Problems matching color between InD and Acrobat 1

[texasjoe]

Am I the only one having this problem?

I made a graph and what I wanted was two bars, one purple, and the other maroon.

I made the graph in InD and the colors looked perfect in InD, and when I printed to PDF, the colors looked different. I didn't have time to go back and tweak the colors, so it had to fly -- as is.

In the end they came out more like violet and crimson instead of purple and maroon.

I've also noticed that colors in Photoshop look different in Photoshop than they do in InDesign or in Acrobat.

Aren't these all Adobe programs? Shouldn't the colors all look the same?

Is there a solution to this? Which one is the "right" one? Should I make adjustments in Photoshop and InD so that the PDF has the exact colors I'm aiming for?

Joe

 

[MarcusStringer]

I would get youself read up on Colour management. As you are entering a difficult area, which can't be answered here, as we would have to look at your whole workflow.

But, to dumb it down a bit.
Make sure all you Programs (Photoshop, Illutrator, InDesign, Acrobat) have the same colour profiles (see help menu) also check you Distiller setting under Colour and make sure they are also set.

Also Calibrate you monitor.

Also make sure you output device can support ICC colour profiles etc etc.

Marcus

http://www.midlandtypesetters.com.au

 

[texasjoe]

Thanks, Marcus

You've pointed me in what looks like the right direction.

Color management is a little complex, isn't it?

I just wish it was easier.

Joe

 

[Lessa]

It's also a good idea to never trust a monitor. Get a Pantone book (there's one with CMYK breakdowns as well as PMS colors) and create your colors based on that. The way that monitors create colors vs. ink is sort of opposite. So the only thing you should care about is the final output.

 

[PreciousRoy]

i am having similar troubles myself, except it's not InDesign that's giving me problems, it's acrobat and Illustrator; here's the deal:

the output from a .pdf created in Illy using the Save As command prints differently than a .pdf created in Distilling it. Both files are using the same color profile, and all 3 programs have the same color space settings. Also, my monitor is calibrated. I'm printing to a Konica Colorforce 8050 with a Fiery Printhead, which i'm trying to use as a proofer. The output almost NEVER matches what our press puts out either, but the press is almost DEAD on with my screen.
what the hell is going on?

 

[jmgalvin]

I've never found the direct pdf export from ILL to be that great, I always use Distiller.

When you print the postscript file from ILL for distilling, do you have your printer selected as the PPD, rather than Adobe PDF? That should help output. However, if your output is comign out perfect on the press, you don't want to mess too much, so you might want to create a ps file for your printer and one for the press - using your original settings.

I beleive your particular printer comes with a lot of color controls. you might have to play with them. Also, if you're on a mac, you might open Colorsync utility (Applications/Utilies) and check the printer profile under Devices/Printers, to make sure it's set correctly.

If your monitor is giving good results with the press, The problem is at your printer end. How's the color printing direct from ILL? If it's faithful, it would look like a PPD mismatch. I'd check the Konica site for driver updates. They have issued quite a few new ones lately - especially Mac.