Color difference in logo importing and exporting from InDesign: .PNG vs. .AI

[RachelWillingham]

Hello,

I am having issues with inconsistent colors when I place a logo into Indesign from Illustrator. I have placed PNGs and AIs of the same logo and exported them for print in PDF format. The PNGs and the AIs appear as different colors in the exported PDF, and I am not sure how to fix the issue. Adding to the problem, I do not see the color difference on my computer, but when sent to my colleagues the colors are completely different on their computers. It's difficult to find a solution when I am not experiencing the issue on my end.

The PNGs and AIs have both been saved as CMYK from Illustrator, but perhaps they need to be saved differently? Is the issue in importing the logo as a PNG? I typically place the native file, but I have been experimenting since this has been a consistent issue. 

I have attached the PDF of the Business card to which I am referring. The first two pages have the AI logo, and the last two pages have the PNG logo. I am still learning about proper export settings for both print and digital, so if anyone has some insight that would be wonderful.

Thanks!

[rudo123 · Accepted solution]

There is no such thing as cmyk PNG. PNG can be rgb or grayscale, not cmyk. So you are doing unwanted cmyk to rgb to cmyk conversion: (cmyk) AI to (rgb) PNG to (cmyk) PDF. Your final cmyk will never be like original. So use original (vector, cmyk) AI in your InDesign, avoid (raster, rgb) PNG, when original vector logo is available.