Colour change when exported

[Siloset]

Hi there. I'm trying to find the right colour swatch in the pantone colours for a light teal. I've managed to find a couple that I'm happy with when viewed in InDesign (Pantone P 124-4 U, and Pantone 573 U) however when I export the document as an interactive PDF the colour becomes different when I open it in acrobat. Any assistance would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

Pantone U colours are specifically for Uncoated papers in Print.

It's not CMYK and it's not RGB.

In fact the colour is unlikely to be replicated accurately in either colour model.

Viewing colours on screen for Pantone is erronoues, you should have a Pantone Book which would show you the difference in the Pantone Colour vs CMYK/RGB/and Hexadecimal.

For an interactive document you should use RGB swatches. 

You can find the conversions online 

https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/P-124-2-U

https://negliadesign.com/ask-a-designer/whats-the-difference-between-pms-cmyk-rgb-and-hex/

[rob day · Accepted solution]

For Interactive PDFs try setting the swatch Color Type to Process. Interactive PDFs convert all color into the sRGB RGB space—they cannot include Spot colors. If you intend to actually output a Spot color (a color that runs as a custom ink on an offset press) export a Print PDF using the PDF/X-4 preset which will export the Lab defined spot color unchanged.

Also, Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Pro have a Use Overprint Preview preference under the Page Display tab that will affect RGB color—if it is set to Always, RGB colors will be displayed as the nearest CMYK equivalent. Pantone 573U is out-of-gamut to most CMYK spaces, so its color would shift with Overprint Preview turned on.

Overprint set to Always

Never: