Black appears as gray in PDF export. How do I ensure that it is black on export?

[erikdencoolaste]

Please help! I have to export a document and I am approaching my deadline. When I tried to export it to PDF everything looked great except for the fact that black appears as a dark grey. I have done some research and found out that the true black is called "rich black". I have looked for advice on the internet, but I haven't found a specific solution.

Is there a quick and easy way to make all my blacks appear as truly black in my PDF export? My nightmare is having to change each and every black element in this giant InDesign file from one type of black to the other. I am not well versed within the printing process, and this document is just for digital display. Not for printing.

Thank you for any answers.

[rob day]

this document is just for digital display. Not for printing.

Hi @erikdencoolaste , The document’s assigned CMYK profile determines the appearance of 0|0|0|100 CMYK [Black]—in offset printing the inks are transparent, so if the black includes CMY ink percentages it will print as a darker value on press. The assigned CMYK profile attempts to preview that effect—the default US Web Coated SWOP profile:

If you are designing for screens set the Document Setup Intent to Web or Mobile. In that case the default [Black] swatch will be defined as RGB 0|0|0 and you won’t have the problem.