Universal colours (CMYK/RGB/Hex/Spot) – One swatch, many colour spaces

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
March 9, 2023
4 replies
2743 views

Working across print and digital I find adding colours to swatches/CC libraries frustrating and timely, especially when you're working with various brands and their extensive colour palettes and the project needs to be in both CMYK and RGB, for print and for online. Manually changing colours to match the colour space should be a thing of the past!

My solution: Universal Colours

Create new 'universal' colour swatches in CC Libraries or individual apps with the option to add all the colour values to each swatch, CMYK, RGB, HEX, Pantone & several spot colours (i.e. RAL etc.).

Working in CMYK on a print project (in your app of choice) and the swatches in your swatch library import as CMYK as standard when you create the new document. In CMYK mode you could also select specific swatches and quickly change them to Pantone or Spot, if required.

Create a new document in RGB and the colours from the swatch library import as rgb, if you're working on a web project, all colours are HEX.

Exporting a file, for example a PDF for print and for online, it automatically uses the correct colour values based on the universal swatch. Want to change the colour space of a document in Illustrator or InDesign, the colours automatically change to the new colour space values as set in the universal colour swatch.

Fellow designers and creatives, what do you think?

Files and libraries

This topic has been closed for replies.

rob day

Community Expert

Hi @Rhinobytes , If the source color reference is a device independent Lab value then the color conversions for different print conditions and sRGB web can be managed. Pantone solid ink colors are captured from printed swatches as Lab values, so that library or any other Lab defined ink library (e.g. Toyo, ANPA) could be used as a source reference. This might be useful:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/branding-color-guide/td-p/10818696

D Fosse

Community Expert

RGB, CMYK etc aren't color spaces, they're color models. Color spaces are sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto, US Web Coated SWOP, Coated FOGRA39, etc etc etc.

The numbers are different in all of them!

That's what a color space is: a definition of numbers as colors, and colors as numbers. The reference for all this is Lab, which is at the heart of all color management.

Hex, BTW, is just base 16 notation for RGB numbers and varies with color space accordingly.

If you want reference numbers, use Lab. Much simpler and more reliable.

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Converting Lab to different CMYK Spaces will result in various results and can, in many cases, »dirty« primary and secondary colors.

And involving Pantone and RAL Colors doesn’t make the issue easier.

D Fosse

Community Expert

Yes, lots of reasons this can't work.

Pay attention to color spaces, never accept numbers until you know what color space they refer to. And Lab when appropriate or practical (which it isn't always with CMYK as c.p. points out).