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Color change when placing an eps file in inDesign

Explorer ,
Jun 14, 2013 Jun 14, 2013

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Hi everyone, I've created a document for a poster. I add some shapes setting all the CMYK colors for each... plus text etc.

I then place an eps file (logo) which was set with the same CMYK colors used on some of the shapes. Everything looks good.

When I export to PDF the logo I placed now looks different... the color that was the same is quite different from the shapes I added and filled in inDesign. Thoughts?

I had never experienced this before moving to CS6. Is it a color management thing?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

Nelson

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Jun 17, 2013 Jun 17, 2013

Any thoughts would still be appreciated if you have an idea of what might be happening.

EPS doesn't have color management capabilities. Make sure the assigned CMYK profiles of your illustrator and InDesign documents are the same (Edit>Assign Profiles). Then resave as .ai and include the profile

Screen Shot 2013-06-17 at 7.14.51 PM.png

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Community Expert ,
Jun 14, 2013 Jun 14, 2013

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Most likely. The .eps file probably has an embedded color profile that differs from the ID working space and your color settings are set to preserve profiles or convert the color to the working profile on import. When you open Separations Preview do you see the numbers you expect in file?

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New Here ,
Jun 15, 2013 Jun 15, 2013

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Is your illustrator file set to Document CMYK or Document RGB?  Illy will allow you to put in CMYK values into an RGB document.  It just converts them over to RGB.

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Explorer ,
Jun 17, 2013 Jun 17, 2013

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Hi Peter and Fred, thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Fred, the Illustrator doc is set to CMYK. Peter I checked out the separations view and didn't seen any odd colours... all expected.

One interesting thing did help me move ahead. Instead of placing the eps, I went to illustrator, selected the logo parts, copied and pasted into inDesign. Then I was able to select each part and change the colour back. It's like inDesign isn't reading the colours from Ilustrator properly. The nice thing is that this allowed me to complete the project and it looks right. The bad part is I still don't know why it's doing this. I have never had this issue in CS5.

Any thoughts would still be appreciated if you have an idea of what might be happening.

Have a great day and thanks again.

Nelson

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Community Expert ,
Jun 17, 2013 Jun 17, 2013

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Why do you use eps at all? Use ai.

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Explorer ,
Jun 17, 2013 Jun 17, 2013

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It's the file I got from the original designer.

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Community Expert ,
Jun 17, 2013 Jun 17, 2013

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Any thoughts would still be appreciated if you have an idea of what might be happening.

EPS doesn't have color management capabilities. Make sure the assigned CMYK profiles of your illustrator and InDesign documents are the same (Edit>Assign Profiles). Then resave as .ai and include the profile

Screen Shot 2013-06-17 at 7.14.51 PM.png

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Explorer ,
Jun 18, 2013 Jun 18, 2013

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That's awesome Rob! That did it. I made the change and saved as .ai and we're all good now. Thanks to you and everyone else who took the time to help me out.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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This did not work for me, is there something different on the CC version?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Nope, but since InDesign 2.0 you should not use EPS anymore. Nothing changed.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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What do you suggest, since i have reserved the file as an ai file and have followed the above steps however i have not had success. I have checked the transparency and there is none but when i bring the AI file into indesign the color still changes into something completely different. When i place it on a white background the correct colors appear. Again the file does NOT have a transparency.

Any suggestions?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Is the .AI file CMYK or RGB—check Illustrator's File>Document Color mode

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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cmyk

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New Here ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Hello Rob,

I am having the same issue as Franchesca. Very interested in finding out if the same solution works for me as well.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Can either of you provide the problem ID and AI files via Dropbox?

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New Here ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Hi again. I've been tinkering around. I synched all my Adobe apps via Bridge and a spot color popped up in the Indesign Separations Palette. (this eps file is from another designer. So, what appears to be 70% black in the color palette also has a spot color in is somehow. In other words, if I turn on the black and spot color separations, I can see a change when I turn off the spot color separation.

I'm not sure if this is all that helpful, but seems to be a clue to something - of what, I know not.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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spot color popped up in the Indesign Separations Palette

Yes if the AI file uses a Pantone spot color and the color was spec'd from an older Pantone book, the color would change to the newer spot definition when you place the AI file. If you don't plan on printing the spot color as an extra plate change it to process in the Illustrator file.

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New Here ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Not seeing the spot in the Illustrator file. How do I send you an invite to the dropbox?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Put the files in a folder, and drop it in your Dropbox Public folder and share the link. If you look in your Public folder there are instructions.

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New Here ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Hey Rob, Just so you know, Dave and i are having the same issues. Him and I work together.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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So the ID file you posted has a missing .PSD linked file, and there are no spot colors. The AI file, which is not placed in the ID file, also has no spots. If I place it in the ID file I don't see a color change.

When i place it on a white background the correct colors appear.

The appearance of any color can change depending on its background. Is that what you are seeing? Here all of the greens have the same values

Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 11.34.33 AM.png

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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on our computer the grey part looks teal on the black background. The spot color only appears in our separations palette. no where else and on top of that the spot color is brown. which further confuses us as to why we get Teal.

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New Here ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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Notice the bottom left version - logo on black background. The Martha Pullen, the needle, and the Licensing are not visible. It's as if those elements have some kind of transparency filter on them or something. I've looked, but I don't see that setting anywhere on those elements.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2016 Jan 19, 2016

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It's as if those elements have some kind of transparency

The AI file has some fills and strokes set to Overprint, so that might affect the color when it is on top of a page item. Open the AI file, Select All, uncheck Overprint Fill/Stroke, and resave.

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