CREATIVE EDGE · DESIGN PRODUCTION

You build a white paper for the web. The blue on the cover looks exactly right. Then you add a drop shadow, and suddenly the blue looks like it’s been through the office copier.

Before you start tweaking swatches, ask one question. Where did the color first change? If you saw it happen while you were working in InDesign, start with the layout. If you first saw it when you opened the PDF, start with the export.

The color changed in InDesign

For a piece headed to screens, try Edit → Transparency Blend Space → Document RGB. Compare it with Document CMYK on the same spread and leave the shadow in place. InDesign uses the blend space on spreads that contain transparency, so a drop shadow or a translucent box can change how colors look even on the other side of the spread. Adobe’s guide to transparency blend space

If the blue still looks flat, check the swatch itself. The blend space changes how InDesign renders the spread and leaves the original swatch values alone. For a digital piece, use the brand’s RGB or hex value if one is supplied. If you’ve been checking the piece for press, turn off View → Proof Colors or View → Overprint Preview if either is active and compare again. Adobe’s guide to overprint preview

The layout looks right, but the PDF looks wrong

For a standard screen PDF, choose File → Export → Adobe PDF (Print). The word Print in the menu is easy to trip over. The Output panel is where you tell InDesign what to do with the color.

Set Color Conversion to Convert to Destination, choose sRGB IEC61966-2.1 as the destination, and select Include Destination Profile under Profile Inclusion Policy when available. That last step embeds the profile so a color-managed PDF viewer knows how to interpret the RGB values. Adobe’s guide to PDF export options

Then open the exported PDF and go straight to the cover. If the white paper is also going to press, make a separate PDF using the printer’s specs. A blue that looks great on a backlit screen and a blue that looks great on uncoated paper are two separate design decisions.

I hope this gave you something to think about. More from the Steve Blender soon.

To be continued.