Improving basic functions is more important than improve the AI

[monicaf]

Hello, I'm working with Adobe suite and it is fun when it works properly, especially if I can save time.
I am here to describe 3 little and basic improvements I really wish will be developed ASAP.

1. Type on path tool
As it is now, is a nigthmare, my requests are:

• make the handles tool easier to control the text direction or position (es. around a circle when it doesn't look perfectly centered and I need to move it by hand). Sometims is very hard just to see them.
• Remove type from tha path
  What happened to this function? Why is it not possible to remove the type from the path and have back the path as path and not as type window?

2. Black CMYK
Please add the option to have CMYK Black and not only the black as default wich is only 100% K
(this is needed also in InDesign app)

3. Export
the PNG or JPEG exported by Illustrator have not the same quality than exported in Photoshop, even if you use 100% quality (no matter wich way you export the file).
For now I solve it by open the .ai page of the file in photoshop and I save it for web from Photoshop.
The quality is much better and it is also lighter

Thanks!

[Monika Gause]

Please post feature requests to https://illustrator.uservoice.com

As for 1: in order to get the path back, select just the path with the group selection tool or the direct selection tool and copy, then paste.

As for 2: You can set up any swatch you want. Just define the values. The demands for saturated black are quite different according to the paper or pürocess you use. So just set it up as you need it.

[monicaf]

Unfortunately, what you suggest as 1. is not correct, I already tried that, but you just get a path for type (as a window type), You cannot use it anymore as normal path as it was before to insert the type., adding stroke or color ect.
2. Ok I know I can have....but I have to do it manually and CMYK black has to have that value. So my request is to save time and have it as default palette instead of balck 100K

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

1: If it doesn't work for you, then you are doing it wrong. This is version 2023, but it also works in 2024: https://youtu.be/WCxQVfVbgY8

2: You can set up your custom template, library or new document profile that contains the colors you need.

[monicaf]

You are right! I didn't understand the tool you were referring to, so the video was very helpful.
thank you Monika

[Bobby Henderson]

Regarding #1, out of habit I'll usually keep a separate copy of a text string being applied to a path. If you're open to buying Illustrator plugins Astute Graphics has a Reform Text plugin that works better (and is easier to use) than the stock text-on-path effects in Illustrator and other vector graphics applications.

Regarding #2, the total ink limit values for a Rich Black are going to change depending on the printing process and printing surface. It is pretty easy to create a custom swatch that includes a CMYK Black carrying specific values.

Regarding #3, if you're seeing color/brightness differences in JPEG/PNG images exported from Illustrator and Photoshop this could come from multiple factors. Are the color settings synchronized between Illustrator & Photoshop? Differences in document color models (CMYK or RGB) and the color profiles used in the document setup can cause changes. Another factor: Photoshop is already operating in the pixel-based realm; the results seen on screen before and after JPEG/PNG export are going to be more consistent and predictable.

[monicaf]

Thank you for your reply.
Mine are some suggestions that I would like to have in the app.
about #1 in the working process I keep several copies of the steps, but sometimes the client ask changes and maybe it's the time you didn't keep a copy. I really don't understand why the basic function (release the type from path) is gone in the latest editions.
#2 I know it's easy but I have to do it in every file I work with. It's annoying sometimes.
The deafult swatches there are many colours, it will be a nice help to have included the CMYK in all the graphic app. It is not just about rich black or printing process. If you work in HD the difference is very noticeable. Also if you make a project using the default black 100K and you need to export it for the web it will not be the RGB full balck (or #000) but something else.
#3. It is not about colour or profile or mode, but about number of pixels, the quality in the compression, it feels more bluring and not defined.

[Monika Gause]

#2: 100K cannot be converted to RGB 000. That is impossible.

[Bobby Henderson]

For various kinds of text-related effects only so much can be done to make such effects non-destructive. I sympathize about the situation of clients wanting to make changes, even when a project is already far along. That stuff can really drive me up the wall sometimes.

The current implementation of the Text on Path effect could certainly use some improvements. It can do some interesting things, but I'll fight with the effect's controls at times too. That can lead me to use Astute Graphics' Reform Text tool instead (or even fire up a rival vector graphics application).

It's pretty easy to save a custom swatch that will always be present in Window>Swatch Libraries>User Defined. I have to use custom spot color swatches for CutContour functions or for printing white inks. I just use the "New Swatch" command in the Swatches palette to create the color(s) I need; then I delete the other colors I don't need and then save the swatch. Making a custom process black color would use the same steps.

Regarding RGB black, it is very different from a plain 100% K black (which prints very dark gray) or a rich black (a black made with all four CMYK colors). The CMYK color space cannot have the same gamut range as RGB. Even a printer with extra ink colors such as Light Cyan or Light Magenta can't hit all the colors in RGB (or even all the Pantone spot colors for that matter).

Creating web-based graphics in a vector-based drawing program like Illustrator is tricky. Vector graphics are resolution independent. There are no pixels that define them. Just math-based outlines. This is one reason why JPEG and PNG images saved out of Illustrator can seem less accurate. They're not as sharp as the vectors you see on a computer monitor. Little steps can be made to make the graphics more "pixel perfect" to align with the target pixel grid. Those steps have to be taken during the design process. I'll do that when creating graphics for things like LED-based "jumbotron" signs.