Converting Xara files created in DP7 to pdf while retaining correct colors

[Phill]

How can I export to pdf/x and still retain color accuracy when printed?
The colors are in CMYK and when converted to pdf look slightly different on
my monitor to those of the originating xar file. When printed out on Canon and Xerox
copiers one of the colors is way different. It is a yellow which looks like a lime green on
the pdf printout.

I have had similar problems in the past with other files occassionally and have had
to recreate them in PS or AI and then save to pdf in order to preserve color accuracy.
I am wondering why I get this problem in Xara only with some files and not others?
What could I be doing wrong?

[mwenz]

Hello Phill,

Are you designing in RGB colors or CMYK? When designing in CMYK, the defined color values for those four inks is what hits the PDFX-1a file. However, if designing with another color model, it is up to the PDF or other export process (like CMYK TIFF or JPG) to alter the colors.

Do you have a color-managed system in place (accurate color-calibration hardware and software, printer ICC profiles to match the printers you are using, etc.)? Even with such equipment and software, a change in the color of the lighting will affect the accuracy of the monitor profile.

Your monitor uses an RGB color model. It contains a much broader spectrum of possible colors than CMYK. A lot of issues in the conversion from RGB to CMYK comes when one has used an out of gamut color as regards the CMYK output. If you do not have the above equipment/software (even if so), I would heartily recommend obtaining CMYK color books that are printed on both coated and uncoated stock. There are some which are reasonable in cost.

Just for a quick check, what is the CMYK color value for your example above? The yellow which prints lime green.

Take care, Mike

[Phill]

Thank you for your reply,
The colors were from a logo I created in Photoshop in CMYK #f8ea1f (C=5,M=1, Y=95,K=1) which I imported into Xara. My monitor (HPZR24W) is somewhat calibrated to the color copier I use for test prints. In other words it is close enough for most purposes in that the prints I get from that are very close to the prints obtained from more costlier outsourced equipment which I use depending on the quantity needed. I avoid RGB as much as possible as I have had too many printing problems.

[mwenz]

OK. If I am understanding you, you are importing a CMYK PSD file into Xara?. Xara really doesn't like CMYK TIFFs or PSD files. Export your PSD to a CMYK JPG file and do not embed the profile.

See if that works fine. The screen shot inside of Acrobat is of a CMYK JPG, no embedded profile, using your example CMYK color values, imported into XDP and exported out as a PDFX-1a PDF.

Xara outputs clean CMYK if the file is vector. But the import of bitmaps retaining color values needs work.

Take care, Mike

[Phill]

I tried that, but had the same result. Colors printed correctly when outputting directly from the .xar file. Anyway I since tried recreating the object in Xara instead of importing from PS and then exporting to PDF. Result was the exact same problem! Basically the object was a yellow solid with an orange circle over the top. This orange was a transparency with feathererd edges. I tried it again but withput the transparency and feathering and had a similar result when converted to PS. After all that I gave up and started from scratch but importing the PS object into an AI file and then to PDF and it worked fine. Although I have got that particular job out of the way, I would still like to find out what I was doing wrong in Xara so I won't repeat it in the future.

[Albacore]

Most of us work the other way as Xara colour engine is in RGB so we work with that and then export to PDF when we are doing a print job. We turn on"simulate print colours" from the Windows menu and this gives us an approx. of what it may lok like when printed or exported as PDF. That is not to say that you can't work from straight CMYK but when you have RGB effects like feathering and transparencies this leads into areas of conflict so that is why we work in RGB. I use a limited colour palette so that I know what the RGB colour will look like when printed as I have a wet copy of my colour palette as a reference if I am using any RGB effects in my design. Phil when you stated that you tried to recreate the design in Xara I would have thought it would have worked. Also try in the effected area to make it a bitmap copy and then hide your vectors away in your layers palette.
If you want to get to the bottom of the problem there are a few things that you could do:
1. Post the design here or at least the part that is causing the problem
2. Check colour values in Illy to see if they are right or better if you have Acro Pro
3. Raise a ticket with Xara support

Hope you get it all sorted out!
Cheers

[Zechariah]

"Most of us work the other way as Xara colour engine is in RGB so we work with that and then export to PDF when we are doing a print job". Isn't Most of us work the other way as Xara colour engine is in CMYK?

[Albacore]

I'll take the bait and answer this question. You are using any programme on your computer, looking at the screen, then you are looking through an RGB device. You are seeing the colours as RGB, that is why Pantone can sell spyder's to check colour calibration of your screen device to match their colours. If you are working in AI/PhotoShop and are using the programme in CMYK colour profile then some colours are still effected on export but to a lesser extent than in Xara. Phil who started this topic stated that a yellow came out lime green as the object was featherd and had a transparency overlaid on it, if he had to do this in AI then he would need to rasterize the whole area as it would cause problems when sent to printers. In Xara's PDF export the filter which is doing the export does the same but because transparencies and feathering are RGB effects then these effects cause colour shifts. There are a few ways to stop this happening, one is not to use the effects, which in no solution, the other is to create a bitmap copy of the area and hide the vectors using your layer palette. Creating the bitmap copy does the same as you do in AI/Photoshop by flattening the area (rasterizing).

I don't see Xara changing its colour rendering engine to allow CMYK colour profile on its artboard as this engine is such an integral of the programme.
I have sent work to printers for over ten years and if you follow simple rules you will not have too many problems exporting to PDF.
1. Use Simulate Printer Colours
2. Have a colour wheel with values that has been printed out by at least a colour laser printer.
3. Reduce the number of RGB effects that you use. Shadows-feathering-transparency-complex bitmap colors
4. Create bitmap copies
5. Check your work with Acrobat