InDesign - Import and export problems - changed saturation

[DayOneiros]

Hello Community,

I am facing a big problem and I really hope that someone has a solution for me.

I am currently working on my portfolio with InDesign.This has a black background and a starry sky at the top (see: original.png). I created this starry sky in Photoshop and exported it as a PNG file. Now when I place the PNG file or the Photoshop file in InDesign, the image loses saturation. The colors look washed out and don't shine as nicely.If I insert more images, then they also lose saturation (see: image1.png).
I consulted a friend who also works with Adobe programs and sent her my starry sky. When she inserts this file into InDesign, the same thing happens as it did to me. But if she now takes her own picture, then the saturation does not change. I then tried it with different images of my own and the result is confusing. With some the saturation changes, it doesn't matter when I exported them and other images don't change, even if they were exported on the same day, like "faulty" files.
Another problem I have is that when I export to a PDF print file, the black background appears gray, while the black in the starry sky is still black (see: image2.png). If I create the PDF file using the Print command and "Microsoft Print to PDF", then the PDF looks completely normal (see: image3.png).

I am concerned that perhaps there is an error in the color settings. I have tried and changed a few things, but I have not solved the problem. A complete reinstall without presettings has brought nothing.
Perhaps I should mention that the PNG file of my starry sky does not lose saturation when I paste it into the Xara Designer Pro X program.

I'm completely lost and really hope you guys can help me out....

[Eugene Tyson]

What colour mode is your Photoshop file in? Is it RGB? Then it's converting to InDesign colour space whether that's CMYK or RGB.

Then what colour is the black in InDesign is it 100% Black?

If your photoshop image is made up of C 25 M 10 Y5 K100 for example

Then it won't match indesigns.

You need to create a new black in InDesign the same colour as your Photoshop file.

Or even better - your Photoshop should be 50% C and 100% K

And your black in InDesign should be 50%C and 100%K.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

This is Colour Management doing what it's supposed to be doing, essentially.

First, check your Colour Settings (under Edit menu): Let us know what they are for RGB and CMYK working spaces (there was a recent bug which messed these up, so just checkin')

A. your image from Photoshop is in RGB using intense blues that are out of gamut for CMYK printing. Whether you are seeing it now – when ID converts between colour spaces – or later, in actual print, the same thing will happen. InDesign is doing you a favour as it's showing you ahead of time what will happen to it. When you place an RGB image into ID, and if your have Proof Colors checked under View, the image will change to show you what it will look like on your cmyk printer (It's a toggle, so you can see the difference with it on or off). Also: iIf the image is interacting with any other object that has a Transparency effect applied, and your Transparency Blend mode (under Edit is set a Document CMYK), your image will change as well.

In practice, you want to create PDFs that retain the RGB sources (e..g Preset PDX/4:2008, with Output set to "No Color Conversion"), and let the printer do the conversion. The benefit is that a specific printer might have a bigger gamut in their cmyk and may be able to match your RGB closer. If you pre-convert it to CMYK using an inappropriate profile that has a more limited gamut, your colours may be duller and now it's "baked in"

B. Microsoft products, for all intents and purposes are an RGB-based product. The colours stay the same because they haven't been converted. It will STILL print duller when it's printed, but that is happening at the printer stage.

C. re: Xara. I don't know it but it's likely the same thing.

As for your background Black issue, as mentioned, your Photoshop sky RGB black will convert to CMYK with a value in all 4 colours. If you want to have your Black match that, you have to match what the RGB will do. Normally, we create a colour in InDesign called Rich Black that is something like 40C 30C 30Y 100K, because in offset printing, you mostly never want to have just large areas of black in only 100K... it will always look greyer since it's the only ink on the paper so soaks into the paper a bit). However, in your case, even using a Rich Black may STILL show an edge as your image may generate very different values. What to do: either extend your image in Photoshop and add a whole lotta black below that matches, OR, A little trick I do is to create a separate Photoshop file of a small patch of the same colour of your black sky. It can even be like a small 1" x 1" square. Place that under your image in InDesign and scale it up to fill the area you want.

[rob day]

Set your Transparency Blend Space to Document RGB