Export color Indesign book to grayscale PDF

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
June 13, 2023
3 replies
21522 views

Hi all:

I'm preparing a book for both print and ebook. The ebook will have some color, but the printed book will be in grayscale. I used to be able to print the book in CMYK or gray, but now that I'm Exporting, I don't find that option. Evidently I have Acrobat, not Acrobat Pro, so do I have to change my color figures to gray and link them instead, or is there a way to export my existing (color) book to gray?

Thanks!!

Correct answer James Gifford—NitroPress

Choose the other option - Convert to Destination, but without "Preserve Numbers." They are two completely different lists of options.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

"although I don't have the Print Production"

You might still have full Acrobat; Not all the Tools are shown by default. Go to "More Tools"/"See All Tools", and Add the ones you want to the sidebar.

Susan CulliganAuthor

Inspiring

Great!! I found all the tools not displayed by default (for reasons best known to Adobe ?!)

rob day

Community Expert

Hi @Susan Culligan , Also, there are a few other settings that might hide gray profiles. The PDF/X-1a preset set to Convert will not list Gray profiles because the PDF/X-1a Standard only allows process CMYK and Spot colors. The PDF/X-4 standard allows a conversion to a Gray Output class profile, but will not list sGray because it is a Display class profile—PDF/X-4 with the Standard set to None lists sGray.

And, as James notes, direct conversions to a Gray profile can produce unexpected results with colors that have the same luminosity, but dfferent hues:

In certain cases a Photoshop Black & White Adjustment layer is the workaround:

Susan CulliganAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you, Rob. I'll use this for books with more complex color.

James Gifford—NitroPress

Brainiac

Set your PDF export color profile to gray. Yep, it's that simple. And if you have Creative Suite/Collection, you have Acrobat Pro. (The only way you would not is if you are subscribing for InDesign alone, and I think even that minimal option includes Acrobat Pro.)

There are varying opinions and if your book has any color photos that need to have good tone and dynamic range, it might be worth exploring the more sophisticated grayscale options, but I have always found sGray to do a fine job of color graphics and photos with good dynamic range. (That's for KDP; if you are working with another printer, you might check their specs to see if they have a recommendation.)

Susan CulliganAuthor

Inspiring

Thanks James, but I don't have sGray in my list of output options (see attached). I do have the Creative Cloud subscription, although I don't have the Print Production (I think that's what it's called) tool, see my list of PDF tools, which is what made me think I don't have Pro.