I need help exporting RGB colour CORRECTLY to jpg or png

[StephenJohnBryde]

Ok so I before I start please don't tell me to use phtoshop for this thanks 🙂

So my issue is RGB's displaying correctly both in indesign and once exported to jpg or png. 

They work fine if I export to Interactive PDF in RGB mode, so I am curretly exporting to .pdf and saving as a jpg in Photoshop which is annoying and an extra step. 

See images the colour on the left is correct #4c11a1

Incorrect colour is #502e90

Interestingly when I open the colour swatch it tells me that the colour is 'out of Gamut' and if I click to correct it changes it to a very similar colour to #502e90, which is my theory of what it is doing. 

I've tried changing the RGB profile, currently sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and nothing seems to make a difference. 

Anyone know what the issue is and why the Interactive PDF is fine and how to fix the Export to jpg setting? 

[Eric Dumas]

• converting/exporting to jpeg will always slightly change the colours
• the 'Gamut' alert is to warn you that a color selected cannot be displayed or printed exactly using the values you selected. see https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/color.html
• 2 using Bridge, can you use Edit > Color Settings to synchronise your settings between Adobe apps, 
• Have a look at a similar post (I know it is illustrtor question, but it is similar) that could help: Solved: Hex Codes Changing in Adobe Illustrator v27.0 - Adobe Community - 13302801
• Can you explain the goal you are trying to achieve? Why you are exporting to jpg?
• Also, make sure the exporting process does not use print simulation, that could try to 'mix the inks'
• There is a good reference on color profiles here : Working with color profiles, Adobe Acrobat

[StephenJohnBryde]

Hey Eric,

Thanks 🙂

My goal is to correctly export a web banner with the background RGB colour#4c11a1. It's their brand colour and they want to use it.

I realize the colour will change when saving or jpg, but this is a large difference, I'm used to a few numbers different. Did you see my attachment? The correct colour is: rgb(76, 17, 161) and the incorrect is: rgb(80, 46, 144).

That's a huge difference especially in the Green value, 17 > 46 !!!

I'm not sure what this means sorry...

• Also, make sure the exporting process does not use print simulation, that could try to 'mix the inks'

My question is why does it work for Interactive PDF? 

Thanks so much 🙂

Stephen

[StephenJohnBryde]

Hey Eric,

So I just tested from illustrator, doc in RGB exporting using save 'Export for screens' jpg and png both worked fine. 

Also to follow up I synced my settings in Bridge and no change 😞

I think in the future I'll just use illustrator. 

[StephenJohnBryde]

Any help Eric? Or anyone else out there?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Ok so I before I start please don't tell me to use phtoshop for this thanks 🙂

By @StephenJohnBryde

Why not? What's the problem with Photoshop?

[StephenJohnBryde]

It just can't do what Indesign can do in terms of layout etc. So it's to hard to use for what I'm doing 🙂

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

It just can't do what Indesign can do in terms of layout etc. So it's to hard to use for what I'm doing 🙂

By @StephenJohnBryde

I thought you want to include Photoshop in the workflow - ID -> PS -> image. 

[StephenJohnBryde]

This is what I didn't want, an argument about what app to use. I have an issue with InDesign not photoshop 🙂
Please no more photoshop talk thanks 🙂

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

This is what I didn't want, an argument about what app to use. I have an issue with InDesign not photoshop 🙂
Please no more photoshop talk thanks 🙂

By @StephenJohnBryde

?!? I'm not suggesting doing anything from scratch in Photoshop? 

[MTPmedia]

Did you find a way around this? I'm having more or less exactly the same issue. Importing an RGB Illustrator file into InDesign, doing textual layout work, exporting as RGB image that is losing all of the original colour.

I realise obviously that InDesign is built around CMYK, but it appears that it won't do proper RGB image exports.

The only way I've found around it is to export the final InDesign file to a PDF in RGB, and then in Acrobat export that PDF into a jpeg. This appears to retain the correct colours.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @MTPmedia,

I am not able to reproduce the issue on InDesign 20.2. Maybe I am missing any steps. Could you please confirm your InDesign version and the details of the operating system? Also, please share a short recording demonstrating your workflow.

Looking forward to your update!

^

Abhishek

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I just did a quick test as well, creating a basic RGB doc in Illustrator, placing it, adding some RGB text, and exporting to JPEG.

No unexpected results (Win11, ID v20.2).

I suggest you have a color profile or other setting interfering somewhere. Also, your results might vary if you are not properly Placing the AI illustration (e.g. cut-pasting it or even drag-dropping it, which sometimes is not as reliable as Place).

(Also, not quite true that InDesign is a CMYK app... if anything, it's fairly color-model neutral, just doing what it's told for any given swatch, export or result.)

[StephenJohnBryde]

Can you share your steps? With images? Did you use dark blues? Apparently that's where indesign struggles the most. But you used illustrator which I had to do  as a work around and it works fine in illustrator. 

Could you try and recreate what you did but from indesign to see if you can get it to work? 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Sorry, this thread has gone back and forth and around on specifics; I was more or less replying to the most recent question. But going back to your original post, I created a simple ID doc with four squares, one each pure R G and B and one with your "correct" web color definition of #4c11a1, all defined as RGB colors.

Without doing anything else fancy or assigning a color profile, I exported to an RGB JPEG. Here's a side by side screen cap of the INDD doc and the export (in a photo viewer app):

And here's a capture of the JPEG as displayed by my browser (Firefox):

I don't see any noteworthy color shift at all.

Are you certain you are defining the colors in ID as RGB (or at least web) colors? That you got an out of gamut warning would seem to indicate you were working in CMYK, but perhaps I'm misreading that.

[StephenJohnBryde]

Thanks for replying this is great !! Because I don't see anything like that in Indesign!! This is what I see, what am I doing wrong? 

[StephenJohnBryde]

SORRY that green was wrong !!

But I've done it now correctly and I've even added your image into my indesign and here's what it looks like!!!

[StephenJohnBryde]

[StephenJohnBryde · Accepted solution]

Holy Moly I fixed it !!!

This setting, 'Transparency blend Space' !!!!! What is that even for? Why would that be an option? Why can't indesign work without that redicutlous setting !! I changed it to RGB and it instantly changed, and the export worked too !!!!!

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

It controls how transparency is handled when a doc is flattened for printing. Advanced stuff and usually irrelevant unless you have transparent images or opacity settings.

But glad to have steered you the right way. 🙂

[StephenJohnBryde]

Thanks 🙂

[MTPmedia]

That has solved the problem, thank you very much!

You'd think InDesign would automatically switch if you're exporting an RGB image, but apparently not.