Color settings management

[alisonBDD4522]

Hello- I have done lots of Googling but I am still very confused about mismatched color profiles. It began when I thought I sent the same art to the printer as previously, with a small type change. But, the color numbers changed when it arrived there. I am not sure what I chose (or what I am supposed to choose) when I opened it to make the edit and then re-saved it. After thought I thought I synced the profiles across CC but now I get warnings every time I open anything in InDesign or Illustrator (attaching screen shots). I have one particular file that it is important that the cmyk colors do not change when I 1) open it, then 2) cut and paste something in that file to another, and then 3) when the printer opens it. When opening do I preserve color numbers? Embedded profile? Should I sync in Bridge to North American General Purpose 2 or North America Prepress 2? I am most concerned that the colors match across print projects that I send out and that my screen shows me said colors before I send it out. Thank you for any help! !

[Monika Gause]

Please show your color settings (Advanced view)

[alisonBDD4522]

I did the synchronized this mornoing but it is not affecting the warning messages / choices when opening files. Thank you!!!

[Monika Gause]

Illustrator Color settings look OK. There shouldn't be any number conversions be happening with those settings.

I would discuss the color profile, because AFAIK the US Web profile is outdated. GRACOL is what is currently used. But you need to discuss with the printer.

When exporting a PDF for print you have another situation in which color conversions might happen. Do you regularly preflight exported PDFs with Acrobat?

[alisonBDD4522]

Hi- No I do not preflight and am fine to discuss with the printer, but I guess my main question at the moment is what do I choose when I get the questions I attached when opening files in each of the 3 programs? Thanks

[alisonBDD4522]

see original screenshots of the question it alerts me to

thank you

[Monika Gause]

What is it that you are copying? When you discard the profile, the color numbers don't change. Which is most of the time desirable for vector artwork.

For pixel artwork it depends. Also pixel artwork often is in RGB color mode.

[alisonBDD4522]

Ok I have been assigned to manage and improve some product labels that have logo design that is difficult to print, several tones of green in a small space. I have been running tests on the 4oz version, adjusting the CMYK values, and got it looking pretty good. Then I copied the logo from that, opened the 10 oz versions, and pasted it on to those labels. The color numbers changed! I am not sure what I chose to open the 10oz but I did not notice and then the printer got the file the CMYK numbers were different. I experimented the 3 options of opening files this is where this is where I got confused. Is there one thing I should always choose here? They are all my files I am not worried about keeping what someone else sent me I just want all the labels to be consistent. 

[alisonBDD4522]

I am good with Photoshop, that I get. It is the other 2 inDesign (both pixel and vector!) and Illustrator that have me confused

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

You have to discard the profile when pasting vector CMYK artwork. 

[alisonBDD4522]

Thank you!

[Ton Frederiks]

Like Monika said, avoiding changing color profiles is generally best for CMYK documents, it keeps your blacks as 100% K and does not introduce mixed inks for 100% process colors.

If you want to attach your current CMYK profile from your Color Settings, you can do so by selecting it in Edit > Assign Profile and save the file.

This does not convert your colors and will prevent the Mismatch warning on opening.

[alisonBDD4522]

So don't convert, but should I always discard, or use the embeddedwhen it asks me? Do both of those 2 choices preserve the CMYK mix? Which is better? These are almost all files I have created, I never realized I was embedding any profiles in my Illustrator or InDesign files. Thank you!

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

Preserve numbers is what you want.

In Illustrator:

Use the embedded profile will keep the numbers, even for linked content in the file.

Discard will keep the numbers, but will ask again when you try to pick up a color from a linked file in the document.

Anyway if you don’t convert or include profiles when saving as PDF, you will keep the numbers.

[alisonBDD4522]

So Discard and Use Embedded are pretty much the same thing?

[Ton Frederiks]

Generally speaking, yes.