InDesign PMS do not match Illustrator PMS

[fagansinc]

My office has just recently updated from PageMaker to InDesign CS. We love InDesign except for the fact that InDesign PMS colors do not match the Illustrator PMS colors. I have tested it by created a box in Illustrator CS and creatng another box in InDesign and creating a .pdf of both and the same PMS color looks very very different. (we have NOT had this problem between pagemaker and illustrator)

Is there any way that I can fix this problem?

 

[jmgalvin]

I have ILL CS and ID CS and the pms colors match. Could you possibly have different color settings in the ID doc and the ILL doc?

If you're using an older ILL, there could be a problem in that Pantone changes things sometimes so libraries don't match.

By the way, you have to use Pantone Solid to Process in Photoshop to match Solid in ID and ILL.

 

[fagansinc]

how do i change the color settings and/or make sure that the color settings for ID CS and IL CS are the same?

 

[jmgalvin]

In both ILL and ID open the doc and go to Edit menu/Color Settings.

If you use one of the canned ones like US Prepress Defaults, the colors will match - as long as you're not using an older Pantone library in one of the applications. Also make sure that you use the same Pantone library in each and that you don't change a Pantone to process in one app and leave it as a spot in the other.

 

[fagansinc]

so here is a second problem...... when i convert both ID CS and ILL CS to a uniform color setting (US prepress default) my "black" in the color swatch turns gray, even though when i double-click the black, it is showing 100% tint, it still looks gray.

also, when i print anything that is colored with the "black", that is supposedly 100% even though it doesnt look it, it doesn't print as a 100% it prints as though it is tinted less than 100%.

is there any way to fix that?

 

[jmgalvin]

Are your swatches in bth apps set the same? Are they all cmyk or are some RGB. Also are they all set to process, unless they're a Pantone spot.

Also make sure that the black is set to 100% tint in the swatches window.

The color of black is dependent on the printer settings. Make sure you're using a high one. If you print at a low quality, it often comes out lighter.