CMYK swatches and gamut different in old and new files

[paulb47656008]

I'm having a problem with inconsistent colours between InDesign files. I thought it was limited to a single swatch (CMYK 20/0/100/0) displaying differently in files created a few years ago on a previous version of InDesign and new files created in CC. However, I've noticed today that the entire colour gamut (as displayed in the colour window) subtly changes as I flick between old and new documents. I've worked through the various colour settings to try and find a discrepancy: checked the colour settings, the swatch options, the transparency setup, overprint preview, proof preview, but nothing addresses the issue.

The image below shows the colour window for each file and the RGB values of the swatch from Photoshop. You may not be able to tell but the colours as displayed in the sliders and gamut are also slightly different.

Is there any reason that different files would display colours differently, not just in the document but also in the colour windows?

[rob day · Accepted solution]

Is there any reason that different files would display colours differently, not just in the document but also in the colour windows?

Yes. The assigned CMYK profile and to a lesser extent the Color Settings Conversion Options will affect the display (the conversion of CMYK values to monitor RGB) or a conversion to a chosen destination RGB profile. The destination RGB profile will also affect the final numbers when you convert CMYK color to RGB.

In InDesign the frontmost document's CMYK profile assignment will also affect the document's swatch previews. The difference can be slight or obvious depending on the profile assignments.

Here's your CMYK color with US Sheetfed Coated vs Coated FOGRA27 (I've set Photoshop's document info to Document Profile in lower left corner):

[paulb47656008]

Thanks for your response. It turns out that despite both files having identical options selected in the Colour Settings dialogue box, there was a difference in the Assign Profiles settings. The older file had the CMYK option "Assign Profile: US Web Coated (SWOP) v2" selected rather than "Assign current working space: Coated FOGRA39" etc.

Thanks again!

[rob day]

despite both files having identical options selected in the Colour Settings dialogue box

Right, syncing your Color Settings usually has no affect on existing documents. A document's profile assignments and policies are set at creation.