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Designer V2 RGB images mixed in with CMYK document?


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I created a document in CMYK and accidentally embedded a one image that was RGB amongst the rest of the images that are all CMYK. The printer picked this up and started whinging about extra work he'd have to do etc etc..

I checked the "convert image colour spaces" checkbox when I exported to PDF but the RGB image didn't get converted on export. Im usually very careful with embedded images but what's the best way to ensure that ALL embedded images are converted to CMYK on export?

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3 hours ago, homeyJay said:

I exported to PDF but the RGB image didn't get converted on export

3 hours ago, homeyJay said:

The printer picked this up and started whinging about extra work he'd have to do etc etc..

Ask the printer if he knows how to handle PDF/X-3 or – even better – PDF/X-4.
If he doesn't, politely tell him that he should educate himself. :) 

In other words, PDF/X-3 or -4 can usually deal with such "issues" all by itself, provided the printer knows what to do with it.

In Affinity though, PDF/X-3 export is slightly suboptimal because it will often flatten (rasterize) objects that don't necessarily need rasterizing.
PDF/X-4 is more flexible and will usually keep most vectors, type, transparencies etc. intact. 

When using PDF/X, make sure not to change any of the default export preset settings except adding or disabling bleed and printer marks.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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1 minute ago, lacerto said:

Wow. I have seen this printer educating stuff before on this forum. It does not start with educating Serif to create standard PDFs.

Huh?

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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Alright.

What I meant is that I've been sending PDF/X-4 documents to print from layouts where I was using RGB photos, and I've never heard of any problems. Of course I have checked the PDFs with Acrobat preflight before sending them. 

It likely depends on where you are.
In Switzerland and in Germany, print shops know how to deal with PDF/X.
Whereas e.g. my buddy in Czechia is required to use some custom joboptions for PDF export from ID (I think he's still using CS4) because the company that is printing the magazine he's laying out apparently doesn't know how to handle anything else. (I don't know the details though…)

As for the existing issues, I don't know how much Serif can fix themselves when they are using PDFLib.

Anyway… :) 

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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6 minutes ago, lacerto said:

kept on reminded by killjoys like me

Keep on doing what you're doing! :) 

That all said, it's all too hypothetical here unless we learn more details about @homeyJay's issues with their documents.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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My only problem is in the first post - I just wanted to know if there was some setting that would make sure that everything that was embedded in a document could be converted into CMYK on output - much like all text can be converted to curves on output.
Maybe someone from the Affinity team could answer?

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The embedded image was just a simple jpg. I converted in Photo in 5 seconds to CMYK. Maybe it was just a glitch or something!

CMYK / 8 is my default mode for 99% of my work.

I'll try the exercise again and see if I get a different result but is there an easy way to see if a simge image in a pdf is RGB?

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7 hours ago, homeyJay said:

The embedded image was just a simple jpg. I converted in Photo in 5 seconds to CMYK. 

I know we can convert JPEGs to CMYK but JPEGs were not really designed for that format and this causes all sorts of problems. Use TIFF for CMYK.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.6 
Affinity Designer 2.5.5 | Affinity Photo 2.5.5 | Affinity Publisher 2.5.5 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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Just now, homeyJay said:

Yeah but client supplied jpgs. Didn’t have a choice..

Convert them to TIFFs in CMYK. 

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.6 
Affinity Designer 2.5.5 | Affinity Photo 2.5.5 | Affinity Publisher 2.5.5 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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