Expert: Amy - 4/22/2009

Question
QUESTION: Illustrator 9,  
I  created a Test file, Doc Color mode is RGB,  make a square, fill it with
Red, R 209, G 31, B 47,   and save it as an EPS 6, PS 3 file. (this is for our Roland printer.)

When I open it again (in llustrator 9) Doc Color mode is  now CMYK,  the color as RGB values have changed  
R 209, G 32, B 48.
What do I need to do to make sure the colours stay the same?
(If the colours change  the printer cant find the Cut path line which has a specific PMS colour?)
Thanks for your help in this
Ian Campbell

ANSWER: Ian.

You should work in CMYK color mode. Avoid working in RGB when preparing jobs for print. RGB is not pigment or ink based... it is light based, so your colors will not be representative of your printed result... and it will separate wrong, too.

RGB colors do not all have CMYK equivalents. When your conversion is being made, the RGB color you made is being converted to the closest representative CMYK color.

Convert the document to CMYK. Change the red to a CMYK 0/99/90/2. That's pretty close the to RGB values you specified.

The cut paths are spot colors. They should not be affected unless you are converting spots to CMYK on save.

If you'd like, you can send me the file and I will take a look to see that it's set up right.

I have CS3. I can open a 9 and save back down to a 9 for you.

AmyLynPace@yahoo.com

-Amy





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Amy,  Thanks for your quick help
5 years ago when I started with this (Roland) inkjet printer I was told to keep all the files in RGB, and let the printer sort out the CMYK.  Reasons were RGB has wider gamut, and smaller files. That is also the way most local printers work.
    I have a swatch that has our standard colours (to match our coloured vinlys), and that was saved as a (DocCSpace RGB) AI file.
   
     (Document Colour Mode = RGB),
     (Assign Profile as Working RGB (Monitor profile)),
     Color Settings,
     Custom,  Working Space √ Advanced,
     RGB = Monitor, CMYK = U.S. Web Coated (SWOP)v2
     Colour mamangement RGB Off, CMYK Off,
     Conversion Options Engine = Adobe (ACE)
     Intent = Relative Colormetric
     √  Use black point compensation

When I make up and save a client file as an EPS vs6 PS3. When I open it again in Illustrator 9  the Document Colour Mode gets changed from RGB to CMYK. (Colours get changed a  bit)
What do I have to do to get consistency and keep EPS files as RGB ?

Answer
Ian,

I honestly don't know about vinyl cutters. When we work for print (paper, etc.) it is taboo to work in RGB. And yeah, the files are huge. But we can work around that. It's not really the problem.

Anyway, as to why Illustrator would open as CMYK when it was saved as RGB... I'd like to investigate. The key could be in how you are saving it or profiles interfering or... I'd like to look at it and I've still got a working copy of 9. Please send a file to me at AmyLynPace@yahoo.com  Don't worry, I won't share it or use it. Make sure you tell me the intended RGB color(s) so I can see if it shifts for me.

Have you tried resetting the AI preferences and color settings as a starting point? With AI not running, locate the AIprefs and AI Color Settings files on your machine and delete both. You can move the AI Color Settings to your desktop if you need to save it for some reason. It can always be placed back into the Settings folder if this does not solve the problem. Again, any swapping or deleting of preference/settings files needs to be done when AI is not running.

And just to clarify, you are only opening, correct? And you see the shift immediately? You aren't placing into an existing file or pasting into an existing file?

-Amy