PDF question: RGB/CMYK?

[Mickie]

I designed a brochure for a client in Xara Pro and then exported as a PDF for commercial printing. Advanced options lists color space as CMYK. When my client took it to the printer, he was told it was RGB and they had to charge him extra to convert it to CMYK.

My question is did I neglect to do something? And I have to admit I have no idea how to check whether it's CMYK or RGB ... suggestions/help would be appreciated.

Mickie

[Albacore]

There could be many reasons that it stayed RGB and not CMYK here are a few:
When exporting as PDF did you change the "colour model" in the general tab.
Was there any RGB effects in the brochure like shadows, bevels and certain transparencies.
Was there any photographs used

There are a few more pitfalls but these are the most common made. Xara uses the RGB colour model for all of the graphic and then converts it to CMYK on the PDF export. If you avoided all of the above come back and I will try to give you some help how to avoid some of the other ones. Go to the Xone and look at some of Gary's workbooks on the Export of PDF's and CMYK because they are a few of them.

[Mickie]

I brought the files into Acrobat 8. Printing to preflight clicked the "list non CMYK Objects". The result was "no problems found." This says to me that it is CMYK, or am I missing something?

Albacore are you saying you can't use shadows and bevels in anything you are going to PDF through XX?

Mickie

[Albacore]

In a lot of cases you will get a white transparent square when you view it in Acro which obviously you didn't get. You have stated that it went through distiller and it came out with no errors. I would ask the printer where the errors were as you had checked and as it is not the first time that a printer has wanted extra money for resetting a graphic up stating a spot colour or graphic were incorrect. I always go along to printers if I have not worked with them before to see what they want and how they want it an establish some form of relationship with one person of that company. If it was for a small run your chances of getting a reply is very small. When doing small runs I tend to use a local large format laser shop where the need for conversion to CMYK is small as the software that runs the laser will rip the colour info from the PDF file.

Sorry to take so long to answer your reply as I have just change ISP and I was down for a day. Also have a look at Gary's workbook here on PDF's and preflight in Acro 7: http://www.xaraxone.com/webxealot/workbook42/page_3.htm

[Mickie]

Thanks. I did look at Gary's workbook. Unfortunately, I am not the one dealing with the printer. The client prefers to do this himself. I just want my client to know that it passed the acrobat test.

Mickie

[behzad]

Any pdf/x you use changes all colors to cmyk.
Also in your Press menu, make sure you have web coated as your color profile.

Oh I forgot make sure you resolution in the pdf export is set to 300 dpi.

[gwpriester]

Mickie

I wonder if this is a problem with your printing professional and not your file?

I have tested many Xara PDF/X files in Acrobat and they have been CMYK unless there were Pantone spot colors in which case they showed up as well in the Ink Manager.

My understanding is that all of the things that normally cause a file to be RGB, shadows, bevels, etc. are treated in Xtreme's PDF/X as CMYK.

Perhaps you could post the file or send the file to Xara and have them check it to see if there are RGB elements.

Gary

[Mickie]

Thanks behzad and Gary. I have talked to my client and he will be talking to the printer when he picks up his job. If the printer still insists it was RGB, I will go over and talk to him about it. This is a client I've had for several years and he updates his brochures at least once a year, so I want to be sure we can get this straightened out for the future. If the print shop was just trying to make an extra $50, I'll try to get my client to change printers. If there is a problem with the files, I'll have learned something.

Thanks for the input.

Mickie