Exact colours in PDF with Publi PDF
PDF is the ideal way to electronically distribute your files. The phenomenon of sending PDF files to a printing company is becoming ever more popular. The transfer is usually unproblematic, but in the case of colour printing you may be in for some nasty surprises.
From CMYK to RGB
Under certain circumstances, colours change when converted to PDF. Its a problem that only crops up in Windows, with virtually all software packages including MS Office and FrameMaker. The problem is caused by the incorrect conversion from Windows CMYK colours to RGB colours during the creation of the PDF file. RGB colours (red, green, blue) are called monitor colours, whereas printing processes need CMYK colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). The conversion of these CMYK colours to RGB colours is what causes the change in printing colour.
Publi PDF
Publi PDF allows the use to create a colour profile to indicate which Windows-generated RGB colours need to be worked back to their original CMYK colours. Once the colour profile has been determined, the conversion process will run automatically from then on.
When do you need Publi PFD?
Publi PDF is a valuable tool if you create PDF files in Windows. If you have experienced any unacceptable colour deviations during your test prints, Publi PDF will probably be able to solve your problem. You do not need Publi PDF if you (or your printing company) work on the Apple Macintosh or UNIX platforms.