Identical colors appear washed out across different files or exports

[LangeDsn]

I work primarily in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and over the past few months have encountered a confusing issue with identical colors (pantone spot, or HEX) appearing washed out between different files, or after exporting to an image.

The situations are slightly different but I've checked the colors themselves, the color formulas, the color space and color profiles yet in these situations cannot reconcile the color difference that occurs in some cases  either two different files or upon exporting to an image.

As mentioned the colors are identical. They're either pantone solid coated, or use the same CMYK, rgb or HEX formula. The color spaces and color profiles are also the same.

Attached are two screenshots from two different adobe illustrator files showing Pantone 647 C. Both are in the CMYK color space ( U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 ), and just to be sure I've double checked and manually assigned the same color profile. Yet you can see a clear difference in the color vibrancy. When I paste the object from one file to the other the color appears differently in either to spite the identical color settings and specs.

This issue seems like it's only popped up recently so I'm not sure if it's an issue with the latest CC update but it's extremely frustrating as it's cuasing color distortion issues when I go to export images for the web etc.

Any help or insight is appreciated.

[Ton Frederiks]

Can you share those 2 different Illustrator files?

Don't need the whole file, just with an object that shows the problem.

WeTransfer, Google, Dropbox, CC filesharing...

[Ton Frederiks]

I compared the pantone colors, one is using the old values that pantone provided in their old libraries. The other (less saturated one) is using the new values.

[LangeDsn]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I narrowed it down to an issue with pantone. I noticed a discrepancy in the color conversion as well. One file (the brighter blue) offered CMYK conversion and the other LAB.

However I've also had issues with Photoshop where, after being saved as an image, HEX colors look different they the pure CSS version on a webpage. That may have been a slightly different scenario, but the issue is the same. It's possible something was wrong with my color space/profile possibly, but like I mentioned in my original comment, this is an issue I've just started running into so I'm not sure if Adobe CC changed something with its color profiles that would cuase this type of issue to occur.

Thanks again.

[Ton Frederiks]

The issue you showed is absolutely not the same.

You may have run into a recent bug that turned color management off.

That was resolved with recent updates.

[LangeDsn]

Interesting. Good to know, thanks.