Colour Tagged PDFs

[Harry_Redknapp@adobeforums.com]

Where can you identify in Acrobat 7 if a PDF is colour tagged. I cant seem to see any profile information.

[Steve_Werner@adobeforums.com]

Profiles (if present) are attached to objects, not to PDF files. PDF files can contain mixed RGB and CMYK objects. In Acrobat 7 Professional, you can view color spaces with the Show menu of Output Preview on the Print Production toolbar.

Acrobat 8 Professional will offer a Color panel when you select an object with the TouchUp Object tool. There you will be able to view the color space of an individual object, and even change it to a different profile.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

... and if you wish to detect ICC profiles - run a preflight against a
profile which errors this content - PDF/X-1a would be a good choice ..

Jon

[peter kleinheider]

Harry,

As Jon stated, you can run Preflight to identify those objects. There is a predefined profile you might want to use:

List objects using ICC/Lab/calibrated color

As a result you get a list of objects. If you want Preflight to give you more information on the objects, change the setting in Options->Preflight Preferences… to "Show list of results with all details".

You now can open the little triangle in front of the object to see the properties of the used Color Space (like the name of a used ICC profile).

In case you don't know this: performing a double click on a object in the Preflight Result windows will change to the page in the PDF and marks it with a red frame. You also can activate the Snap View feature (last option in the windows) to the the flagged object in a separate viewer windows.

regards

Peter

[Harry_Redknapp@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for that....

So the ouput intent is a separate issue - is this when the file has a colour source reference for the file to be PDF/X-1a compliant - where can i see that it has this.

[peter kleinheider]

Hi Harry,

Correct, the output intent describes the colorspace, the PDF was generated for. Every DeviceCMYK definition is based on this ColorSpace. The Output Intent does not alter the PDF in any way. In other words: by defining an Output Intent you say what the PDF was build for (which printing process)

You see the Output Intent by opening the Preflight window and check the lower left corner PDF/X icon. Also when opening the output preview window, the simulation profile says "Output Intent: ...." by default (depending on your color setup preferences

rgds
Peter

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

> The Output Intent does not alter the PDF in any way. In other words: by defining an Output Intent you say what the PDF was build for (which printing process)

HOWEVER, in many workflows, it is checked against the actual device
used to output pages.

If they don't match, a profile-to-profile conversion is likely to be
made, changing your CMYK colour values into those for the different
device; losing any such effect as rich or registration black.

Aandi Inston