Are you using a PDF/X-4 RGB workflow?

[Magnus]

Hi!

I'm curious about how you folks handle PDFs these days, so I put together this quick poll:

 

[Dov Isaacs]

Quite frankly, all PDF-native RIPs/DFEs (i.e., no internal conversion from PDF to PostScript) based on either Adobe or Global Graphics (i.e., Harlequin) OEM technology from the last 15 years support PDF/X-4-based workflows. Likewise, professional design software (i.e., InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark, etc. but not Adobe Express or Canva) fully support ICC-color managed workflows in which non-CMYK based colors (including RGB and LaB) are tagged with the correct ICC color profiles.

The “got'cha” is that one can have a perfectly “correct” PDF/X-4 file that doesn't reflect what the graphic artist / designer really intended due to the graphic artist / designer's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of color. Obviously, the same problem exists for pure CMYK workflows, although in such CMYK-only workflows, the print service provider is more readily able to blame the customer!

 

[Magnus]

Quite frankly, all PDF-native RIPs/DFEs (i.e., no internal conversion from PDF to PostScript) based on either Adobe or Global Graphics (i.e., Harlequin) OEM technology from the last 15 years support PDF/X-4-based workflows. Likewise, professional design software (i.e., InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark, etc. but not Adobe Express or Canva) fully support ICC-color managed workflows in which non-CMYK based colors (including RGB and LaB) are tagged with the correct ICC color profiles.

The “got'cha” is that one can have a perfectly “correct” PDF/X-4 file that doesn't reflect what the graphic artist / designer really intended due to the graphic artist / designer's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of color. Obviously, the same problem exists for pure CMYK workflows, although in such CMYK-only workflows, the print service provider is more readily able to blame the customer!

There is often a discrepancy between what software can do and what users choose to do with it.

 

[Dov Isaacs]

There is often a discrepancy between what software can do and what users choose to do with it.

I am in violent agreement with that thought!

 

[Magnus]

The “got'cha” is that one can have a perfectly “correct” PDF/X-4 file that doesn't reflect what the graphic artist / designer really intended due to the graphic artist / designer's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of color. Obviously, the same problem exists for pure CMYK workflows, although in such CMYK-only workflows, the print service provider is more readily able to blame the customer!

Since we stopped providing CMYK profiles to our customers and simplified our PDF instructions to the absolute essentials, we've seen a significant decrease in color complaints. Many customers today are not deeply familiar with print production and often find CMYK concepts challenging to grasp. When we, as the printer, tell them, "Don't worry about the color space of your images—we'll handle the CMYK conversion," it's often met with a sense of relief.

This doesn’t mean we neglect color quality—quite the opposite. We maintain a highly controlled and carefully managed color workflow, ensuring consistency and accuracy from file to print.