InDesign, Changing Spot Colour Builds from Links

[Stephen Marsh]

This issue has bugged me for a while, so I thought that I would ask others on how they deal with the issue...

A spot colour is defined in an Illustrator link and placed into InDesign. Say for example the colour is built using 70m 100y. Both Illustrator and InDesign agree that the colour is 70m100y - visually and numerically.

At a later point, the spot colour build is changed to say 100m100y in the Illustrator file.

The link is updated in InDesign. The graphic visually appears to be the new saturated red of 100my - however, the swatches palette/panel indicates the original value of 70m100y and the colour is gray/locked for editing the build in InDesign.

A PDF exported still has the visual colour of 70m100y, despite the InDesign preview showing 100m100y...so the swatches palette is incorrect, it does not reflect the values in the build in the source file.

When the PDF file that looks like 70m100y is opened into Illustrator, the spot colour build visually looks like 100my and the spot colour build is 100my.

This is crazy...

Running CS3 Products, Tiger on PPC.


Cheers!

Stephen Marsh

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Yes and no…why are you not using global colour instead of spot colour?
The way it works is that the first time you add a spot colour to a document, or if you create a swatch with a specific name, once you use that for a link you will be bound to that definition till you delete all links with instances of that name.
This is the same for CS4 and CS5.

If you create a spot colour called "logo" and define it blue, place a red logo with the spot colour "logo" in output preview or export it will be the blue first defined. This can be a powerful feature. By defining the CMYK values for colours you want to use in the Indd before importing graphics you can decide on the global appearance of spot colour with that name. If you do not want to be boud by it the correct method would be to change the colour in Illustrator from spot to process, you can leave it global.

Many people make spot colours in illustrator when they should be making global process colours.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Yes and no…why are you not using global colour instead of spot colour?

Thank you for the reply Lukas! I know that you likely know these answers/replies, however I will play "devils advocate"... I presume that you say "yes and no" to my assertion that this inconsistent behaviour is crazy.

I understand what you say and that this is all intended and "by design". I guess that I am really questioning the design - despite the benefits. It is not often that I point to QuarkXpress and wish that InDesign had similar behaviour, however when it comes to this spot colour handling issue I sometimes do for simplicity sake.

A lot of the stationery work that we print is spot colour. Clients supply the files in many cases. In some other cases I may create the files. Although it does not matter when we create separations, it matters for "proofing". Even more importantly, if we run the job as a digital print instead of on press due to a client changing their mind about budget, quantity or delivery time, then colour builds become more important.

Many folk who supply art to us start with a "blank canvas" in InDesign. They import graphics, which then brings in their spot colour. They then paint native InDesign elements with the same spot colour that is used in their imported graphics. If the spot colour needs to have the colour build changed, if one does this in Illustrator, then when the link is updated the colour build in InDesign does not match the new colour defined in Illustrator, it retains the original build.

Global Process swatches are not added to the colour palette in InDesign. Spot colours are added to the list in InDesign, which facilitates artwork creation in InDesign as the colour assets are automatically generated upon import - there is no need to manually set-up the colours a second time directly in InDesign (with the real potential for errors in colour names or build values).

The way it works is that the first time you add a spot colour to a document, or if you create a swatch with a specific name, once you use that for a link you will be bound to that definition till you delete all links with instances of that name.
This is the same for CS4 and CS5.

Another option that I have used is to append or remove an appended digit or letters to the colour name in the linked graphic, so that it is no longer "synchronised" to the colour in InDesign and it is then "unlocked" in InDesign.

If you create a spot colour called "logo" and define it blue, place a red logo with the spot colour "logo" in output preview or export it will be the blue first defined. This can be a powerful feature. By defining the CMYK values for colours you want to use in the Indd before importing graphics you can decide on the global appearance of spot colour with that name. If you do not want to be boud by it the correct method would be to change the colour in Illustrator from spot to process, you can leave it global.

I can make the new "correct" spot colour in InDesign, then use the Ink Manager in the print set-up to "alias" the imported graphics ink to the correct new spot colour created in InDesign...this appears to be automatically linked to the Ink Manager when exporting a PDF.

I think that I understand the power of the feature in InDesign, however it does not appear to always be helpful. I just get a bit sick of aliasing inks as a work around I guess!

I understand that it can be "easier" to simply set-up the new correct colour in InDesign and then to alias/map the incorrect Illustrator colours to this new ink - as opposed to going into many different Illustrator files and ensuring that the colour build and naming is correct. That being said, sometimes updating the Illustrator files seems better and then I wish that InDesign would honour the revised Illustrator colours.

Many people make spot colours in illustrator when they should be making global process colours.

Perhaps, however for many of our clients, it would appear to be unrealistic to expect them to manually set-up the colours in InDesign first, before importing graphics using the same spot colours. Many would stuff up the names and then have many different spot colours in the job when they only need one. Others may stuff up the colour builds and wonder why different assets have different colours when they should all be the "same".

My apologies for the rambling reply Lukas!


Cheers,

Stephen Marsh

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

np I understand the ramble, and that is why I included the "yes" in my answer.

Lett's dream together... would be great to have a way like with a book file to synchronise colours, so that editing the swatch would be an option in InDesign, and then from the flyout menu a "syc spot colours in all links".