Illustrator & Photoshop colors don’t match

[MJNC]

Hello Everyone;
I have 2 jobs that I need to output from Illustrator, and they are supposed to include the same spot color background.
One of the files gets its background color from Illustrator, the other from Photoshop. CS2.
When I place the Photoshop file in Illustrator (as .eps or .jpg) and check its cmyk values (with the eyedropper), it is different than it was in Photoshop.

Save that Illustrator file as a .pdf and open it in Illustrator, and you get the incorrect background color value.

Open that same .pdf in Photoshop and the background color is correct!

Seems I have some color setting set incorrectly in Illustrator; just not sure where or how to fix it.
Eventually this job will be a .pdf that gets ripped on an HP Indigo. Currently, the Indigo rip reads the incorrect Illustrator values from the .pdf; if it was reading the Photoshop values I would have no problem here.
Thanks in advance if you can help!
Peace to the PrintPlanet.
_mjnc

 

[John Clifford]

From your message, I take it that you're converting the SPOT color to CMYK values? Perhaps it would have been better if the original artwork had been specified as a specific CMYK blend so that the values would be guaranteed to be the same.

Was there another use where the spot color was needed?

 

[Skittizay]

hmm...what i would try to do first is to take the final pdf file that you are going to send to the indigo and manually change the CMYK values in acrobat to the correct percentages using PitStop.

 

[Al Ferrari]

For Photoshop you tell us it is CS2. But you don't say what version of Illustrator.

Are you getting any sort of alert message about color from Illustrator when you place the photoshop eps? Have you tried using psd?

Check that both applications are using the same color settings. Post back with some of this information. The more you tell us, the more likely that someone here can help.

Al

 

[Dov Isaacs]

(1) I don't believe that you can save spot colors with the JPEG format. If you have spot channels, they must be converted from Lab to CMYK (or RGB) before you can save as a JPEG.

(2) Photoshop uses the Lab color space alternative definitions for spot colors. Illustrator, by default, uses CMYK alternative color space for spot colors. That could be (and usually is) the source of the problem. To be consistent, set Illustrator to use the Lab alternative definitions for spot colors. Then, when placing images with spot colors into Illustrator, you will be more consistent.

- Dov

 

[MJNC]

Use of Photoshop

Use of Photoshop

Hey all;
Thanks for all of the great replies.
Turns out that we were able to open the hi-res .pdf in Photoshop (1200 dpi) a huge file; but when re-saving the .pdf out of Photoshop the new .pdf maintained the correct color. Problem solved.
I have talked to all kinds of people about this and a lot swear that its an Illustrator Bug. So for now we have a work-around...
Thanks, and y’all have a great day.
Peace to the PrintPlanet!!
_mjnc

 

[Duplo]

May have been a profile on the Photoshop file.

May have been a profile on the Photoshop file.

When you saved the Photoshop file again you may have changed the profile or opted for no profile at all. I have clients that gernerate PDF flats that look fine in Photoshop, with pure black text for example, but since they have attached a profile, the black appears 4 color in Acrobat and my workflow. Open the PDF and resave without the profile and all is well.

 

[rich apollo]

Not necessarily a bug. You've got a couple of things happening.

First, Photoshop ALWAYS uses the Lab values for spot colors. Illustrator can use Lab or the CMYK "Book value". It defaults to the CMYK book values.

2nd thing, all of these applications define colors in 8 bits - which is fine. But Photoshop can't specify, or list, fractional values. Illustrator can, and does. What this means is that Photoshop is almost always giving you incorrect color values. If you set a tint to be 50% in Photoshop what you get is 49.8%. It's just how the math works out. Also, the info pallet will list 50%. Illustrator can accept and list fractional percents; it is specific enough to list that value as 49.8%.

If you set Illustrator to define spot colors by their Lab values, you should be fine.

 

[FKarlone]

Illustrator Eye Dropper

Illustrator Eye Dropper

The Illustrator Eye Dropper has never represented the color of a placed or embedded image accurately.

 

[Bowner]

As I remember, HP Indigo does have its own PMS recipe library and you may enter the custom spot colours in its front end. If you have sent the file that has known spot colours in it and if it's requested to be printed cmyk, Indigo's RIP will match it to book colour "as close as possible" or convert it to the custom recipe, if such available before hand.
I would recommend to convert spots to desired cmyk values before sending to press.

 

[tobias]

As I remember, HP Indigo does have its own PMS recipe library and you may enter the custom spot colours in its front end. If you have sent the file that has known spot colours in it and if it's requested to be printed cmyk, Indigo's RIP will match it to book colour "as close as possible" or convert it to the custom recipe, if such available before hand.
I would recommend to convert spots to desired cmyk values before sending to press.

This is correct. Apply the required PMS spot and set the job to be ripped with PMS simulation. Depending on settings the RIP will create a process color or Indichrome (7-color) blend.