a suggestion to use plugins, I would suggest trying this method within Acrobat using the Preflight tool to see if this helps.

• Open Preflight Tool:
  • Go to Tools > Print Production > Preflight.
• Create a Custom Fixup:
  • In Preflight, click on the Fixups tab.
  • In the search bar, type "spot color" and find the "Map spot colors with specified name and color values" option.
  • Right-click on it and choose Duplicate. This will allow you to edit the fixup.
• Edit the Spot Color:
  • In the duplicated fixup, find your Spot White color.
  • Change its output to a visible process color (such as magenta or cyan).
  • Apply this fixup to the document to convert your spot white to the new color.
• Check Overprints:
  • Once you apply the fixup, use the Output Preview tool to check how the overprints look with the new color setting.

Let me know if this helps.

-Souvik

[JGStyle007]

@Souvik,

your way is very close to how I ended up solving it.

I made a custom fixup, but under 'Type of fixup' I chose the 'Set Color' type.

Then, in the fixup under the 'Apply to' dropdown I chose my Spot White color.

I assigned the CMYK (%) color values, but underneath that I chose to check the box for 'Create as spot color'.

This way after I applied my fixup, I used the Output Preview tool and I was able to see my overprints.

So it amounted to pretty much the same thing, although I do like your way better as it avoids the creation of a whole new spot color.

Either way, if the overprints are good I simply close out of the file without saving in any case.

Thanks much for your assistance, it's much appreciated.

[S. S]

Thanks @JGStyle007 for letting me know that it worked, and also for sharing the steps that worked for you.

I'll try that at my end, too. 

-Souvik