gordo

I think I know what the problem may be. Although the PDF has an embedded profile it does not have a rendering intent embedded (I believe that InDesign calls this "Output Intent Profile Name") When Acrobat opens the PDF it expects to see a rendering intent (likely true for many RIPs). If it does not see the rendering intent then it simply ignores the embedded profile and assigns an arbitrary profile and 100K gets rendered as a 4/C rich black. Depending on how a prepress RIP is set up, you will either correctly get 1 black plate or you will incorrectly get 4 plates (one for each of the colors in the now rich black) PhotoShop (a simple RIP) opens the Publisher PDF and displays it correctly as a CMYK file with image content only in the K channel. Affinity Photo, on the other hand, opens the PDF and displays it as a CMYK file with image content in all channels. I.e. Affinity Photo converts the one color (K) PDF into 4/C (rich black) I can't see a way in Publisher to embed the rendering intent (as can be done in InDesign) which would eliminate the issue. So this lack of ability to embed the rendering intent will be problematic in production with folks getting unpredictable results. :-(

Please see attached vid and its PDF I also tried duplicating the steps that you followed in your video. But I did not get the same result as you did :-( I have no idea why it's not working for me. :-( Hang on, I have an idea. I'll get back in a moment. Testing_K_only.mov Test.pdf

This bug has been there over many versions. Considering it's a key issue one would have expected it to be dealt with by now.

Goofy. I downloaded the .238 version and again, the black issue is still there :-(

1.7.0.227 is the most current version (MAC OS) - downloaded it this morning and checked again just now and Affinity Publisher says I'm up to date. Maybe it's different on Windows?

1.7.0.227 The black bug continues :-(

Good, because it’s a show stopper if it’s not fixed. And just to be clear, this refers to a K only graphic in a CMYK document that’s exported as a PDF.

Tried that. Doesn't make any difference. The problem remains. :-(

Bizarre.

Yes. Is your drop shadow K only? Seps.pdf

OK, That's a major bug. See attached view of the seps using the pdf/x-4 stock profile Seps.pdf

I was using PDF for print. When I use the pdf/x-4 stock profile the text is 100K over printing a 4/c drop shadow. Which is still wrong. Seps.pdf

Sorry, but I didn't use the swatches palette. I specified the text as 100% K. Your version appears identical to mine. And when I export yours as a PDF it also converts from 100K to 4/C and the same wrong profile is embedded. I.e. There is no difference between your file and mine.

A CMYK document in Black only (100K text/50%K drop shadow) with GRACoL profile selected and embedded still converts to a 4/C Black when exported as a PDF and the embedded profile changes to US Sheetfed Coated V2. Testing K only.afpub Testing K only.pdf

Ah, a user bug. I'll have to talk to my developers about it.LOL I've never had that option with other apps so I never looked for it.