Blacks Not Distilling As Solid Black

[Nobody_Special@adobeforums.com]

I'm trying to create a PDF of a Quark document, but no matter how I output it, the blacks come out as dark grey. I'm using Quark's default black, 0C 0M 0Y 100K, but in the resulting PDF, they're 75C 68M 67Y 90K. The document also contains imported black EPSs with the same 0C 0M 0Y 100K value as Quark's black, and they also print as dark grey.

I'm using the Acrobat PDF PPD and Printer Setup Utility's Acrobat description. The distiller settings are as hi-res as possible: Sampling and Compression off at Maximum Image Quality with Acrobat 6 compatibility. In the Color tab of the Settings dialogue box, I've tried setting the Color Management Policies to both Convert Colors to sRGB and Leave Color Unchanged.

I've printed the file to disk as a Postcript file using both Composite RGB and Composite CMYK color space and then run the resulting .ps file through Distiller 6.0.1. I've also created a PDF from the Printer dialogue box (again trying both RBG and CMYK color settings) using both the Save As PDF… button and Output Options > Save As File > Format: PDF. Lastly, I've opened the both the .ps file and PDF directly in Photoshop in RGB and CMYK mode all with the same result.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

You're almost there ...

Please follow the instructions at [url]http://www.certitec.com[/url] for the .ps
creation (go main drop down and 'Quark 6 PDF' option) and then go for
the PDF/X-1a Distiller job options (if you are Acrobat 6 Pro) or the
'High Quality' if using 'Standard' ...

Jon

PS - I am assuming you are running Acrobat 6 Pro - if so then go for the
'Separations Preview' in the ADVANCED menu

[Nobody_Special@adobeforums.com]

I followed the directions, but I'm still having the same problem. The only difference between my Print Style and the example is that instead of a Printer Description called Acrobat Distiller, mine is named Adobe PDF. I've downloaded the Adobe PPD file found at <http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=141> , and put the five Acrobat Distiller PPDs in both the Xtensions folder and in Library>Preference>Quark>QuarkXpress 6.0>PPD. However, they don't show up in the Printer Description's pull-down menu.

The PDF/X-1a report shows errors, but they don't seem to be related to color issues:

PDF/X Compliance Report

1. PDF Compatibility

[Violation] The PDF Compatibility Acrobat 5.0 (PDF 1.4) is not permitted for PDF/X compliant PDF files.

2. Bounding Boxes

[Violation] Neither TrimBox nor ArtBox was found on the following pages:
Page 1, Occurrences: 1
Violations: The total found in this section was 1.

3. Summary

Warnings: The total found in this document was 0.
Violations: The total found in this document was 2.

This document does not pass PDF/X-1a compliance checks.

</PDFX>

P.S. I am using Acrobat 6.0.1 Pro (and Distiller 6.0.1) but under Adobe PDF Settings>Advanced, I'm not seeing anything Separations Preview.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

1) The PPD should go into
/Library/Printers/PPD/Resources/Contents/en.lproj/
(or ... go to Quark/Utilities/PPD Manager/ and then point Quark to look
into whichever folder you wish

2) You should follow the screenshots provided - since if the
REGISTRATION marks were selected then you would gain a trim and artbox

3) PDF/X-1a is not naturally PDF 1.5 - it does seem very strange that it
finds a problem here.... Did you amend it to PDF 1.5 ... in any case
... make sure it is PDF 1.3 in Distiller

4) You are looking in the wrong place for the Separations Preview - it's
in Acrobat Professional under the ADVANCED menu ..

Jon

[Nobody_Special@adobeforums.com]

I'm still having the same problem. The PPD is now showing up in the Printer Description pull-down menu.

To provide even more info, here are probably the only two settings I haven't covered:

Page Setup…>Format For: Adobe PDF 3015.102
Printer…>Printer: Adobe PDF

I'm not sure what the Separations Preview is supposed to diagnose, but when I unchecked Process black, the areas which should be solid black are now solid white. Of course, that suggests to me that the black areas are solid. However, to the right of the separation breakdown, all the colors are listed as 95%. Could that be because somewhere along the line Acrobat or Distiller is accounting for dot gain?

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help and how thorough it is.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

The 'Separations Preview' will display objects as they are going to
print in the CMYK colour-space. Yes - click on object and then you can
view the percentage of colours. Turn ON and OFF the colours in the
palette to view the colour separations.

There is no dot gain as such .. though Acrobat will produce a PDF of the
contents of what it is given. Therefore, if values have been entered
into Photoshop separation-=setup then it will be carried into the PDF.

Interesting you are stating that each of the CMY and K displays as 95%?
Have you created a new colour in Quark and given this 100K values and
tried this?

Jon

PS - .. and are you using PDF/X-1a still?

[Nobody_Special@adobeforums.com]

I created a new color in Quark, and it too displays as 95%. However, I had to restart, and now Blacks are being distilled at 100% (even though the Separations Preview still says 95%). I have no idea what restarting changed, because I did nothing different. The problem seems to be solved [fingers crossed], and I wouldn't have figured it out in a million years without your help. Thanks.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

Odd one - but if you're happy then no worries ...

Jon

[Jack3000]

I had the same problem and the way I soved it was to create a new
black color and putting "ALL" the CMYK values to 100%. By default the
"K" value is set to 0% and although that black looks black in quark,
it appears as an off black when producing a PDF file. If you set the
"K" value to 100%, that black looks both black in quark AND in the PDF
file.