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wallywolk
wallywolk
Participating Frequently
January 10, 2018
Question

Copying PANTONE swatches to new doc loses custom CMYK settings?

  • January 10, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1230 views

Hi,

Long time Adobe user for print. I've noticed in recent versions of Illustrator CC that some previously relied upon conventions have been thrown out.

Currently, we are creating artwork for global distribution that has PANTONE color swatches set up with specific CMYK values. There may be some instances in certain regions where they will need to convert these colors to process. But, when I copy the PANTONE color swatches (ex: PANTONE XXX C) to a new docuement, Illustrator picks up the Lab Book color instead of retaining my custom CMYK value. So, if someone were to create a language localized file and copy swatches then convert to process, they would get a dirty Lab to CMYK color build.

This feature used to work in older versions of Illustrator but seems to have been thrown out in Illustrator CC 22.0.1.

I would hate to change the name of the PANTONE color so that it won't look up the color library and thus retain it's CMYK value because of potential print vendor issues down the road. Proofing systems won't pick up the PANTONE library Lab table color, and subsequently PANTONE colors would look dull in proofing. Yes, digital proofing is not for spot colors, but it is less distracting to clients when it is a close match on the proof.

Has anyone else had the same experience and/or come up with a workaround or found a setting to copy over the CMYK values to the new document?

Thanks!

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    2 replies

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 10, 2018

    You could try to open the document that has the spot color with the CMYK percentages.

    Select (or create) a CC Library that you want to use for this purpose.

    Double click the Spot Swatch in the Swatches panel and choose Add to Library.

    Use this CC library color in other documents.

    Spot colors in CC libraries lose their Lab values and are converted to CMYK values (or in this case keep their CMYK values).

    I think it is a bug, but for you this bug may be a blessing.

    wallywolk
    wallywolkAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    January 10, 2018

    Hi Ton,

    I have created a CC library with the colors to try a workaround. Double clicking on the swatch opens up the color picker dialogue then when I close it, the color is added. Most colors come over correctly but some come over and the CMYK values are modified. Also, if I click on a library color and right-click "add to swatches" it adds it as a generic CMYK mix and loses the PANTONE color name. So too glitchy to make it a viable workflow.

    I'm also concerned that agencies doing their regional conversion files will not work in this manor, so trying to create a full proof method that does not require external support or libraries. Looks like that may not be possible. We will most likely release a master doc that includes the PANTONE and CMYK versions of each color since Illustrator will not allow otherwise.

    It would be nice if it would carry over whatever was changed instead of stripping the info out and matching it up to the PANTONE color library book Lab value. Seems to be that the copy and paste function does not include this information.

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 10, 2018

    If Illustrator had a consistent way that it dealt with colors then I could rely on it's built in features such as creating a custom color library. In the past updates to newer software versions would retain past usage conventions. But now it seems that there is less consideration for how things work currently and a lack of response in the form of software updates to bring back lost features. Sometimes in the middle of a production crunch we find little changes to the updated software that have a major effect on our workflow.


    The use of Lab values was introduced in CS2.

    See:

    Pantone Plus color libraries

    I think that Illustrator now looks at the color name when pasting, so even when you define the color as CMYK, but use the correct Pantone name, the result will be a Lab color when pasted.

    Edit: that's true if you use it as a Spot color, If used as a Process color, you can use fixed CMYK values.

      kglad
      Community Expert
      kgladCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 10, 2018

      [moved from Creative Suites to Illustrator]

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