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Participant
November 19, 2016
Question

Illustrator panels display color differences - going completely crazy!!!!

  • November 19, 2016
  • 3 replies
  • 4261 views

Help!

I am frustrated and can't seem to get an answer to my problem. When I use Illustrator or InDesign on my HP Envy 23 desktop running Windows 10, a few panels will display the correct color, but most of them will display the same, yet wrong, color. The actual CMYK value is correct but for instance, in my screenshot below, it appears pink. This does not happen in Photoshop or Acrobat.

My Dell laptop, also running Windows 10 does not do this. Both systems are upgraded to CC 2017. (I'm not exactly sure when this error started occurring, but I would guess it to be approx. 4 months ago) I upgraded to windows 10 about the same time on both systems and I usually update my CC Apps about the same time. I have checked, double checked, and triple checked my settings on both my laptop and desktop. They are the same. My color settings are also synchronized via Bridge. I have also calibrated my monitor on my desktop. I didn't think it was the problem in the first place but tried it anyway. I know the difference in RGB and CMYK and when to use each, etc.

My Color Guide panel and Libraries panel both display the red that it should be. The other panels display the color as pink, yet the CMYK is for a true red. Check out the Color Picker panel, for instance. On the left it shows pink, yet you can clearly see the chosen color is red and the CMYK code is correct.

When I print to my Epson printer, I get the desired "red" that I am looking for. When I do a print preview it shows red as well.  See below. I have been using Adobe Creative Cloud for years and have never had this problem. I have googled, read the forums, called adobe, and called HP. No one can seem to help me and each person has a different idea. I end up going down a path of color management education that has been either far too much or far too little.

This happens with other colors too if you take a look at the yellows, greens, blues, etc. They just are not quite as bright. ****The only way that I have found to fix this as far as me visually looking at it is to set my color settings to "emulate adobe illustrator 6.0." While that makes everything "look nice" for me, it throws profiles off and as you can imagine, causes problems.

This has got to be some kind of panel display issue in creative cloud. MS Word, Paint, to mention a few are fine. I have no problem displaying the correct colors except in illustrator and inDesign.

If I wanted to create a digital representation of a nice red apple, print it myself, and send the file to a client to have them take somewhere to be professionally printed, then there doesn't seem to be a problem. Except for the fact that when I look at the apple on my hp desktop screen via illustrator, the apple is PINK!

I'm hoping this is like a snake and staring me in the face and is simple. Can anyone help? And what other info do you need?

Here is the other screenshot that displays my print preview. I realize that I'm previewing it on my monitor in RGB but my printer is printing it in the Red CMYK code that I chose.

Thanks,

Tiffany

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

Participant
April 28, 2022

Found the solution below on another webste and it worked for me.

"Go to "Edit"->"Color Settings" and change the Settings to "Monitor Color". For me it was set to "North America General Purpose 2". After changing it to "Monitor Color", I then had the same colors on both my monitors finally."

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 29, 2022
quote

Found the solution below on another webste and it worked for me.

"Go to "Edit"->"Color Settings" and change the Settings to "Monitor Color". For me it was set to "North America General Purpose 2". After changing it to "Monitor Color", I then had the same colors on both my monitors finally."


By @Laser Bones

 

Please don't post this into every available thread. Changing the working RGB color space to "Monitor Color" is just very bad advice.

frecklesAL
Inspiring
January 25, 2019

HI Tiffany - I know this thread is old but I am having the exact same issue.  Did you ever get yours resolved?? I am at a loss as to what to try next!

Thanks, Jenn

bymariabee
Participant
June 29, 2020

This is happening to me now as well! Dragging my Illustrator from my laptop screen to my Apple monitor screen completely changes the colors. Very dull on monitor. Everything is calibrated to the exact same color settings. This is only happening with Adobe apps—for example, if I open a png in Preview and move from screen to screen, colors stay the same and do not dull on the monitor. Driving me crazy!

Legend
June 29, 2020

Please detail, if your laptop uses Windows 10 or OSX, Which Apple monitor? Has the monitor been calibrated?

Can you attach a Color Settings panel capture?

Michael Riordan
Inspiring
November 19, 2016

Hi Tiffany

You didn’t mention if you had trashed/rebuilt Illustrator’s preferences. If not, please try that.

Restart Illustrator and then IMMEDIATELY Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift (Windows) or Option+Command+Shift (Mac OS). You have to be lightning fast at this so hover your fingers over the keys as you restart Illustrator and MASH the nano-second after you launch Illustrator. If you do not get a dialogue box asking if you want to trash preferences, you were too slow and will need to close illustrator and try again…and probably try again. Let us know if the color problem persists after that.

Michael Riordan

Owner/Adobe Certified Instructor

Digital DesignLab

Oak Park, IL

http://www.learnadobesoftware.com

tthc04Author
Participant
November 24, 2016

Hi Michael -

I mashed and mashed the pico-second after launching illustrator - I never got the dialogue box. I literally sat here and did it all day Sunday when I could think about it. I'm having the same problem with InDesign, so I tried doing it on that app and I was able to get the dialogue box to come up and trashed my preferences. That didn't work. Still had the color issues. InDesign and Illustrator are having the exact same issues.

At that point, I got frustrated and uninstalled both apps. Quite simply it just felt good to do so - had no idea if anything would change. I reinstalled them both later on. No change. Same problem is still happening.

Not sure what else to do. Help please?

Thanks,

Tiffany