How to change text color in the entire document (AP)

[Fantomas.CZ]

Hi,

I'm currently switching from Adobe InDesign to Affinity Publisher. In InDesign, when I wanted to change the text color in the entire document, I just did search and replace, left the search query empty, searched for a certain format (text color in this case) and replaced it with another format. It worked like charm.

However, in Affinity Publisher, this method doesn't work. When I leave the search query empty and set the color in the Format dialog, it simply doesn't find anything, so I cannot do the replace. Also, the color picker here doesn't work (1.7.3.481). It finds the color, but is doesn't transfer it into the Format dialog.

In InDesign, I could also delete any unwanted color from the swatch and InDesign asked me for a color to replace it with. This also doesn't seem to work in Affinity Publisher...

Am I doing something wrong, or is this function really missing?

Thanks for the reply and have a great day everyone!

[Callum]

Hi Fantomas,

Welcome to the forums,

As far as I'm aware the only way to do this would be to apply a text style to all of your text and then editing the colour of the text style. You can see a screen recording demonstrating this below.

Thanks

Callum

[lacerto]

(...)

[Fantomas.CZ]

Thank you both for the reply!

@Callum: I'm using two basic colors: black and red. Of course, I want the black to be K:100, however if I convert RGB 0:0:0 to CMYK, I get 72:68:67:88 and not 0:0:0:100, as I would logically like to have... For some reason, it seems that the program converts it to K:100 on output, so this is no big deal in this very case.

@Lagarto: Thanks a lot, that seems to be a solution, at least for most cases I need. I tried searching for CMYK K:100, which was not a problem, but this strange value CMYK 72:68:67:88 did not find anything... Never mind.

[mac_heibu]

The color conversion from 190% K to rich black is completely normal. There are thousand ways to convert to CMYK black according to the chosen color profile. Nobody can know, which black you are preferring. The only way to avoid this and convert RGB black to K100 is a „device-N“ workflow, but the needed profiles are really expensive.

[R C-R]

17 hours ago, mac_heibu said:

There are thousand ways to convert to CMYK black according to the chosen color profile. Nobody can know, which black you are preferring.

FWIW, this is because the RGB & CMYK color modes create visible colors in two entirely different ways. As explained in (for example) this ShutterStock article, RGB colors are created using an additive process while CMYK colors are produced using a subtractive process.

[mac_heibu]

@R C-R: In my first answer in this thread I posted the explanation of this inavoidable „conversion issue“:

 

[Fantomas.CZ]

On 1/3/2020 at 7:16 PM, mac_heibu said:

The color conversion from 190% K to rich black is completely normal. There are thousand ways to convert to CMYK black according to the chosen color profile. Nobody can know, which black you are preferring. The only way to avoid this and convert RGB black to K100 is a „device-N“ workflow, but the needed profiles are really expensive.

Well of course, that's why I want an easy option how to adjust the conversion results. Or when I simply change my mind and decide to change one format in a structured text to another, say the blue italics to violet bold in the entire 50-page document... And in InDesign, there is an easy option for that, in Affinity Publisher, there's not. The conversion process has never been the problem of mine. Still, thanks for the reply.

[Fantomas.CZ]

On 1/4/2020 at 12:49 PM, R C-R said:

FWIW, this is because the RGB & CMYK color modes create visible colors in two entirely different ways. As explained in (for example) this ShutterStock article, RGB colors are created using an additive process while CMYK colors are produced using a subtractive process.

Sure. RGB 255:255:255 kind of corresponds to CMYK 0:0:0:0, then the colors are different. There is no question about that. It would however stand to reason to convert RGB 0:0:0 to 100K and not 72:68:67:88. Not to mention that this combination depletes all the color toners and the result is not that nice (not pure black, but some kind of greyish "black," at least on the OKI printer I'm using.

However, again, that's not a problem. I just want to be able to easily change the color in the entire document. However, as color swatches and handling have been a subject of some complaints and wishes, maybe @Affinity will look into that.

[R C-R]

8 minutes ago, Fantomas.CZ said:

It would however stand to reason to convert RGB 0:0:0 to 100K and not 72:68:67:88.

If the black ink used in the printing process was 100% absorptive (reflected no light at all) and 100% opaque, that would be a reasonable assumption. But no usable real-world black inks are either of those things. (There are a few "super black" materials like Vantablack, but for obvious reasons they cannot be used in conventional printing processes.)

For this reason various ink mixtures (rich blacks & the like) are used to produce darker, deeper blacks in printed material. But since there are practical limits to how much ink various papers & other media will accept without causing problems, there is no one "universal" mixture that is suitable for everything. 

[Fantomas.CZ]

On 1/6/2020 at 12:41 PM, R C-R said:

If the black ink used in the printing process was 100% absorptive (reflected no light at all) and 100% opaque, that would be a reasonable assumption. But no usable real-world black inks are either of those things. (There are a few "super black" materials like Vantablack, but for obvious reasons they cannot be used in conventional printing processes.)

For this reason various ink mixtures (rich blacks & the like) are used to produce darker, deeper blacks in printed material. But since there are practical limits to how much ink various papers & other media will accept without causing problems, there is no one "universal" mixture that is suitable for everything. 

Sure, that makes a lot of sense. Actually I wonder if it even looked nice, if there was a Vantablack printing dye...

However I'm sure I like the black ink in my printer, therefore I'd like to have it render all black text and graphics. Therefore the need to convert whatever the RGB -> CMYK conversion spits out, whatever my OCR software spits out.. to the 100 K black. Or any other color. But thanks for the conversion chat anyway 

[R C-R]

5 minutes ago, Fantomas.CZ said:

However I'm sure I like the black ink in my printer, therefore I'd like to have it render all black text and graphics.

Which black ink do you mean? If your printer is a typical consumer inkjet type, it probably has 2 black ink tanks, or a 'combo' CMYK one plus a separate black only one. 

[Fantomas.CZ]

11 hours ago, R C-R said:

Which black ink do you mean? If your printer is a typical consumer inkjet type, it probably has 2 black ink tanks, or a 'combo' CMYK one plus a separate black only one. 

This is the OKI MC563, so it has 4 separate cartridges for CMYK toners. Also, for some reason, the pure black text looks way better than the "composite" black text, the details are way better, which is probably explained by the way the color printing is done...