Working with color profiles, About color profiles – Adobe Illustrator CS4 User Manual
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USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Color management
In general, you have the following choices for handling colors when creating PDFs:
•
(PDF/X-3) Does not convert colors. Use this method when creating a document that will be printed or displayed
on various or unknown devices. When you select a PDF/X-3 standard, color profiles are automatically embedded
in the PDF.
•
(PDF/X-1a) Converts all colors to the destination CMYK color space. Use this method if you want to create a press-
ready file that does not require any further color conversions. When you select a PDF/X-1a standard, no profiles
are embedded in the PDF.
•
(Illustrator and InDesign) Converts colors that have embedded profiles to the destination color space, but preserves
the numbers for those colors without embedded profiles. You can manually select this option in the Output section
of the PDF dialog box. Use this method if the document contains CMYK images that aren’t color-managed and you
want to make sure that the color numbers are preserved.
Note: All spot color information is preserved during color conversion; only the process color equivalents convert to the
designated color space.
See also
Working with color profiles
About color profiles
Precise, consistent color management requires accurate ICC-compliant profiles of all of your color devices. For
example, without an accurate scanner profile, a perfectly scanned image may appear incorrect in another program,
simply due to any difference between the scanner and the program displaying the image. This misleading
representation may cause you to make unnecessary, time-wasting, and potentially damaging “corrections” to an
already satisfactory image. With an accurate profile, a program importing the image can correct for any device
differences and display a scan’s actual colors.
A color management system uses the following kinds of profiles:
Monitor profiles
Describe how the monitor is currently reproducing color. This is the first profile you should create
because viewing color accurately on your monitor allows for critical color decisions in the design process. If what you
see on your monitor is not representative of the actual colors in your document, you will not be able to maintain color
consistency.
Input device profiles
Describe what colors an input device is capable of capturing or scanning. If your digital camera
offers a choice of profiles, Adobe recommends that you select Adobe RGB. Otherwise, use sRGB (which is the default
for most cameras). Advanced users may also consider using different profiles for different light sources. For scanner
profiles, some photographers create separate profiles for each type or brand of film scanned on a scanner.
Output device profiles
Describe the color space of output devices like desktop printers or a printing press. The color
management system uses output device profiles to properly map the colors in a document to the colors within the
gamut of an output device’s color space. The output profile should also take into consideration specific printing
conditions, such as the type of paper and ink. For example, glossy paper is capable of displaying a different range of
colors than matte paper.
Most printer drivers come with built-in color profiles. It’s a good idea to try these profiles before you invest in custom
profiles.