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btod27906334
btod27906334
Known Participant
March 28, 2019
Answered

Image much darker when imported to Illustrator

  • March 28, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 3457 views

Hi guys,

This is not a common issue, but i was wondering why some black and white JPG are much darker when imported to Illustrator that when opening it with Preview? The first one is with Preview and the second one imported within Illustrator. How come? Should i change settings?

Thanks for your advice.

Cheers,

    Correct answer SundayGladiator

    Your response and suggestion is spectacular. Thank you!

    It was indeed the GPU vs CPU Preview. For whatever reason I must have accidentally hit a Command-E when fiddling around in AI.

    All other color settings are synchronized.

    That said - should I continue to ensure CPU preview is selected in AI for color accuracy with imported CMYK Ps photos?

     

    Thank you again! 

     

    2 replies

    S
    SundayGladiator
    Legend
    May 12, 2025

    Hi. Need to reopen the post and lift this up again..

     

    Mine are cmyk images from Photoshop. I see my proof setup in Ps is 'Working CMYK'. And I save as a JPEG or a TIF as 'US Web Coated (SWOP) color profile checked.

    But when I bring the photo into Illustrator, it appears darker. My AI file is CMYK setup. My proof setup in AI is 'Working CMYK: US SWOP Coated..'

    I guess the question becomes – do I trust the color in Ps, or in AI? I presume AI doesn't modify the colors..? Therefore I can send the AI file out with the colors I can trust from Ps.. correct?

     

    Please advise. 

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 12, 2025

    Do you link or embed the image in Illustrator?

    Are your Color Settings synchronized?

    Is the Document Color Profile the same as your Working Space in your Color Settings (check Edit > Assign Profile)?

    Is there a difference between GPU and CPU Preview (Cmd or Ctrl E to switch between them)?

     

    S
    SundayGladiatorCorrect answer
    Legend
    May 12, 2025

    Your response and suggestion is spectacular. Thank you!

    It was indeed the GPU vs CPU Preview. For whatever reason I must have accidentally hit a Command-E when fiddling around in AI.

    All other color settings are synchronized.

    That said - should I continue to ensure CPU preview is selected in AI for color accuracy with imported CMYK Ps photos?

     

    Thank you again! 

     

    Michael Bullo
    Community Expert
    Michael BulloCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 28, 2019

    This may have to do with colour profiles. Most images are in sRGB and as such most programs expect this. If your image has an uncommon profile (eg Adobe RGB 1998) or even no profile at all (untagged) it may display differently in different programs.

    In general make sure your images have a colour profile embedded within them and professional programs like Illustrator will honour that profile and display the image as intended.

    Some programs just straight up ignore colour profiles. Such programs include some simple image viewers and some web browsers. When dealing with such programs try to make sure your images are in sRGB.

    btod27906334
    btod27906334Author
    Known Participant
    March 28, 2019

    Thanks Michael, that was the thing that solved. RGB color profiles.

    Best,

    Michael Bullo
    Community Expert
    Michael BulloCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 29, 2019

    Excellent. Thanks for the update.

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