Incorrect PMS to CMYK conversion in Illus. 9

[Bret_Donaldson@adobeforums.com]

I just thought I'd check and see if anyone else has encountered this before. While converting PMS 1235 C to CMYK in Illustrator 9, I noticed the app. does an incorrect conversion.

PMS 1235 should convert as 0/29/91/0. The PMS conversion guide gives these values, Illus 10 gives these values and PhotoShop 7 gives these values.

So why in the world does Illustrator 9 convert it as 0/27/76/0?

[JasonSmith@adobeforums.com]

"The PMS conversion guide gives these values"

What year did the Pantone guide come out? Pantone updates every year or so - Illustrator 9 is just using whatever Pantone decided on for that specific year.

Also - Pantones 'conversion' to CMYK is not always the best 'conversion'. There are many factors that can sway a conversion from absolute Lab>CMYK, and Pantone isnt always the last word on that.

[Bret_Donaldson@adobeforums.com]

A slight variation in the values is to be expected since Pantone does update, but there's a big difference between 76% yellow and 91%.

When doing PMS to CMYK conversions, I will sometimes adjust the values to obtain a better result rather than relying on say Illustrator or the even PMS conversion guide for that matter. Still, it helps if the applictaion is converting somewhat accurately.

[Larry_G._Schneider@adobeforums.com]

Pantone did a major update of their color books between when AI9 and 10 were released. The new swatches should be available for downloading from Pantone. Replace them in the proper folder in AI9.

Larry