Re: Soft proofing spot colors (PMS)
Re: Soft proofing spot colors (PMS)
- Subject: Re: Soft proofing spot colors (PMS)
- From: Marco Ugolini <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:30:29 -0800
- Thread-topic: Soft proofing spot colors (PMS)
In a message dated 1/31/10 2:35 AM, Maarten van der Spek wrote:
> Hi forum members,
> I would like to know how to get the best soft proofing from spot
> colors (PMS) in InDesign and Illustrator.
> - Must Proof Colors on or off and what is the impact of the chosen
> color profile on the preview of spot colors (ISO Coated v2 ECI; PSO
> Uncoated ISO12647 ECI; ISO Uncoated Yellowish)?
> - Is the paper simulated by the used color swatch / color library
> (Pantone solid coated; Pantone solid matte; Pantone solid uncoated)?
> - Should Overprint preview be on to make a proper impression of the
> spot colors? And why is there so much difference in color when this
> feature is enabled.
> - Profiles should be removed or does it not matter?
> Thanks all for the information about spot colors and color management.
As far as continuous-tone (CT) colors (CMYK process colors, not spot), they
are handled in Illustrator and InDesign similarly to Photoshop.
I would advise that you preview spot colors not on screen, but on a hard
proof from an inkjet connected to a RIP that is capable of handling spot
colors separately from the rest of the image's contents, and has been
carefully prepared to do that by a capable operator. (ColorBurst offers that
function, as do EFI ColorProof and GMG's offerings, and other RIPs which I
haven't used). Comparing spot colors between the display and actual PANTONE
patches is difficult, to say the least, unless you use a tightly controlled
viewing environment (which is not a usual situation in most design
environments).
As for the Overprint Preview in Illustrator, my impression of it is that it
shows SOMETHING, but that that something appears wildly inaccurate. I rarely
see a good reason to use it. If I want to identify areas of overprint and
transparency (say, in a document I receive from someone else), I prefer to
activate Flattener Preview temporarily, then I go back to normal preview
mode.
Profiles should NOT be removed. What that would do is remove the proper
profile for the document and cause the preview to use the application's
default profile for the chosen color mode (CMYK, in this case). This is
likely to alter substantially the appearance of the CT items in the
document, making them look incorrect.
If you insist on previewing the spot colors on the display, you MUST
activate the "Use Lab values specified by the book manufacturer" option
under Swatches [palette, or panel] > Spot Color Options. That will cause the
spot colors to be previewed differently from the rest of the file, directly
in Lab, independently of the active profile.
Marco Ugolini
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