Colour Export Changes

[ChrisNewton]

Hi. I've been trying to export a document which has block colours in it, created in Publisher v2, and the same colours in the EPS files I've created in Designer v2. 

In Publisher the colours match. The profiles in Designer and Publisher are both CMYK - US Web Coated (SWOP) v2.

But when I export for print as a PDF the embedded Designer documents change colour. 

Attached are screen grabs of what I see.

Is there a setting I'm missing?

Thanks for your help

Edited March 28, 2023 by ChrisNewton

[Hangman]

Hi @ChrisNewton and welcome to the forums...

Which pdf viewer are you using to view your file?

You didn't mention if you're using Mac or Windows, but if on macOS and viewing the pdf in Apple Preview then I believe there is a long outstanding issue with ColorSync that affects some color profiles but not others and subsquently how Preview/QuickLook/Photos etc., displays pdf files...

The other thing to note even though I don't believe it is the cause of the issue here is that EPS files aren't colour managed as in, you can't embed an ICC profile with your EPS export. Is there any particular reason for using EPS files vs embedding Affinity Designer files in your Publisher document?

When viewed in Acrobat Reader the artwork should display (pretty much) correctly and for complete clarity this can be further confirmed when viewing the colour separations...

 

[ChrisNewton]

Thank you so much, Hangman, for such a detailed response. Above and beyond! 

Yes, you're absolutely right, it was the Preview app on Mac messing things up. It hadn't even crossed my mind. Thank you for enlightening me.

I could see the separations were ok and if I rasterised the PDF into Affinity Photo it came through correctly. I was concerned mostly because my file will be sent out as a pdf digitally as well as printed, so the colour shift was going to be an issue. I'll have to make sure people either don't view in Preview or I don't have colour changes close to each other in the finished design.

As for EPS vs Designer files. It's been many years since I was working in the design industry (and I'm new to Affinity too) so I guess I'm just using old habits. It makes sense to use the designer files, as you say, so I'll play with that option. 

Thanks again for your help. 

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