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patd221
patd221
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Pantones turn black when PDF opened in Preview

Jun 28, 2012 9:02 AM

Screen Shot 2012-06-28 at 11.57.58 AM.png

I am creating mockups for a t-shirt design, this top photo is how the design looks in illustrator with the correct pantones: blue 3115C, Red 119C, and Black.

 

When I save it as a PDF and it is opened in the Preview Application, certain colors turn black like this:

Screen Shot 2012-06-28 at 11.57.46 AM.png

This has happened several times lately and I have recently switched from Illy CS5 to CS6, so I wonder if that is the reason?

 

Any clues guys? Help is greatly appreciated.

2174 Views   7 Replies   Latest reply: tj_harley, Jan 31, 2013 2:01 PM
 
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  • EricaLynneLarson
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    1. EricaLynneLarson,
    Jun 28, 2012 9:07 AM   in reply to patd221
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    Have you tried viewing it in another pdf viewer like Acrobat? Might be worth it to see if it's happening across programs or just with Preview.

     
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  • patd221
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    2. patd221,
    Jun 28, 2012 9:09 AM   in reply to EricaLynneLarson
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    It opens fine in Adobe Reader, it could just be a problem with Preview then?

     
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  • [Jongware]
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    3. [Jongware],
    Jun 28, 2012 9:32 AM   in reply to patd221
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    Apple's Preview is one of the worst PDF viewers ever. Standard advice for just about every problem is "use the FREE Adobe Reader instead".

     

    That said, I'm intrigued:

     

    > I have recently switched from Illy CS5 to CS6, so I wonder if that is the reason?

     

    Can you test this?

     

    A PMS ink does not "have" a color to display on screen, since the ink name in itself is enough to unambiguously identify it (when printing as color separations, to be exact). But (1) one would appreciate a fairly accurate preview, and (2) sometimes one needs to convert a PMS ink to its nearest equivalent in CMYK. For that reason, an approximation of the ink used should be stored into the PDF as well. I can't imagine Adobe forgot about that for CS6 (if so, your file won't work with Reader either), but maybe they switched it to a notation that poor dumb Preview cannot handle. In that case, I'm curious about what the difference could be.

     

    If you can create a small file that demonstrably works correct in Preview when exported from CS5 and *not* from CS6, can you post both PDFs somewhere?

     
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  • Russell Goodman
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    4. Russell Goodman,
    Jun 28, 2012 9:43 AM   in reply to [Jongware]
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    The problem is with Preview (and for that matter, viewing a PDF within Mac Mail). The program does not have the sophistication to read the spot colors and accurately display them. I've noticed this "problem" before CS6 came along, so the update from CS5 is not the problem.

     

    I've now gotten into the habit of putting a little disclaimer in my emails when sending out PDF proofs: "Please view this PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Reader. Mac's Preview and Mac Mail will not display the spot colors in the PDF correctly."

     
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  • Dorsey Creative
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    5. Dorsey Creative,
    Sep 5, 2012 1:28 PM   in reply to [Jongware]
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    Thanks for the test idea. I've been trying to cope with this same exact issue for a few months now.

     

    Solution: I used a CMYK red from the swatch pallet instead of PMS 485, saved it as a pdf file, attached it in an email and it appeared correctly.

     

    Thank you for your help with this!

     

    One less headache in my life.

     
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  • C.C.R.
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    6. C.C.R.,
    Oct 22, 2012 9:10 AM   in reply to patd221
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    When saving a PDF, try this:

     

    Screen Shot 2012-10-22 at 11.02.17 AM.png

    It turns your spot color into cmyk values thus enabling Preview to read the colors...  (obviously if your end product is spot colors, this won't be the proper file for printing but atleast your client will be able to view it)... And it always is a good idea to place a color disclaimer anyway... All displays preview colors differently... the only way for a client to be able to know what the color will be is to have a Pantone swatch book in their hands... And even then the color will look different based on their lighting, color of the room, etc...

     
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  • tj_harley
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    7. tj_harley,
    Jan 31, 2013 2:01 PM   in reply to patd221
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    Another trick is to select all and then choose Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to CMYK. Then save the PDF. This should do the trick as well.

     
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