What file conversion do I use to export a scaleable logo created in InDesign?

[inspired student]

Please help!  I have created my business logo in InDesign.  I am not sure that was the smartest thing to do..... from what I am reading, it is best to create in Illustrator.  How do I convert the work that I already have to scaleable layered versions to work with in Illustrator?  Concerned about printed version as well as on-screen.  Thank you. ...Happy New Year!

[Steve Werner]

It's really not a problem, I think. If the logo is on a page by itself, export it as a PDF. And for programs that don't support PDF, open the PDF in Photoshop, and export a PNG (for use in Office applications, for example). InDesign has PNG export, but I've been told Photoshop does a better job.

[inspired student]

Steve, thank you so VERY much for your quick response!  InDesign does save it in png. However, exporting to your suggestion as pdf then back to Ai preserved all editable layers.   Yay!  NOW I am having issues with color management. The print is not nearly as vibrant as the rgb.  Do you have suggestion for this.  I created in rgb but set output to cmyk.  I had previously reset  my color settings by  following suggested settings from an C6 tutorial. which I  synchronized through Bridge.  Could you recommend your standardized color settings? or give any advice to creation and flow? Thanks again!

[Derek Cross]

Generally speaking CMYK is not as vibrant as RGB, it has a much smaller gamut, particularly with colours like green and orange.

[inspired student]

Thank you for answering Derek!  Could you suggest a way to make my print colour as vibrant as my rgb? It is also less vibrant on my screen now. ...due to not really knowing what I am doing. lol . i have background layer changes, black and no color that i was trying to export for editing purposes as well. Quite frankly , I have changed so many things between programs ID PS PDF and AI that I could not even begin to tell you what I have done.  Now my screen and my print versions are much more dull. Thinking of recreating my logo starting out in Ai.  Could you please suggest a color management workflow that will take me from web output to print output....or point me in the right direction for tutorials, instructionals, etc?   Thank you for your time

[Derek Cross]

This Lynda.com online video tutorial is very good and easy to understand. It covers Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as InDesign: InDesign Insider Training: Color Management

You can get a 10-day free trial.

By the way, as mentioned, you'll never be able to reproduce that bright green with CMYK – that's physics!

[inspired student]

Thanks again Derek!  I will be checking it out in a few minutes.   Wishing you a Happy New Year!  I think I am already off to a great start thanks to you and Steve.

[Derek Cross]

If you create your logo in Illustrator it will be a vector object and therefore scalable. You can also subsequently produce versions for particular uses such as for websites (e.g.PNG24) and for printing (place your native AI file in InDesign).

When you redo your logo in Illustrator I suggest, as well as a colour version, you also produce greyscale and black-line versions for use when colour is not available, such as in newspaper ads (grey-scale), and for foil blocking (black and white line).

[inspired student]

Thank you again Derek! Considering the complexity of pattern under the text, I would be concerned about how a foil-blocking could be made? but I a game for trying it anyway.

[Pickory]

Hi,

I have some experimental plugins that might be able to export this as SVG. But, they are very experimental and I would need your InDesign document and all the assets.

P.

[rob day]

Exporting the page using the default PDF/X-4 preset will leave all color unchanged and keep transparency live. If you are using transparency you can set your Transparency Blend Space to RGB. Here I've exported the doc on the left as PDF/X-4 and placed the PDF on the right doc. Both documents have their Transparency Blend Spaces set to RGB:

But you have to keep in mind that the green I've chosen here is not printable by any CMYK device. If I turn on Overprint Preview the preview shows the expected printed color change given the document's assigned CMYK profile—title bar shows [Overprint Preview]: