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Gradient colors disappear in PDF file

Community Beginner ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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I have a yellow gradient on an Illustrator CC project. When I save it as a PDF file the color is not there, just a white space. How can I save the color in PDF?

No problem saving as ai file.

Thanks,

Mary

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correct answers 3 Correct answers

Community Expert , Dec 19, 2020 Dec 19, 2020

No need to change color mode, just change the color type of any Spot RGB color swatches that are used in the gradient to Process.

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Community Expert , Mar 20, 2021 Mar 20, 2021

The disappearing of colors seems to happen when Process RGB colors are used together with Spot RGB colors in a gradient.

A gradient with RGB Spot colors seems to work fine.

Actually all colors are still there and appear when Overprint Preview is turned on in Acrobat.

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Community Expert , Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023
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Finder / mac preview. (I'm assuming this is the same my client will be using to view it). 

I guess I could rasterize the sketch but that kind of defeats the purpose of doing it in Illustrator.


By @mariak4932866

 

Apple Preview cannot be trusted with anything. So maybe you should report this to Apple, because there's nothing Adobe can change about Apple's code.

 

You could instruct your customer to download Acrobat Viewer, which is free.

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Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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Was the gradient actually created in Illustrator or is it embedded from Photoshop? What quality did you use? Did you use the High Quality or Press Quality settings? Try it using the PDF/X-4 as the standard.

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New Here ,
Oct 04, 2021 Oct 04, 2021

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you saved me!

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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Bill, I’m a newbie. I created the gradient in Illustrator. Where can I check the quality?

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Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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When you save as an Adobe PDF you will get the Save Adobe PDF dialog window. The top pull-down menu next to "Adobe PDF preset:" will have all of the quality settings. The "Standard:" area is where you'd pick PDF/X4

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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I’ll try that.

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Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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yes there is no such error saving gradient in pdf file all is posssible...thanks

Ali Sajjad / Graphic Design Trainer / Freelancer / Adobe Certified Professional

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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That didn’t work. I used PDFX/4:2008

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Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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share your ai file i check it and tell you what is problem

Ali Sajjad / Graphic Design Trainer / Freelancer / Adobe Certified Professional

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Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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hi issue is your document color mode is rgb please change it cmyk then it will be there just use illustrator defualt pdf options....thanks

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pBU_mczVNpVt5yupBLSWP8DIDjSHBvXi

Ali Sajjad / Graphic Design Trainer / Freelancer / Adobe Certified Professional

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 16, 2018 Sep 16, 2018

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Perfect!  Works just fine.  Thank you for your help!

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Community Expert ,
Sep 17, 2018 Sep 17, 2018

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Looks like a bug.

The color that disappears is an RGB Spot color used in a gradient.

I do not know why anybody would use an RGB spot color.

The color is still visible when you fill an object with it and you save a PDF, it only disappears in gradients.

When you change the RGB spot color to an RGB process color it becomes visible in the PDF, no need to change color mode.

It is not an Illustrator bug, InDesign does the same when you create a gradient with an RGB spot color.

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 17, 2018 Sep 17, 2018

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I had no idea how tricky color modes could be. I’ll study that. I’m making a logo for myself that will be used in print and on the web.

Thank you!

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 18, 2020 Dec 18, 2020

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That doesn't work, converting to cmyk conpletely changes the colors.

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Community Expert ,
Dec 19, 2020 Dec 19, 2020

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No need to change color mode, just change the color type of any Spot RGB color swatches that are used in the gradient to Process.

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New Here ,
Mar 20, 2021 Mar 20, 2021

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This is the final answer, you helped me a lot, thank you!

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Community Expert ,
Mar 20, 2021 Mar 20, 2021

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The disappearing of colors seems to happen when Process RGB colors are used together with Spot RGB colors in a gradient.

A gradient with RGB Spot colors seems to work fine.

Actually all colors are still there and appear when Overprint Preview is turned on in Acrobat.

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New Here ,
Jan 06, 2023 Jan 06, 2023

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and how do I do that?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 06, 2023 Jan 06, 2023

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Whay is not clear from the discussion above?

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023

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I'm having this issue despite checking that my color mode is cmyk, I'm only using process colors and I exported using the aforementioned settings. And all gradients come out blank. I'm at a loss..

 

 

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Community Expert ,
Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023

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What are you using to view the PDF? What System are you using?

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023

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Finder / mac preview. (I'm assuming this is the same my client will be using to view it). 

I guess I could rasterize the sketch but that kind of defeats the purpose of doing it in Illustrator.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023

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quote

Finder / mac preview. (I'm assuming this is the same my client will be using to view it). 

I guess I could rasterize the sketch but that kind of defeats the purpose of doing it in Illustrator.


By @mariak4932866

 

Apple Preview cannot be trusted with anything. So maybe you should report this to Apple, because there's nothing Adobe can change about Apple's code.

 

You could instruct your customer to download Acrobat Viewer, which is free.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 30, 2023 Jan 30, 2023

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This was the answer for me, thanks!

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Community Expert ,
Jan 18, 2023 Jan 18, 2023

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Recent versions of Mac OS have a problem with Apple Preview and Freeform Gradients. Rasterizing the gradient part in Illustrator at a sufficient resolution could be a workaround. And don't forget to report it to Apple, it still works fine in Preview in macOS Big Sur.

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