Acrobat Output Preview defaults to Adobe 1998 RGB

[lnivin]

In Acrobat Preferences / Color Management / settings are using GRACoL2006.

PDFs we are opening have been exported from InDesign with GRACoL2006 Destination Profile attached.

I have 2 Macs that are defaulting to Adobe 1998 RGB even with Preference set to GRACoL2006. The rest are honoring the Preference setting of GRACoL2006.

We've tried deleting Preferences - User / Library / Preferences / com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro_10.0.plist - but no luck.

What am I missing?

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Acrobat setts colour management in the preferences. If you use a PDFx standard then output intent is simulated (except for black point and paper white which must be checked off by yourself)

Since the RGB is not normally the output intent of a PDFx then you will have to set it in the preferences. Any untagged RGB will be what your preferences have set, which is normally defaulted at Adobe RGB. Sometimes this is set by choosing the Prepress defaults from bridge. I don't understand why Adobe insists on calling them prepress defaults if they don't warn for missmatch and assume that untagged RGB is Adobe RGB. The only RGB that is ever allowed to go untagged is sRGB and therefore if you must synchronise settings with bridge set them to general purpose with the modification of warning on mismatches.

 

[lnivin]

I'm not understanding how this would affect the Output Preview not retaining our workspace profile (GRACoL2006)?

 

[leonardr]

In Acrobat Preferences / Color Management / settings are using GRACoL2006.

You mean that the default working space for CMYK is GRAcol2006, correct?

PDFs we are opening have been exported from InDesign with GRACoL2006 Destination Profile attached.

I don't understand what that means. Are you exporting these as PDF/X files with their Output Intent set to GRAcol? If so, then that is the profile that will be set by default when you open Output Preview. If not, then Acrobat is free to do what it wants - since the PDF has no associated profile. As such, Acrobat will use whatever the last profile you choose to simulate with in Output Preview.

 

[lnivin]

Let me ask an entirely different question, which may help clear up my thinking.

We get PDFs from several sources, with many different profiles attached or sometimes no profile or Document RGB, etc. On some Macs GRACoL2006 (our working space) sticks in the Output Preview. This is what we really want to happen. A couple of our Macs honor the profile attached to the PDF, or if none it uses Adobe RGB 1998. Then the operator needs to select GRACoL2006 to preview how we are going to print. When there are several hundred or thousands of PDFs, this can be time consuming.

Is there a way to make GRACoL2006 stick as the Output Preview option?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Is there a way to make GRACoL2006 stick as the Output Preview option?

The three EEE’s. Embrace, evangelise and enforce PDF/X standards!


Stephen Marsh

 

[leonardr]

We get PDFs from several sources, with many different profiles attached or sometimes no profile or Document RGB, etc.

As mentioned here and in the other thread on this topic that you started, a standard PDF has no profile attached and so Output Preview will use your (CMYK) working space as the default. Only when a PDF has an Output Intent, because it complies with PDF/X, PDF/VT, PDF/A or PDF/E, will Preview use that associated profile for that document (because that's how the author of the document specified that they wish it to be viewed). It will NEVER default to RGB. However, if you switched it to RGB and then opened another document, it will remember that you used that last and pick it (to save you time).

On some Macs GRACoL2006 (our working space) sticks in the Output Preview.

As noted above, if you choose that manually, then Acrobat will remember it as the last choice and use it again the next time you use Preview. UNLESS the PDF being viewed has the Output Intent (as noted above).

 

[toronar]

Only when a PDF has an Output Intent, because it complies with PDF/X, PDF/VT, PDF/A or PDF/E, will Preview use that associated profile for that document (because that's how the author of the document specified that they wish it to be viewed). It will NEVER default to RGB.

Sorry leonard, but that is not entirely true

If you open a PDF/X with an output intent set, then remove that output intent and open output preview, it will default to RGB regardless of what it was set to before or what is set in preferences. I do know that this a special case, though.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Sorry leonard, but that is not entirely true

If you open a PDF/X with an output intent set, then remove that output intent and open output preview, it will default to RGB regardless of what it was set to before or what is set in preferences. I do know that this a special case, though.

Curious. I can confirm, however it is only immediately/during that session - the next time the file is opened, the output preview again defaults to working CMYK.


Stephen Marsh

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

If you remove the output intent it is no longer a PDFx!

P.S:
BTW what is your transparency blend space, if working with print it should be CMYK, but it is possible to override it with RGB. I really recommend the VIGC prepress tools they will help you with your workflow.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

If you remove the output intent it is no longer a PDFx!

This is true, however toronar’s point was that if one does strip the output intent while the output preview tool is open, then the output preview will display RGB values as if the output intent was RGB! If the output preview window was not open or the next time the document is opened again, the output preview will display in device CMYK using the simulation profile set in colour settings.

I think that this is a bug, I don’t believe that toronar was endorsing this as a workflow, simply making a technical point.


Stephen Marsh

 

[leonardr]

If you open a PDF/X with an output intent set, then remove that output intent and open output preview, it will default to RGB regardless of what it was set to before or what is set in preferences. I do know that this a special case, though.

I have a feeling that is happening because you have a file that THINKS it is PDF/X (it claims it because of the metadata in the file) _BUT_ is missing the OutputIntent, so Acrobat has to fall back to something as it's very confused at this point (understandably so!). One thing it can do it look at transparency blending colorspaces which could well be RGB.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

I have a feeling that is happening because you have a file that THINKS it is PDF/X (it claims it because of the metadata in the file) _BUT_ is missing the OutputIntent, so Acrobat has to fall back to something as it's very confused at this point (understandably so!). One thing it can do it look at transparency blending colorspaces which could well be RGB.

Bingo Leonard!

The test file was RGB PDF from Word.

Setting the transparency blend space to CMYK before removing the output intent resulted in the output preview defaulting to CMYK, rather than RGB as it previously did.


Stephen Marsh

 

[lnivin]

We upgraded our macs and Adobe software yesterday. The 2 macs that were retaining GRACoL2006 and the simulation profile in Acrobat's Output Preview are still retaining the profile, no matter what the profile is on the PDF. (And we prefer it to act this way.) All other macs are functioning as they are intended to - honoring the PDF Profile unless no profile and then defaulting to Adobe RGB 1998. Hopefully I can figure out how to break the other macs.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Just create a PDF/X file with the output intent set to GRACoL2006 and all versions of Acrobat Pro should honour the output intent in the output preview tool (unless sombody monkey’s with it).


Stephen Marsh