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dave48858

Technical User
Oct 12, 2003
3
US
The only stupid question is the question not asked. Now with that in mind, I'm working in Illustrator CS and I want to make bright blue text/anything. When I select what I want to change the color of, I get to the color picker/select color window, it won't let me select a bright blue or any bright color for that matter. The explanation point in a triangle, alert, icon comes up next to the current color/new color box. What am I doing wrong?
 
Go to Window menu/Swatches. in Swatches menu click on the little triangle at upper right for New Swatch.

To make things easier, Click on the little triangle in the SWatches window and go to Open Swatch Library. Pick one, probably best if you stick with System Widows or Mac for right now. When you click on any color in the open swatch library, it's added to your swatches pallette.
 
Sounds like your working in CMYK, which is the spectrum which colour printers work on. RGB is what your looking for to get the bright colours, but keep in mind that those bright colours wont print well, they will jump to the closest colour printable by the print (Ex. Bright blue will turn purpleish and less saturated). If your just doing stuff to be viewed on screen RGB is fine.

To switch your settings go to

File> Document Colour Mode > RGB

Then you need to switch your colour window to give you RGB sliders. On your color window with the sliders, click on the arrow at the top left of the box and pick RGB from the list.

Should be good to go then.


 
Yes I was working in CMYK, RGB did it. I have a $30,000 printer and it works has C M Y K LC LM, I figued that was what I needed, CMYK. I saved it as save for web as big as I could, the software I work with, Roland ColorRip converted it great from a RGB .jpg to my CMYK, I didn't loose any of the brightness. Again, thank you all very much.

home of all your large format printing needs.
 
Yeah I have a 5500ps with 6C, you still wont hit those brightest RGB blues though, even with a Hexachrome 8C, Though better then a 4C.

If your working in RGB what you could do is download the colour profiles for your printer and setup illustrator to proof on screen. All the profiles should be on the printer manufactures site, should have profiles for all the different paper stocks, inks, dyes.. ect. Once you've downloaded your profiles and added them to the comp. go to View > Proof Setup > Custom and pick the profile which matches what your doing. Now your working in RGB but your getting a soft proof of the printers gamut displayed so your not totally out of the ball park. Once you print though your sending an RGB file to the printer and your letting the rip decide how to convert the colours.

The better way of setting stuff up is to setup your colour management and give your file a profile. You would be working in CMYK again, but you would be working in the CMYK profile of your 6C which is larger then the default Ilustrator settings. And then you set up all your other programs to match your workflow... and on .. and on... and on... this could go on forever so I will stop. Im no colour expert anyways, im happy as piss just working in SWOP. Maybe a colour god on here can go though the whole colour thing better then I can.

Note: Colour proofing is useless without a good monitor.. good monitor that is calibrated.. a good monitor that is calibrated regularly.. and for digital, your printers calibrated regularly too lol
 
I haven't had any problems matching what I see and what I get as of yet. I run a Roland ProII ex 54" with colorrip 2.x and the only thing I'm having problems with is say matching the color of the vinyl to the color of the car or whatever I'm working on. I know, that requires a light meter, which also requires money which I have little of. What would you recomend for a good inexpensive (oxymoron I know) light meter?

You mentioned SWOP, I've never herd of it, I'll have to do some research on that one. Thanks again, Dave.

home of all your large format printing needs.
 
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