Adobe Illustrator - LAB vs CMYK For Color Libraries

[chevalier]

I'm looking for a way to make Illustrator use LAB values for Pantone / Toyo inks rather than CMYK values by default. Otherwise this has to be done manually in the swatches palette every time I create a file or edit a file.

I already have my workflow setup to automatically override Pantone inks into LAB values instead of CMYK values. I'd like to do this as a safety net rather than a necessity.

Suggestions? Thoughts?

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

One issue I stumbled into, and why I went away from Lab in final files was the issue of 0% of a Pantone tint being a Lab based "white", in print this turned out to be a printing tone. For colours above 20% tint Lab worked well. Just something to bear in mind when going to Lab.

 

[chevalier]

By print do you mean within your workflow to output devices (proofers, CtP, etc.) or printing directly to a device?

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

I mean that in PDF the white was a Lab colour. On proofer, rasterised work and offset plates there was contamination due to the Lab of 0% (white point of Pantone swatch?) in the PDF not matching the Lab of paper/substrate white in output profile. I did not redo the test with the latest version of RIP, perhaps it is time to try again.

 

[pp2010]

Adobe Illustrator CS5 * Display and output spot colors using Lab values

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

@pp2010 Yes that is how to display, and will convert from LAB to output profile, provided the output profile is correct and the use LAB values for spots is checked.

 

[chevalier]

@pp2010. Yes, that is how you make the mode change but you have to make the change every document you create or open. I was hoping there was either a hidden preference or a hack to make it LAB by default rather than CMYK.

 

[pp2010]

You have to make the change in your template (New Document Profile) for new documents.