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Colour changes when exporting to PDF


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Hello,

I have not found a way of exporting to a pdf from Publisher without it changing the colors. I have a test image (Digital Masters) in Publisher with the document color format CMYK/8. I have exported in all nine pdf formats and, while there are small colour differences among them, ALL of them have pinker flesh tones than the image in Publisher. I have also tried many variants, for example making sure that conversion is done to the document space. I have used both PDFSAM and Foxit as the pdf applications from which I print and the results are the same. I have the color locked in Publisher. I checked by unlocking and it was, as expected, CMYK. I use a calibrated NEC Spectraview monitor and create my own ICC profiles for printing on a Canon PRO-100 printer. The prints are indistinguishable from what I see on the monitor (I do not have a calibrated viewing station so there may very well be slight differences, but too small for me to worry about.) I use color management done by the printer in both cases. Both prints look (as near as I can tell) exactly like their corresponding image on the monitor - but the pdf image is markedly different from the one in Publisher. Can anyone suggest what I have done wrong?

Sincerely,

Robin

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Hello BofG,

Thank you for taking an interest in my problem. I have attached some screen shots.

Pdf test 1 shows the setup. Here I chose linked but I have also tried embedded.

Pdf test 2 and Pdf test 3 show the color as CMYK locked and unlocked).

Pdf test 4 verifies again that it is CMYK.

Pdf test 5 shows my selection of PDF/X-4 and Pdf test 6 shows that I have just gone with the defaults. (I have tried all the other eight different formats. They all have the same problem.)

The image is the Digital Masters test image. It was in a Picture Frame. I have tried several times to upload screenshots of the two images but it has always failed. The ultimate issue for me is if the print from my pdf software looks like the print from Publisher. I use a Canon PROP-100 (calibrated) and the difference is quite marked.

I wish I could print the book from Publisher but I can't as Publisher does not do the imposition required to create signatures.

I have also contacted the PDFsam people to see if they have any clues. I have struggled with this issue for years. In the past I have had to juggle the page number is Publisher so as to get the correct signatures (e.g pages 16,1,2,15 etc) but I am about to produce a 240 page book and this approach would be a nightmare. 

Any suggestions you have would be very welcome.

Robin

Pdf test 1.jpg

Pdf test 2.jpg

Pdf test 3.jpg

Pdf test 4.jpg

Pdf test 5.jpg

Pdf test 6.jpg

Comparison.afpub

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Hello again,

Incredible!! What on earth is going on!?

I have just done two tests. Test one was to use the Microsoft XPS document Writer to create an XPS document from the image (the one I had used in Publisher) I placed in Word. The second test was to print that same image (in Word) using Microsoft to pdf. BOTH created great images, just like the original.

Now I have tried both ways (to XPS and to pdf) printing from Publisher and had very bad results but, printing the same image from Word, creates a great image. So the problem I have been having seems to be at the Publisher end.

What seems very strange to me is that, if I print from Publisher to my Canon PRO-100, then the print is great but if I print using any of the virtual printers (print to pdf, print to XLS etc.) the result is very bad.

Any help will be appreciated.

Robin

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7 hours ago, RobinMcL said:

What seems very strange to me is that, if I print from Publisher to my Canon PRO-100, then the print is great but if I print using any of the virtual printers (print to pdf, print to XLS etc.) the result is very bad.

It's not quite clear to me whether your problem occurs when printing to PDF or when exporting, as you show the export settings, too.
• If export: For the PDF/X-4 preset, also check the "Convert image colour spaces" checkbox directly under the "Embed ICC profile" that is ticked. This way you prevent the image's Adobe RGB profile from getting into the PDF.
• If print-to-PDF: One reason for different output would be that Affinity uses a different PDF library (or handles it different) for print-to-pdf than for export. For print on mac it is the PDF library of macOS, I don't know about Windows but I assume a Windows user will pop-in sooner or later.

Quote

Comparison_RobinMcL.jpg.44be1ad975030e03c8e09b396370e9e3.jpg

Your "Comparison.afpub": Obviously the right image (APub PDF export) shows the image with less modification because it shows more details which aren't visible in the left image ("original"). Which sounds odd since an export process can't add this initially invisible details, also the 'exported' image is slightly larger. Unfortunately both images have the same name, so the name is no hint. Also, if one of the images results from a PDF export, as you write in the caption, I wonder how this embedded jpg was created and possibly modified this way. So currently it is rather guessing what exactly is going on because the situation / setup appears slightly confusing.

7 hours ago, RobinMcL said:

Now I have tried both ways (to XPS and to pdf) printing from Publisher and had very bad results but, printing the same image from Word, creates a great image. So the problem I have been having seems to be at the Publisher end.

It may depend on what feels "great" to you. (to me the right image looks more natural than the left that you call "orginial"). If I export your .afpub with your settings (X4) the resulting PDF shows the same as the .afpub, I guess this PDF appears the same to you, too?  Comparison_ot-x4preset.pdf

I doubt we can compare APub and Word technically with their color handling, in particular since Word & Windows (your OS ?) may work together hidden in the system background while Affinity possible doesn't access their common process. Again, a Windows user might be able to shed more light on this.

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

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I have just discovered something that really worries me and I need to do more investigating before I seek any further response from the Forum.

I do most of my work in my studio which is at the bottom of the garden. But I have a computer in the house though I use it mainly for writing and email etc. However, frustrated out my mind but not wanting to go back to the studio, I "played" around with exporting from Publisher to a pdf. My concern has only been that I want the pdf to look the same (and print the same) as what I see in Publisher. My way of operating is to work with Photo and Publisher to get things the way I want them and then to get this printed and I want it to look like what I does in Publisher. What I found was that, if I exported using PDF/X-1a:2003 as the preset, then the pdfs were (close to) indistinguisable from what I saw in Publisher. I used five different test files, including a pretty challenging gamut test. The pdfs were fantastic. I wondered if, perhaps, when I had been working in my studio, I had not tried the PDF/X-1a:2003 (even though I thought that I had). So I went down today and made certain that I did. The pdfs are not like what I see in Publisher. I'm using the same files and the same software. My head is spinning. The only thing I can think of now is that either Publisher (when it exports) or my pdf software (when it displays) are looking for some profile in some location and NOT finding it. I have had a similar problem (years ago) with my printer.

I did notice that all the profiles that I can see in Publisher are not all located in the same location on my computers.

I will try to find where all the profiles I use are located on each computer and try to make sure that the locations on my studio computer are the same as on the one in the house (where I am getting great pdfs).

I really appreciate all the help I get from the Forum. I have been struggling with color management for over four years now and have never got it to work right. Recently I stumbled into an XPS driver for my printer and, wonderful oh wonderful, now get prints that look the same as on the monitor. But my new project requires that I first create a pdf before printing and this is what has forced me to work with pdfs again.

Thanks.

I'll report back when I have done some more research.

Robin

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  • 1 month later...

Hello,

I have encountered the same problem. Attached I send the file color.afpub (the file has been simplified to such an extent that it only contains the actual problem).

On the bottom of the page are two horizontal rectangles, both 30mm high and overlapping each other for 2mm. Thus, it looks as if there is only one rectangle, but there are two. The upper one is the result of a cropped image and the lower one is a rectangle object that has been created in Publisher.

They are not absolutely black, but almost. The lower rectangle gets the color assigned from the upper rectangle. When checking the color values with the color picker tool, both rectangles show the same CMYK-values.

However, after this page has been exported as a PDF, the two rectangles have different CMYK color values.

This can be easily duplicated when exporting a PDF from this file, opening the exported PDF in Publisher and check the color values with the color picker tool. If I use another PDF editor, I can also detect that the colors are not the same anymore when exported as a PDF.

How is it possible, that the colors change when exported as a PDF? I use Affinity Publisher 1.10.4 on Windows 8.1.

Color.afpub

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I’ve just noted that in the hurry I didn’t select a specific PDF Profile when exporting the content as a PDF. When I export it and select the Print profile (the first one that appears on the list), it seems that the two rectangles remain to have the same color assigned.

What profile will be used if no specific one has been selected?

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Hello,

I'm still struggling with this kind of problem but have made a little progress. I set my document to RGB/16 as Color Format and Adobe RGB (1998) Color Profile. I also checked the "Convert opened files to working space" in the Preferences. When I exported to PDF, I selected PDF (digital - high quality) and (under More) selected Adobe RGB (1998) as the ICC Profile. I have not completed my tests yet but, so far, have been getting good results.

I have also discovered Understanding Color Management by Abhay Sharma and found it very helpful. (I have searched for years for some explanation of color management and asked for suggestions but failed. This book is straightforward and gives a clear explanation.)

I hope this helps.

Robin

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  • 9 months later...
On 1/15/2022 at 12:35 AM, RobinMcL said:

Hello again,

Incredible!! What on earth is going on!?

I have just done two tests. Test one was to use the Microsoft XPS document Writer to create an XPS document from the image (the one I had used in Publisher) I placed in Word. The second test was to print that same image (in Word) using Microsoft to pdf. BOTH created great images, just like the original.

Now I have tried both ways (to XPS and to pdf) printing from Publisher and had very bad results but, printing the same image from Word, creates a great image. So the problem I have been having seems to be at the Publisher end.

What seems very strange to me is that, if I print from Publisher to my Canon PRO-100, then the print is great but if I print using any of the virtual printers (print to pdf, print to XLS etc.) the result is very bad.

Any help will be appreciated.

Robin

You probably have this sorted by now. If not, I will like to mention that I noticed that if you have layer effects applied on a part of your document, the document converts better to pdf if you rasterise the particular layer(s) before exporting.

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  • 1 year later...

I experience the same problem when exporting to pdf. No matter what preset I use, the document still changes colour when it converts to pdf.

We've tried every setting possible and cannot seem to win this. How is this possible??

We work with colour codes with the printing company we use and everytime we experience colour issues due to the pdf colour changing problem. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi @Evette and welcome to the forums,

  1. Is your document RGB or CMYK?
  2. Do the objects added to your document use RGB or CMYK colours?
  3. Which PDF preset are you using to export your file?
  4. Can you upload a sample Affinity file that demonstrates the issue you're experiencing along with the PDF file exported from that document?

Affinity Designer 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1.2344 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1.2344
Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8
MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Magic Mouse

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