Relinked smart object has faded colors

Question

When I have a Photoshop file with a linked vector smart object (linked to an Adobe Illustrator file), and then I relink that image to another Illustrator file (using Layer > Smart Object > Relink to file ...), the new file comes in with faded colors. Sometimes the difference is so subtle I have barely noticed, other times it's quite obvious. I haven't checked carefully, but my guess is the new smart object is coming in as CMYK rather than RGB (both the PS file and the smart objects in these cases are RGB). This has never happened and I've used the exact same process countless times over a number of years now, so this is definitely a new issue. I've searched the forums and am surprised to not find this issue brought up yet. Any help would be appreciated. There are of course many work-arounds, but if this is indeed a bug and not somehow exclusive to my Mac / setup, it ought to be fixed.

I've been having this issue since the last update (maybe the last two). I always try to stay up-to-date on the versions, and am currently on 23.4.1 which is the latest as I write this. I'm on Big Sur 11.6.7 on an iMac.

I have not paid careful attention yet to see if this happens every time I relink a smart object, but it's come up enough that I believe it does.

Thanks!

russg22417893 · Accepted Answer

Hi @D Fosse I have finally figured out what is happening. I have done a great deal of research on RGB color modes (I never messed with them in 15 years of illustration and design work) and with a little careful observation, have finally figured out what is happening: My documents always default to sRGB or US Web Coated (SWOP) CMYK as they have for years past. But when you make a screenshot in Mac (latest Big Sur OS, 11.7) a small preview of the screenshot appears in the bottom right corner of your screen. If you grab that preview before it disappears, you can place it in an email, chat app, or any other software that will accept it, including Illustrator and Photoshop. When I grab that preview and place it in Illustrator, the document becomes either "Untagged CMYK" or "Display" (RGB) on its own. I just realized that today, after months of this problem. I will post this in the Illustrator forum, but I wanted you to be aware as well in case it comes up again for you. Thanks for your note above, it has started me doing a great deal of research into RGB colorspaces, which has been helpful.

D Fosse · Answer

It sounds like you're not embedding the color profile in all your files (sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto etc).

This is what will happen when you have untagged files with no color profile. It becomes unpredictable with no fixed reference.

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