Expert: Glen Demers - 4/20/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I've converted a bunch of PageMaker files to InDesign CS4.

I am on a Mac PPC 2.O using System X 10.4 and Adobe Type 1 fonts. The fonts are in the System 9.4 folder when using PageMaker and directly in the 10.4 folder when using InDesign.

The black text in these documents prints dark and what I consider normally when printed from PageMaker, or a PDF created with PageMaker. Therefore, it can't be a problem with the printer.

However, the same text prints lighter and perhaps thinner when printed from InDesign or a PDF created from InDesign.

I have experimented with every setting I could find to change with no difference. What am I missing?

Thank you for any suggestions.

ANSWER: Hi Richard,

Check the text color in PageMaker and InDesign and also the make up of the color swatch. Black text should be CMYK mode - 0% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 0% Yellow and 100% Black. The default black in Photoshop is a mixture of all 4 colors and only about 70% black while some text files imported from Microsoft Word have text in 'Auto' color, which is a Black made up of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.

Black text made up from more than one color will appear darker and also bolder.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more InDesign tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm

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

QUESTION: "Check the text color in PageMaker and InDesign and also the make up of the color swatch. Black text should be CMYK mode - 0% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 0% Yellow and 100% Black."

Hi, I've checked the make up the black used in both PageMaker and InDesign. They are both in CMYK mode - 0% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 0% Yellow and 100% Black.

However, the text looks dark black in PageMaker, and washed out, almost dark grey, in InDesign. There is some text, as a spot color, in blue. The same problem affects this text. It is lighter and thinner.

I have placed a PDF file on our web site. It contains two copies of the same page. The first page in the PDF file was generated with PageMaker. The second page was created with InDesign. The PM page prints out darker, for both the black and blue text, than the ID page.

If you are interested, you can download it by clicking:
http://www.R-A.org/PM-ID_TestPages.pdf

Do you think changing any of the "Color Setting" will make a difference? The current setting are:
RGB=Off
CMYK=Preserve
Engine=Adobe
Intent=Perceptual

Thank you for your time and help.

ANSWER: Hi Richard,

I looked into the pdf and the first page is in RGB color mode and the second page is CMYK. I'm assuming the first page is from Pagemaker. Look for settings in your print dialog or pdf distiller that control color and set it to "Leave Unchanged" or set it to a CMYK profile such as SWOP.

The blue text, in addition to being RGB and darker than the CMYK text, is rendered fatter on page 1. I know InDesign has a more sophisticated type engine than PageMaker, so it may be reading hinting values in the text that are hidden or unreadable by PageMaker. The black text looks to be the same in both pages, other than the color issue.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more InDesign tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm

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

QUESTION: "I looked into the pdf and the first page is in RGB color mode and the second page is CMYK. I'm assuming the first page is from Pagemaker. Look for settings in your print dialog or pdf distiller that control color and set it to "Leave Unchanged" or set it to a CMYK profile such as SWOP."

Yes, the first page is from PM. The second, lighter page is from ID. Therefore, it seems clear that the difference is being caused by the PM page being rendered and printed in RGB color mode, while the ID page is in CMYK color mode.

Now the question is, "How do I get ID to render and print all these documents in the same RGB color mode that PM used?" I've tried changing the "Transparency Blend Space" to RGB, and the print color profile to "Adobe RGB (1998)" to no avail.

Do you have any suggestions about how to get ID to render and print the converted PM documents in the same RGB color mode that PM used?

I created the font used for the blue text in Fontographer over 12 years ago. I suspect that if ID could be set to print in the same RGB color mode that PM used, it also would look the same as it did in PM.

Just to make this clear, I want the ID documents to look as they did when printed from PM.

Once again,
Thank you!

Answer
Hi Richard,

To create RGB PDF's go to File>Export... and choose Adobe PDF for the format. In the next dialog box select "Output" from the options on the left. In the Color section select "Convert to Destination" from the pop-up menu next to Color Conversion. For Destination just choose an RGB profile, I would try Colormatch RGB or Apple RGB to start with as they have especially large gamuts.

If the blue text still doesn't match you can add a stroke in InDesign and adjust the weight or maybe go back to Fontographer to make a bolder version.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more InDesign tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm