PNG graphics appear dull in PDF proof

[elleallen]

I'm having an issue with the appearance of PNG graphics in a final PDF proof. The graphics were created in Illustrator and are CMYK profile; the files were saved as PNG images with transparent backgrounds. They were placed into a Word document with surrounding text, which was then sent to a professional printer. The printer converts Word files to PDF proofs using Prinergy software. 

In the PDF proof, the graphics appear darkened/dull compared to their appearance in Word, or when opening the PNG files directly. And use of the eyedropper tool confirms that the CMYK profiles are different for all of the colors in the print proof. 

Would be very grateful for any ideas about how to resolve this issue. Thanks in advance!

[S S.]

Hi @elleallen,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble with Acrobat.

Have you tried inserting the image directly into the PDF instead of converting it together with the word file?

You can check with the preferences of the application and change the way the PNG file is imported into Acrobat:

Let me know if this helps.

-Souvik.

[elleallen]

Hi Souvik, thanks so much for your response!

Just to be clear, I am not using Acrobat. I created a series of graphics in Illustrator for an article that will be printed in an academic journal. The journal's production process is as follows: the article manuscripts are edited in Microsoft Word, after which they are sent (in a Word file) to a professional printer. The printer then uses Prinergy to convert the Word document to the final printed form. The printer sends a pre-print PDF proof for review. Upon receipt of that proof, I noticed that the graphic colors appeared muted compared to the originals. 

The conversion to PDF is unfortunately not under my control, so I was hoping that there might be a way to preserve the CMYK builds during the Word -> PDF process!

[S S.]

[ Moving the thread to Illustrator board for better visibility and support ]

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

This workflow sounds like a collection of worst options.

Working in CMYK makes no sense when you export a PNG, because the format does only support RGB. On top of that Illustrator does not save a color profile into PNGs (which might be a bug)

Apart from that I'm not sure if Word would even recognize color profiles or correctly use them or export them.

And then the conversion back to CMYK again.

Why not come up with a proper workflow that doesn't convert from vector to pixels nor from CMYK to RGB and back. Using a proper layout application instead of Word.

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

Instead of PNG, why don't you save your Ilustrator file as PDF and insert  that into Word?

https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/how-to/how-to-insert-pdf-into-word