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PDF Color Seps
PDF Color Seps: Creating separations with Adobe Acrobat 4
As we noted in our Q&A on PDF Color seps, it is possible to create accurate color separations with Adobe Acrobat. However, it can be tricky and there are a number of caveats. Here are the tests we performed with Acrobat 4.0 and the results we obtained.
- Photoshop CMYK image, saved as CMYK EPS. Distill EPS. Acrobat separates this image correctly.
- Photoshop RGB image, saved as RGB EPS. Distill EPS. Acrobat does not separate this image correctly.
- Adobe Illustrator image, defined as Pantone spot colors and saved as EPS. Distill EPS. Acrobat separates this image correctly.
- Adobe Illustrator image, defined as custom colors and saved as EPS. Distill EPS. Acrobat does not separate this image correctly.
- Distill file with compatibility set to Acrobat 3; attempt to place PDF into QuarkXPress using PDF import Xtension 1.1 or 1.3beta2. Xpress successfully places file.
- Distill file with compatibility set to Acrobat 4; attempt to place PDF into QuarkXPress using PDF import Xtension 1.1 or 1.3beta2. Xpress cannot load file.
- Photoshop CMYK image, saved as Single Page PDF with Zip compression option. QuarkXPress successfully places file.
- Photoshop CMYK image, saved as PDF with JPEG compression option. QuarkXPress cannot place file.
- Any CMYK image placed in QuarkXPress and color separated. Acrobat Distiller separates this image correctly.
- Any RGB image placed in QuarkXPress and color separated. Acrobat Distiller does not separate this image correctly.
- Any (Acrobat 3) PDF file placed in QuarkXPress and color separated with "convert to process" option. Acrobat Distiller separates this image correctly.
- Any (Acrobat 3) PDF file placed in QuarkXPress and output with "composite" or "B&W" option. Acrobat Distiller outputs this image correctly.
- Any (Acrobat 3) PDF file placed in QuarkXPress and color separated with "convert to process" option. Acrobat Distiller separates this image correctly.
- Any (Acrobat 3) PDF file placed in QuarkXPress and color separated with "Process & Spot" option. Acrobat Distiller does not separate the image correctly.
- Any (Acrobat 3) PDF file with embedded fonts placed in QuarkXPress and printed. Acrobat Distiller outputs page correctly.
- Any file with missing fonts placed in QuarkXPress and printed. PostScript driver substitutes Courier when outputting page.
Solutions for the above problems are as follows:
- 2) Problem: Photoshop RGB image. Solution: convert to CMYK in Photoshop (See #1).
- 4) Problem: Adobe Illustrator custom colors. Solution: Convert to Pantone (See #3).
- 6) Problem: Xpress cannot load Acrobat 4 file. Solution: Distill as Acrobat 3 (See #5).
- 8) Problem: XPress can't place PDF with JPEG compression option. Solution: Distill as Acrobat 3 (See #5) or resave from Photoshop as PDF with Zip compression (See #7)
- 10) Problem: RGB images don't separate properly. Solution: convert to CMYK (See #1).
- 14) Problem: PDF file placed in QuarkXPress don't separate as Spot color. Solution: separate with "convert to process" option, selecting desired spot plates. Or, open PDF in Illustrator, etc. and convert to Pantone (See #3).
- 16) Problem: Missing fonts. Solution: Print and/or Distill on machine with fonts available, include fonts with file.
A Definitive Solution
Pitstop Professional is an Acrobat plug-in from Enfocus.com and, now that we've used it to address problems such as those mentioned above, we can't imagine doing without it. This is a must-have add-on if you regularly deal with sending PDFs to a press. with it, you have almost complete editing control over any and all elements on a PDF page. It can resize, re-arrange layers, change fonts, and just about anything else you might want to do. It can convert text or images to CMYK, spot colors or grayscale (etc.) and includes a preflighting feature that allows you to check the resulting output. Free trial versions for Windows PCs or Macs are available at Enfocus.com
Here, for example, is how Pitstop can be used to solve a colour-separation problem such as any of those noted above.
- Step 1: from the Window menu, choose Action List
- Step 2: Choose and Apply "Convert to CMYK" or "Convert to Gray" as appropriate.
- Step 3: From Window menu, choose Preflight
- Step 4: Choose Press Optimized
- Step 5: Choose Generate Report
- Step 6: Read and heed errors, especially as related to color.
Other actionlist items can be downloaded from the Enfocus website, for additional flexibility.
There's also a Global Change feature than can come in rather handy at times.
For Further Reading
- Q&A on PDF Color seps
- Add-ons for Adobe Acrobat 4 - a roundup of color separation, imposition and preflighting tools.
- Techniques - a collection of hot graphics tips and cool techniques
- Inkjet & Laser Printers - Ink-jet printers and color lasers.
- PC Productivity - Reviews of graphics software packages and more.
- Storage Devices - Mass storage solutions for PC and Mac, including CD-R, Zip, optical media, SparQ, LS-120 and much more.
Press release: Corel integrates Adobe® PDF Technology into Graphics and DTP products
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