"Can't Print the illustration" error caused by too many custom colors

[Elaine_A_Wilson@adobeforums.com]

I can't print ANYTHING from Illustrator CS, no matter how many spot colors there are or aren't. Not even the sample files that came with the software. I've tried every option there is in the Print dialog, I've updated my printer software, and everything.

OS X 10.2.8
HP Color LaserJet 5500n
HP LaserJet 5si

[M_Berman@adobeforums.com]

A few weeks ago I experienced the "Can't print the illustration." error also. By saving the document as a .pdf file, I was then able to print from within Acrobat without a problem.

[John_Carimando@adobeforums.com]

If you have a Fiery Rip Attached to your printer you will find 'postcript' errors if you use spot colors in gradients, transparencies, and/or repeat pattern swatches. rememeber, these printers are not spot machines, they are cmyk process printers (if you are using something like a xerox or canon). make sure to set all your flat fill swatches to 'process color' and check off the global option, it helps with a lot of these issues.

[Darren_Neely@adobeforums.com]

The sort of users that find their way to this board will eventually find and use a work around for this. There are lots of other users out there that can't figure it out.

It's just too easy to run into this (and a few other problems). It's broken. It needs to be fixed. What's it been, 6+ months. Where is an Illustrator patch for some of this?

If there isn't one coming, then it should be added to the feature list on the Illustrator CS box...

• Print documents with up to 28 dazzling custom colors

[Elaine_A_Wilson@adobeforums.com]

I corrected my printing problem by changing the permissions on all my fonts so that "Everyone" can "Read and write." As soon as this was done, Illustrator once again became willing to print.

[Paul_A_George@adobeforums.com]

Do you actually need them all to be spot colors or could you change some or all of them to be global process colors? There's no limit on the number of global process colors you can have.

[John_Slate@adobeforums.com]

Darren:

I am curious.

Are you actually going to be printing in that many "spot" colors?

I can't even imagine the cost of a 28 color job.

[Dee Holmes]

Yeah, run cmyk.

Pick the spot colors you want to be close and then have them as cmyk.

Only four plates, but it might seem to cost more than than spot color plates. It can't be as as expensive as 6 spot plates.

Do you think? I'm not into that part of the buisness as you can see.

But I do know a 28 color job will cost ya tons!

[John_Kallios@adobeforums.com]

Did you know, a cmyk spot job on a commercial press generally costs less than 4 pms spot colors?

[John_Slate@adobeforums.com]

Did you know, a cmyk spot job on a commercial press generally costs less
than 4 pms spot colors?




Gee, I thought the guys in the pressroom LIKED washing up the units.

[John_Kallios@adobeforums.com]

Correction to post 10.

That is cmyk job, NOT cmyk spot job.

At least John Slate was too nice to point out my blunder. :)

[Darren_Neely@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes, we actually need that many spot colors on some files. We aren't going to press with these, of course. These are product sketch pages that are being sent to a color copier.

We are representing screen print graphics from 1-10 colors each on as many as 20 different garment styles that have varying body and trim colors.

(Spot colors are inherantly global, aren't they?)

Work arounds aren't the issue. This limitation wasn't there in previous versions, going back to 3.2 anyway. I'd have to find something with a floppy to check 88 for this, but I do still have the disk (singular). It isn't there for some reason. It's broken.

This and some other things need to get fixed, but I get the feeling they aren't working on a patch at all.

[John_Slate@adobeforums.com]

We aren't going to press with these, of course.




!!!

OK listen. You really need to understand what designating a color as a "spot" means.

The fact that you claim you need that many spots, and then say you won't be going to press is a clear indication that you don't fully grasp what a spot color is.

It is not just a "custom" color which you have selected.

It means it will become a separate plate or screen used to print in a custom mixed ink... mixed physically so the ink itself is the custom color... not as an optical mixture of CMYK dots.

If you are not printing in this many custom inks, there is absolutely no reason to maintain all of your color choices in a spot model. In fact, if you ever actually send a job like this to a printer, it can require steps to insure that the spots get converted to CMYK.

You need to convert your spots them to CMYK (or RGB depending on your printer), and in both cases, ideally using a profile of your printer.

As someone else said, there is no limit to the number of process builds you can have in a file (well, there probably is but the limitation is probably negligable).

[Darren_Neely@adobeforums.com]

Allow me to clarify. We are not doing separations of the composite document with multiple pieces of art and garments depicted. This document will be color copy only.

The individual graphics, however will be or have been separated as individual spot color plates. These plates are used for spot color screen printing. These need to be spot colors. When we bring multiple separate documents together with garment drawings, we then cross the 28 color limit.

The garment colors could be custom color swatches without being spot colors, I suppose. Since we don't offset print any of these documents, the functional difference between a spot custom color and a cmyk custom color has not been meaningful. Most of the colors in these composite documents come from the screen print inks, so it would only address a few of these cases. We are often pretty far past the 28 threshold, anyway.

Having to convert swatches to cmyk spot colors or deleting custom color swatches is a work around.

Is there a reason this should be broken? Don't you think there are plenty of users out there troubleshooting this based on the assumption that it's a document complexity issue? Or just thinking printing in AICS is broken? This needs to be fixed.

[John_Slate@adobeforums.com]

Now I see.

Sorry if I came off a bit harsh there.

Indeed a workaround would seem to be your only recourse.

Did Illy EVER allow this many spots in one doc?

[Darren_Neely@adobeforums.com]

We came directly from AI8, and it's nevr been a problem there.