Quark 7 Color Management Issue

[bjohns]

Hi, can anybody help me with a problem I am having.

When I import a 100% process black Illustrator CS3 .eps file into Quark 7.31 and check the color manage tick box I get strange results when printing or creating composite cmyk PDFs or PS files. The black get's converted to a 4 color mix of black instead of 100% black. If I choose As Is from the print dialogue box it works correctly, but the setting that I have been given by the magazine we are sending the PDF to specify that we have to select Composite CMYK in the print dialogue box.

Can any body help me out with whatever is going wrong here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pkleinheider]

Re: Quark 7 Color Management Issue

Barry,

looks like the setting you have gotten performs a CMYK to CMYK conversion. If you designed everything in CMYK, "As is" is the option you want to use.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Drewstre]

Re: Quark 7 Color Management Issue

Hiya-
Please to forgive if this is obvious; it's tripped me up more than once... make sure the Illustrator file is in CMYK document mode, not RGB, and then make sure that the black in question is actually black, the whole black, and nothing but the black.

That being said... in my experience, Quark is pretty obstinate about giving wacky CMYK values, especially out-of-the-box. Anything besides "DeviceN" or "As Is" will go through Quark's color profile mechanism, and get changed. If your color profiles aren't dialed in and applied throughout, this is a Bad Thing.

Probably, the only reason the magazine specifies that you select Composite CMYK is so no pesky RGB images or colors slip through, which can cause problems on their end, especially if any transparency (drop shadows, etc.) is involved. It's all about the CLUT.

I would prolly go through the document, make sure there are _no_ swatches or images that are RGB, no spot colors, no layered images, and export the PDF using "As Is". As long as it's all CMYK, and the magazine uses a RIP that was at least updated in this century, you should be OK.

Hope that helps,
Drewstre

EDIT: Initially missed Peter's response. Same thing, mine was just blubber. Cheers.

Edited by: Drewstre on May 14, 2008 1:24 AM