FreakinAwesome Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Okay, long story short, I got a new boss and this boss wanted to rebrand. I'm an amateur and endlessly making changes to a logo isn't my idea of a fun time, so I had her open up a logo tournament. I set out the expectations of the final design, knowing it had to be a file I could work with. The designers soon realized that she had the final say and knew nothing about design, but only one of them would get the money, and that's the one who gave her a logo that looked good on the computer screen regardless of how it would print. She kept telling them she wanted a neon green, an electric purple, and he gave her an RGB logo. I requested countless versions, and the only one I can get to open right is the AI files. All of the EPS have issues, the gradients have issues, and when trying to use the CMYK versions we were provided everything prints like Pea Soup instead of neon green. I kept telling him to imbed the color profile and he keeps insisting that if I open it in Adobe it will work. I have issues with the files in AF and mac preview. I found that I can open the AI files and work on them but the colors will be off. I am going to post the files and see if you guys can help me.CW Logo Tournament.zip CELLULAR CMYK BK.ai CELLULAR CMYK.ai CELLULAR RGB BK.ai CELLULAR RGB.ai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 What is it you expect? That color shift will always be there in a CMYK document. If you are printing to a local printer or quick-print service center type of place, likely you can get closer to the RGB as they like being fed RGB anyway. But for a bit higher-end commercial print, what the CMYK AI files produce is what you are going to get. Unless one uses spot colors for the green and purple, which would increase the print cost. I don't have a version of AI newer than CS6 at hand, but CS6 reports there is no assigned color profile but that probably applies to the PDF portion CS6 is opening. However, that isn't really going to change things by using US SWOP. US Sheetfed has a bit more of a gamut, but even there it is never going to be close to the RGB version. The fault lies with the parameters of the contest and the lack of CMYK printing knowledge and application of that knowledge. And even the understanding of the difference between RGB and CMYK. And faulty expectations. And... So what is it you want from the logo? A_B_C 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakinAwesome Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 I understand these problems. I guess I want to know what color profile to assign it to or if I should just design print in RGB and send it to a printer and ask them to monitor the shift. The UPS store next door printed us a small banner, not sure what file they used but it printed pretty good. Any time we try to take anything to fedex kinkos it all prints wonky in muted dull colors. I just want some advice on what color profiles to use, if anybody is having the gradient problems I am. All I really want to do is print a nice business card. The spot color print price is about $1 per card. Here is the thing, I know monster energy drinks prints things and has a nice green. I know it's not impossible to get a nice green out of a CMYK file, I also know it's not impossible to open a file and have the gradients work, whether or not they are the shade you want, the gradient should be smooth and not look like a strange half oval behind the logo. I just want some advice on how to make lemonade out of a pile of lemons. Stick with RGB and find somebody willing to print an RGB file? Find a better CMYK profile to assign? I just need business cards. Everything else will probably be digital or one color imprint for give-aways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 When something is going to be professionally printed, you need to ask them what profile they desire. The UPS and FedEx Office do not fall into that category. I get decent color from either using an rgb pdf. Monster likely uses spot color. To get the AI file into AD try exporting it as an SVG and importing it. I'm away from a computer right now so I can't look at the AI file to see how it's made, but an SVG likely is what I would first try. The color model in the SVG will be rgb. So it may be best to open the svg directly and copy it into a cmyk AD file. Then tweak the color and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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